About

I No Black, also known as I No Black, I Dominican, refers to a viral video clip from a VladTV interview with comedian Godfrey in which he impersonates a Black Latino man, who denies that he's Black and says, "I Dominican," or, "I Puerto Rican." Godfrey's character also tries to "salsa it off" and repeatedly says the Spanish word "papi." The original interview with Godfrey was posted to YouTube by djvlad in 2018. The clip of Godfrey saying, "I no Black," spread in memes and viral posts heading into the 2020s. It was largely used to joke about a nationality stereotype surrounding Black Latinos, specifically those from the Dominican Republic (DR), denying that they are Black or at least denying that they're African American. The catchphrase "I Not Black, I Dominican" also predates the Godfrey clip on social media sites like Twitter / X.

Origin

On March 26th, 2018, YouTuber^[1] djvlad, also known as VladTV, posted a full-length version of his interview with stand-up comedian Godfrey (full name Godfrey C. Danchimah Jr.), who's seen wearing a Black Panther T-shirt. The interview received over 347,100 views in seven years.

At the interview's 8:14-minute mark, Godfrey brings up Black Latinos and parodies the ones who don't "claim their Blackness." He says, "I'm sorry guys, but some of you guys be like, 'I no Black. I no Black. I no Black. Impossible. I Dominican. I Puerto Rican. I no Black.'" He then shows the character trying to "salsa it off."

I'm sorry guys, but some of you guys be like, "I no Black. I no Black. I no Black. Impossible. I no Black. I Dominican. I Puero Rican. I no Black." Be looking just like me. Be having the same hair I be touching. He like, "It not the same. It not the same. It not the same, papi. It not the same." They try to salsa that shit off. I be like, no. "It not the same. I no Black. Negro, nunca, nunca, no, no, nunca, I no Black." I be like, "I know you Black." "No, no, no! I no Black! Dominica." I go, "I know, but you're Black." "No, no, no, papi! I no Black! No, no, Black, Black, Black!"

Precursor

Before Godfrey's appearance on VladTV, the catchphrase "I'm not Black, I'm Dominican" and a general stereotype about Black Dominicans not claiming Blackness were present online.

For instance, in a 2007 interview with NPR,^[2] Miami Herald reporter Frances Robles talked about her observations on Blackness in the Dominican Republic. She claimed that the Haitian rule of the island of Hispaniola negatively impacted the perception of Blackness in the DR. She said, "And for many years… after they were freed, you have presidents in the Dominican Republic who really instigated a sense that anything Haitian was bad, anything Black was bad."

She continued, "You meet Black people who will talk bad about Black people, and you're scratching your head, thinking, wait a second. You look pretty Black to me. And what you hear over and over again from the Dominicans is that they didn't find out that they were Black until they went to the United States."^[2]

On December 26th, 2013, X^[4] user @EwBarbie quote-tweeted a since-deleted tweet, captioning it, "The 'I'm not black, I'm Dominican' Barbie." The post gained over 270 likes in 12 years.

On February 17th, 2015, X^[5] user @desusnice tweeted, "Happy Dominican Independence Day to all my 'I no black' papis," gaining over 340 likes in 10 years.

Spread

On April 1st, 2018, Tumblr^[6] user dudewonder reblogged the VladTV clip, writing, "The Ricans get it 😂🤷‍♂️," gaining over 36,100 notes in seven years.

On October 20th, 2020, X^[7] user @GhanaianZoe reposted the clip, gaining over 400 likes in five years.

On December 5th, 2021, X^[8] user @UncoolTimi used @GhanaianZoe's clip in a tweet, captioned, "Miles Morales when he meets T’challa," gaining over 6,600 likes in four years.

Miles Morales when he meets T’challa pic.twitter.com/o2LB7xuLLB

— Uncle Timi✨ (@UncoolTimi) December 6, 2021

On July 18th, TikToker^[9] @starringsaraa posted a video of herself "Explaining to my Dominican father that he Black" and using the "I No Black, I Dominican" catchphrase in the text overlay caption. Over four years, the video received over 65,400 likes.

On February 10th, 2023, TikToker^[10] @mwiththemb reposted the original Godfrey clip with a POV caption reading, "When you call a Dominican Black," gaining over 2 million likes in two years.

On November 7th, 2024, X^[11] user @slowslumbers02 tweeted the original clip, writing, "He's literally going to hell for the damage this video has done to my brain," amassing over 142,000 likes in nine months.

he’s literally going to hell for the damage this video has done to my brain pic.twitter.com/UiyKWkQTSs

— ✩ (@slowslumbers02) November 7, 2024

On August 7th, 2025, X^[3] user @CaribbeanRythms quote-tweeted a post from conservative political pundit Pearl Davis, who said, "My boyfriend is not Black. He is Dominican." The quote-tweet attached the Godfrey clip, gaining over 21,000 likes in three weeks.

https://t.co/jwd7n4TsuZ pic.twitter.com/yT2NShctPI

— Prometheus (@CaribbeanRythms) August 7, 2025

On August 23rd, 2025, X^[12] user @thinkpiecetribe tweeted, "That 'I no black' video really did generational PR damage to Dominicans across the country😭😭😭😭," receiving over 210,000 likes in two days.

Various Examples

It makes me cry of laughter every time💀 pic.twitter.com/VxrKuMBiTW https://t.co/q4LfqRixTZ

— Anthony (@okanthony_) August 24, 2025

caicedo when the chelsea fans try to racially him after this performance pic.twitter.com/SNABxJR0Lg

— 𝙁 (@fuadyabz23) August 20, 2023

Search Interest

External References