Photo: Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, May 20, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis) Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Aug. 26, 2021, in Marietta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
It seems TV personality Big Tigger opened up a can of worms when he recently interviewed Georgia Gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in Atlanta. Abrams spoke at an event hosted by Big Tigger.
Big Tigger (Darian Morgan is an Emmy-Award-winning radio host on Atlanta’s V103 morning show. He got his start on BET’s long-running show “Rap City,” which he hosted from 1998 to 2005.
This is the second time Abrams is taking on Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. In 2018, she lost her bid for his seat in a tight race. This time voters get to pick between the two again in November.
During the event, Big Tigger conducted an hour-long question and answer with Abrams on her position on various issues affecting Black men in Georgia, including the economy, entrepreneurship, Medicaid expansion, affordable housing, and reducing gun violence, Capital B Atlanta reported.
Members of the audience told Capital B what they thought of the event, including Justin Matthews, a graduate student at Georgia Tech, who had concerns about creating better economic opportunities for underprivileged men in Black communities in Georgia.
“Many young Black men turn to different things in their community because they don’t think there’s a lot of opportunities for them to grow and be successful outside of college,” Matthews said. “We need people who can speak for those in the trenches, for what they need in these communities.”
After the event, Abrams tweeted, “I recently had a conversation with @bigtiggershow at @fellashipatl, where we discussed the issues most important to Black men in this election. As governor, I will work to ensure that Black men feel seen, heard and represented in Georgia.”
But the meetup between Abrams and Big Tigger did sit well with many and Black America had questions about Tigger’s stance on reparations and voting. Some saw the event as Tigger being pro-Democrat.
“The plan is to vote for politicians that enact policies that specifically help Black Americans. The plan is NOT to just blindly vote without receiving any definitive benefits in that exchange. Hope this helps,” BlackFlag_ tweeted.
Tigger defended himself, tweeting, “I did not ask anyone to do that. My initial response after posting the video with Ms Abrams was in response to people saying they weren’t gonna vote because it didn’t matter. We should all vote for people that will get stuff done. I never told anyone to vote for anyone specific.”
Others called out he Democrats.
“Democrats are the party that black people have been voting for for 5 decades. So that’s why I’m focused on them. They haven’t giving black people anything for voting for them while other groups have gotten many tangibles from them,” Ant Walker tweeted.
Tigger clarified he wasn’t showing support for either party. “Agreed 1000 percent. But again I’m not advocating any party line. Vote your personal and community interests. Or don’t vote and watch more things disappear. Ps I thank you for having a grown up exchange,” he tweeted.
But the pro-reparations community came after Tigger.
“Democratic shills like Big Tigger who cannot have meaningful debates after engaging you then trying to use gaslighting fallacies, eventually block you. No different from Luke or any other Black celebrity who are captured Democrats,” tweeted Nyhiem (Lord Abba) Freedmen.
“So u wanna be blk when convenient and separate when it’s about reparations…this is exactly what’s wrong. You in the media speaking for blk men all while being against the group. That’s treacherous sir,” The Ghost of Malcolm tweeted.
“Yo you sound crazy. I don’t care about reparations. If I got any (and I would be entitled as my father was born in America) I’d probably donate mine to a worthy cause. But that me. Y’all do you. No need to respond anymore. I AM A PROUD BLACK MAN OF MIXED HERITAGE,” replied Big Tigger.
He also laid out the facts of his background, saying he had a Foundational Black American father. A FBA is any person classified as Black who can trace their bloodline lineage back to the American system of slavery.
“All facts. Born in The Bronx to what you would call an FBA OR ADOS father and Jamaican mom and VERY PROUD OF OF ALL MY HERITAGE. Y’all continue to lose by division rather than Win by unification. Good Luck,” he said.
Photo: Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, May 20, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis) Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at a news conference Aug. 26, 2021, in Marietta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
