Black Twitter users returned to their beloved platform to condemn HBO‘s "Confederate," an upcoming drama about an alternate history where the Confederacy wins the Civil War and continues to enslave Black people. Media critic and #OscarsSoWhite creator April Reign joined forces with Black Girl Nerds‘ Jamie Broadnax, journalist ReBecca Theodore-Vachon, filmmaker Lauren Warren and media personality Shanelle Little to launch the trending #NoConfederate social media campaign this weekend.
Reign announced the campaign with a series of tweets last week. The posts echoed much of the prior criticism around the show’s apparent reliance on Black trauma and the fact that White executive producers D.B. Weiss and David Benihoff (both of "Game of Thrones") are attached to the project:
Black women assembling like Voltron to get #Confederate TF outta here. Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/MHQuMehOdx
— April (@ReignOfApril) July 27, 2017
Many are concerned about the planned @HBO show #Confederate. For context, please read this article by @therebeccasun https://t.co/0g7tfXbjys
— April (@ReignOfApril) July 28, 2017
We believe the time to speak up is now, before the show has been written or cast. Before @hbo invests too much money into #Confederate.
— April (@ReignOfApril) July 28, 2017
This Sunday at 9pm ET, during @GameOfThrones, we ask you to stand with us. We want to send a message to @hbo using hashtag #NoConfederate.
— April (@ReignOfApril) July 28, 2017
Whether you live tweet #GoT or not, please use #NoConfederate in ALL of your tweets from 9-10p ET this Sunday. Let’s get it trending!
— April (@ReignOfApril) July 28, 2017
We know we have the power to make change. Let’s show @hbo how many people are against #Confederate. Please join us Sunday w/ #NoConfederate.
— April (@ReignOfApril) July 28, 2017
My sisters in the #NoConfederate campaign are @FilmFatale_NYC, @ShanelleLittle, @iamlaurenp & @JamieBroadnax of @BlackGirlNerds.
— April (@ReignOfApril) July 29, 2017
The Hollywood Reporter (THR) writes that the campaign, which intentionally targeted last night’s (July 30) airing of Weiss and Benihoff’s popular fantasy HBO series "Game of Thrones," grew into the number one domestic and number two international Twitter trending topic. Twitter users, including Reign’s co-organizers and other prominent critics and creatives like Bree Newsome, used the hashtag to uplift their own criticisms about the show:
B/c #NoConfederate is not simply issue of history, it’s also issue of the fantasy genre being largely limited to the fantasies of white men
— Bree Newsome (@BreeNewsome) July 31, 2017
#NoConfederate cuz my Dad didnt sit in a jail cell in Jackson, Mississippi for 30 days, so white people can get their Racist jollys in 2017 pic.twitter.com/Azw3hOFucV
— Tomarra Wagoner (@TomarraWagoner) July 31, 2017
Part of the most maddening thing about this is— HBO greenlit this only because of the white showrunner involved#NoConfederate
— Shanelle Little (@ShanelleLittle) July 31, 2017
The last time y’all didn’t listen to Black women, this happened. Listen to us now. #NoConfederate pic.twitter.com/55vFsAPVIt
— Hannah Drake (@HannahDrake628) July 31, 2017
#NoConfederate because we could tell the story of Haiti’s slave uprising leading to all of Latin American’s independence instead. pic.twitter.com/YafjpWdc4K
— watch killjoys (@colectivovacio) July 31, 2017
We don’t want to see no WHAT IF Slavery shows, only facts .. stop traumatizing black Americans #noConfederate pic.twitter.com/BxPjfR2i4H
— Lela Victoria (@LelaV89) July 31, 2017
One (of many) reasons why Benioff & Weiss shouldn’t be allowed to do a show about slavery. #NoConfederate #ThronesYall #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/2VOTSkzuxv
— The Nerds of Color (@TheNerdsofColor) July 31, 2017
Reign elaborated on the campaign during an appearance on CBS This Morning today (July 31), saying, "There are times when things are so egregious, that you don’t need to wait for them to come to fruition before you object to them" and adding that her hope to "have the show ‘Confederate’ not see the light of day."
The campaign began a week after the show’s executive producers and writers, including Black married couple Nichelle Tramble Spellman ("The Good Wife") and Malcolm Spellman ("Empire"), discussed the show’s premise with Vulture and implored critics to not write off the show based on a press release. "Me and Nichelle are not props being used to protect someone else," Malcolm said. "We are people who feel a need to address issues the same way they do, and [critics and media] should at least humanize the other end of those tweets and articles."
The Spellmans also addressed the controversy during a Thursday (July 27) appearance on NPR’s "All Things Considered," with Malcolm saying that "our own people marginalized us like that" by ignoring or downplaying their association to the project. He also conceded that "the rollout just wasn’t right."
HBO responded to the #NoConfederate backlash with the following statement to THR and other media outlets last night:
We have great respect for the dialogue and concern being expressed around "Confederate." We have faith that [writers] Nichelle, Dan, David and Malcolm will approach the subject with care and sensitivity. The project is currently in its infancy so we hope that people will reserve judgment until there is something to see.
Little tweeted this response to HBO’s statement:
See you next week then. #NoConfederate https://t.co/drEBkBsNxA
— Shanelle Little (@ShanelleLittle) July 31, 2017