Exclusive – Chatting to the ‘Gen Z Historian’ Kahlil Greene

@kahlilgreene Reply to @ratscarringpizzainthesub they thought black skin was thicker #hiddenhistory #blackhistory #americanhistory #conspiracytok ♬ Blade Runner 2049 – Synthwave Goose

‘My theory of change is that by educating my audience on this, they’ll come to the same conclusions on what needs to happen in order to tackle injustice in the US.’

Posting his first video to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Kahlil’s newfound determination to promote civil discourse on social media almost immediately garnered him over 1.4 million views.

Ever since, he’s been using this substantial reach to bolster widespread engagement with the cold hard facts, believing that it’s important to understand a system’s inner workings to sufficiently impact it.

This, he explains, requires an intersectional perspective, one he incorporates into all facets of his content.

‘A tenet of critical race theory is that race intermixes with other identities to create the issues that we have today,’ he says. ‘So I always look at race as an issue that compounds other identities.’

Most recently, through a series called Hidden History, Kahlil has extended his focus to culture, using his platform to question what he was taught in school.

‘The formula I developed to break down complex topics so they’re digestible is what I’m most proud of,’ he told the New York Times. ‘My main goal is to enlighten people to think about things in different ways and collect new knowledge that helps inform how they show up.’

Of course, the art of digital storytelling is no mean feat. Especially nowadays, with Gen Z spending half its waking hours watching videos, most of which they’ll have forgotten about just minutes later.

For this reason, Kahlil strives to make his content as well-researched and entertaining as possible.

‘I’ve had to learn how to be captivating and compelling while educating, which is a uniquely difficult thing to balance,’ he says.

 

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Regardless of this difficulty, however, there’s no denying that Kahlil has found his niche, which is debate and argumentation.

‘The ability to verbalise what you’re feeling, why something is an issue, and what the solution should be – especially when it relates to injustice – is what advocacy is,’ he continues. ‘I think very critically about my videos before I make them and feel comfortable going toe-to-toe with those who disagree.’

A prime example of this is Kahlil’s dedication to confronting cultural appropriation on TikTok, which is rife on the app.

Set on building a legacy of doing what’s right, he frequently calls out appropriated trends that have co-opted Black culture for clout and provides an accurate history of them, with the aim of correcting discriminatory structures where people can steal and face no repercussions.

‘The communities where these trends come from are facing systematic disenfranchisement,’ he says. ‘My initial conversation propelled the discussions around protections and these small measures that help them get recognition for their work.’

Beyond content creation

Bridging the gap between Gen Z and leading institutions, Kahlil also delivers keynote DEI addresses to companies about the changes they should make if they want to cater to a demographic with notoriously strong values.

‘We have very progressive thinking, which informs our employment and buying decisions,’ he says.

‘Transparency as a virtue is important because it allows for outside critique. When productive or constructive, this allows for betterment. Be aware of the issues at hand and communicate about how you’re assisting with solving them. Companies need to be checking their bias and looking into how they can diversify and counteract their innate prejudice.’

This encouragement to stay on top of bias echoes Kahlil’s feelings about the climate movement, which he says too often favours appearances over expertise.

In his opinion, it doesn’t seem fair that BIPOC activists particularly, ‘who are superhuman in terms of how much expertise they have,’ will be passed up for opportunities in favour of ‘white activists with less knowledge.’

@kahlilgreene This is for the people that still don’t get it! #aave #awkwafina #culturalappropriation #hiddenhistory #blackculture ♬ original sound – Gen Z Historian

To combat this, he says, as allies we must repeatedly criticise the absence of BIPOC in spaces designed to instigate change.

‘Get them in those rooms as well,’ he urges. ‘Call out the disparities within the climate conversation (and beyond) and continually spread the message that without the inclusion of each and every voice, there will be so many more problems later down the line.’

Without doubt, Kahlil is inspiring awareness-based change across the board. Leaving us with a final piece of sage advice, he urges anyone reading this to ‘follow what makes you so angry you have to change it.’

‘Find your fire. You have to have an emotional driver to guide you. Turn your active emotions – your sadness, dejection, hopelessness, frustration, and anger – into agency.’

‘What makes me angry is the prevailing ideology that things should be this way. I’ve used that anger to effect productive change in my community by educating people on the roots of the issues affecting society.’