Who Is Daquan? Funny Meme or Racial Trend?

Move over Kermit. There’s a new meme trend taking over social media. As you can see in the photo above, Daquan and his racially charged memes are the new hot trend. So the question remains, who the hell is Daquan?

Daquan doesn’t exist. He’s a fictional character meant to represent the stereotypical young black man in today’s society. His memes typically include white parents fighting with their daughters over dating Daquan. Each daughter responds with some stereotypical scenario for Daquan. That’s supposed to be the joke, but is it more than that?

Stereotypes are typically pretty innocent and silly when used jokingly, but that doesn’t mean they can’t go a little too far. These Daquan memes are right on the fence of being too much. They’re suppose to represent today’s young black man, but they might provide a deeper representation of this generation.

To those who think racism is an old time issue, let this serve as your wake up call. Racism has simply transformed and this trend is proof. It’s not as cut and dry as it once was. There aren’t “Blacks Only,” bathrooms. We don’t have segregated schools, but that was the direct approach from years ago. Now we have indirect racism. Jokes, memes, and slang terms have become acceptable ways to get away with a racist comment or two.

Is anyone being physically hurt? Of course not, they’re just words. They’re not sticks and stones right? Well, sure this trend could be people being playful or it could have legitimate racial undertones. Either way, funny or not, Daquan is a reminder that we still have a lot to learn.