Black Scots become TikTok fascination among African Americans after viral clip – thescottishsun.co.uk

BLACK Scots have become a social media fascination among African Americans after a TikToker's clip about the weather went viral.
Torgi Squire, a 43-year-old teacher from Glasgow, sparked a huge interest in black people with strong Scottish accents after uploading an innocent video on the social media app last week.
In the 33-second clip, he joked that the school term times should be changed because the washout summer weather always seems to improve the week the kids are due to go back.
Torgi ended his video wishing everyone "a belter of a day", which was his usual send-off to followers.
But the video quickly went viral after thousands of users flocked to the comments to share their shock at "discovering" a black Scottish man.
Most of the users were African Americans from the other side of the Atlantic who had "no idea" that there was a community, with many adding "I’ve never seen a black Scottish person".
One person said: "There are Black Scottish men?!? Forgive me but I really had NO IDEA. I wanna see more!!"
Another added: "You and Alima from Love Island UK are the first black Scottish people I’ve discovered".
In my experience, Scotland is a welcoming place and while there is still racism, it’s isolated and Scottish people are very good at calling it out
Someone else wrote: "Hold on now!!!! Beautiful dark skin, locs, AND a Scottish accent?!!? Oh naw, new cheat code unlocked".
While a fourth commented: "Explain this to me, why have I never stumbled across a black Scottish man".
And a fifth chimed in: "My brain took a second to catch up, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Black Scottish man before!!"
The huge response then inspired other black Scottish TikTokers to share their own videos about their experiences.
In fact, it became so popular that the clips have generated their own hashtag – #blackscottishtiktok.
Torgi, who teaches design and technology, saw his videos rack up almost four million views, and his account gained 200,000 new followers since he posted the clip.
And he told The Guardian that the whole experience has "been a whirlwind" and said that many Americans only know Scotland for "Braveheart, Brave or Shrek."
But he said it's not just those from the US – he has also received messages from others who are equally as surprised.
Torgi said: "They don’t seem to have much awareness of the diaspora, particularly when it comes to the UK, which is maybe why they’ve reacted with so much curiosity.
There are Black Scottish men?!? Forgive me but I really had NO IDEA. I wanna see more!
“But it’s not just Americans. I’ve had comments from people in England too, so there’s still surprise at a black person with a Scottish accent on both sides of the Atlantic.”
He added: “In my experience, Scotland is a welcoming place and while there is still racism, it’s isolated and Scottish people are very good at calling it out.
"Perhaps because there are far fewer black people than somewhere like America, we tend to treat each other more like a community.”
Other black Scots have also weighed in and shared their own #blackscottishtiktok videos, which have also received worldwide attention.
Ellie Koepplinger said, “It feels like finally people are understanding that we have our own racial politics” after people flocked to her TikTok page.
The 28-year-old, who posts about race and politics, said she thought the topic would be "huge" after seeing Torgi's post explode, adding that it was "really exciting" to see others "chime in".

She told The Guardian that the whole situation has sparked meaningful conversations about race in Scotland.
Ellie said: “It’s been really interesting to hear other Scottish people talk about the racism and the challenges they’ve experienced in Scotland.
"The black community in Scotland is fairly fragmented because it’s small, but it’s a population that’s excited to grow.”
Another TikToker who shared his experience is 20-year-old Manny Daphey, who also saw a huge number of Americans watching his videos.
The student said: “I was pretty blown by surprise, suddenly everyone was interacting and it felt like speaking to my long-lost cousins.
"Lots of Americans are very intrigued about living in Scotland, saying they want to visit."
THE new #blackscottishtiktok trend has left many Americans saying they now want to come and visit Scotland.
TikTok users have been left so stunned by seeing black Scottish people that they want to come and see them for themselves.
And some have joked that they are already "looking at flights" in the comments of different #blackscottishtiktok posts.
One person said: "Hold up! We in Scotland?! Let me get my group ready and start looking for flights".
Another added: "Wait a damn minute… Lemme get myself to Scotland, IMMEDIATELY!"
Someone else wrote: "Booking a Jet2 Holiday to Glasgow this minute!!"
While a fourth shared: "WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!!!! Do I need to make a visit to SCOTLAND!?!?"
A fifth chimed in: "Is this my sign to go to Scotland?".
While a user posted out: "I just know it’s about to be an influx of travel to Scotland".
He shared a 26-second clip on TikTok and said: "Yo, what's with all these Americans finding out about the black Scottish creators?
"This is genuinely real, I feel so special right now. I'm looking through some of my comments, and some of them are typing, 'Y'all exist?'
"And I'm just like 'Aye, we do, there's black c**** in Scotland, mate. Just normal c**** like me and you'."
Comedian Roy Wood Jr recently visited Scotland for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has spent some time speaking to black Scots during his visit and sharing clips on social media.
In one post, the host of CNN’s Have I Got News For You US said that many Americans are unaware of black Scots because schools “barely teach them about black people in the US”.
He added: "People can laugh about dumb Americans not knowing there are black people in Scotland, but this tells us a lot about the differences between education systems and what governments define as history.”
Torgi said that the whole experience has made him "happy" to see "people are coming together.”
He added: "The conversations I’ve had in the past week have really enriched my life".
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Gilliam Nii Lighter

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