*Things got physical at a recent graduation ceremony between a black college graduate and a white administrator who allegedly wouldn’t allow her to “have her moment.”
This all went down on June 21 at La Guardia Community College in Queens, New York. Kadia Iman, a digital creator with an OnlyFans account and more than 18,000 followers on TikTok, according to the New York Post, is shown in the viral video tussling with the white woman over the microphone and yelling to her, “Let go!”
As stunned parents looked on, Kadia got full command of the microphone and continued: “You didn’t let me get my moment, so I wanna say my name is Kadia Johnson Diallo and I’m graduating today. I don’t like how you snatched the mic out of my hand, so today is going to be all about me!”
Kadia then spikes the microphone and storms off to accept her diploma. A bystander is heard saying, “Oh! Drops the mic! … Congratulations!”
In a follow up TikTok, Kadia explained that the woman was holding the microphone for graduates in the procession to say their names before heading to the stage to accept their diplomas. Kadia claims that the administrator was allowing white graduates to say all kinds of “extras,” while Black students were being cut short.
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“Basically, what happened was I was walking on and we had to say our names before we get on the stage,” Kadia says in the clip. “So I was saying my name and she literally — my name is long, obviously, I have like three syllables in my name. So, I didn’t even get to finish saying my name, and then the people that went before me, they all got to say their name, their major, and even extras.”
“Me and another girl noticed that she was pulling the mic down super fast for some Black people. I don’t want to be that person, but … that was the tea. So I just couldn’t let her … I just couldn’t let that happen. I just feel like I worked so hard to graduate and went through so much s–t to graduate that I just felt like I had to reclaim my moment. I’m sorry. I’m not a problematic person. I don’t want to ruin no one’s day. I don’t want to violate anybody, but that’s what she did. She didn’t even let me finish speaking. She put the mic down, cut me off, and that was the only time I was able to speak.”
Watch both the original and follow up videos below:
The school has since responded in a statement giving its side of the viral moment. Manny Romero, Vice President of Communications and External Affairs, explained:
“Our June 21st Commencement was a culmination of a lot of hard work and collaboration from LaGuardia faculty and staff volunteers who created a welcoming space for graduates to be recognized and for them to celebrate with their loved ones. An incident occurred involving one graduate who demonstrated their frustration during the student procession for not being able to hold the microphone while they announced their name. As a process for keeping the ceremony running in an orderly manner, students are given the opportunity to say their name while a volunteer holds the microphone. None of the students are allowed to hold the microphone to avoid any delay of the student procession and the ceremony. At LaGuardia, we take pride in providing our students with the academic, emotional, and developmental support they need to be successful inside and outside of the classroom. We also encourage a safe and respectful learning and working environment for our students, faculty, and staff. We regret that the student’s disruptive and inappropriate behavior impacted the celebration for graduates and guests. Her mistreatment of a staff volunteer was unacceptable.”
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