She Started A Debate On Racism That She Wasn’t Ready For.

She started a debate on racism that she guaranteed was not ready for. The video, which went viral on X, features former teacher Warren Smith debating a reporter about racism and DEI. At one point the reporter says, “I'm just gonna say this and you can debate it. You can't be racist against white people. You can be prejudiced against white people. Racism implies a power imbalance.” Host Amala Ekpunobi, who describes herself as a former “super big leftist,” reacts to the exchange in real time, explaining why she used to hold the same view and why she no longer does.

The “racism requires power” argument and where it comes from

The reporter’s central claim is that racism necessarily involves a systemic power imbalance, so white people—as the group with structural power—cannot experience racism, only prejudice. When Smith asks where she learned this, she replies, “It's just how it is.” Ekpunobi notes this is the same kind of non-answer she herself used to give. She recalls arguing with two conservative-leaning friends in high school, insisting that racism against white people was impossible because “white people are in power and they have so much privilege.” She stopped speaking to them for two days. The idea, she says, came from “the woke atmosphere” around her.