Comedian Trevor Noah has never been one to shy away from hot topics and hot takes, But his latest one has the internet sounding off...and for a good reason.
In the latest episode of his “What Now” podcast with featured guest Ruha Benjamin — professor of African American Studies at Princeton University —they discuss whether or not integration was better for America as a whole when it came to Black people.
The conversation couldn’t be more timely given all the recent social media chatter from folks who believe Black folks are headed back to that time in the 1950s and 1960s when Jim Crow laws made segregation the law of the land for most of the United States, thanks to the myriad executive orders recently signed by President Donald Trump.
And while some Black folks may feel like integration was ultimately beneficial, Noah argued that segregation may have actually been the best if we separate the oppressive and negative ways it affected things like the school system and other entities. His sentiments match that of other Black folks who also believe that we would be better off tending to our own gardens, businesses and society in general and separate from white folks.
Noah also cited the country of Finland as further proof of a country that’s better when its people are all unified and on one accord as to what goals they want to accomplish and the backlash that Black people faced in the aftermath in the U.S. once integration took place.
When he posed the question to Professor Benjamin, she agreed citing the fact that segregation and integration weren’t the only options and that it didn’t ultimately serve Black people to be integrated into institutions and systems that were riddled with anxiety, hierarchy and white supremacy.
Naturally, once the clip went viral on social media, many had much to say.
“Trevor Noah almost certainly lives in a nearly all white neighborhood lmao,” one user wrote on X/Twitter.
“So Trevor Noah is cancelled right? This South African and his Indian guest are agreeing with each other that Segregation is good I think he’s cancelled. Someone take his Black card away, if he got one from us when he got here,” said another user.
“Let Trevor Noah go back to South Africa and apartheid. If a white celebrity or professor promoted segregation, they would never host a Grammy, and they’ll be labeled a ‘racist’ & fired! Blacks don’t have comradery. Real connection is based on culture, mutual goals & interests,” said another.
However, there were some who took to his defense.
“MAGA is going to be posting this as ‘owning Trevor Noah’ but he brings up great points. America was so racist that integration was very complicated. That’s what he’s saying,” wrote one user.
“Trevor Noah would probably be president if he was American. He’s basically the second coming of Obama,” another user said.
“People completely missing the concepts that Trevor Noah is talking about is hilarious. Hes not saying Segregation is the answer, hes saying that INTEGRATION of a group into a system that is racially bias and structured to hold the middle and lower class down is doomed to fail,” another user said.
However, defenders of Noah’s position didn’t keep fellow comedian D.L. Hughley from chiming in and calling Noah’s opinion “the stupidest thing he’s ever heard.”
“I’ve heard enough from South Africans,” Hughley told TMZ on Tuesday. “Between Elon Musk and Trevor—I don’t need to hear about race from two dudes from South Africa.”
Despite his initial negativity, it seemed that Hughley somewhat landed in a similar position of Noah in that he also referenced the “white flight” and lack of resources that were present once Black kids were integrated into white schools and white neighborhoods.
Noah has yet to respond to the comedian.