Content creator Carmen Jaycee (@carmenjaycee) has stirred significant online discussion following a controversial Instagram post shared on Sept. 30, where she urged Black Americans to abandon what he called a “victim mentality,” insisting that “hard work works.”
“Time to say the quiet part out loud 🚨 You’re not a victim 🙅🏾♂️ Hard work works.” The caption was accompanied by a video that included a short clip of conservative commentator Candace Owens, who said, “If you are a Black American and you are breathing in the United States today, you are the luckiest among the luckiest of Black people that have ever lived anywhere on the face of the planet.”
Jaycee echoed Owens’s sentiment in her own remarks, asserting that many Black Americans are not taking advantage of the opportunities available to them.
“Black people are not victims. They are the luckiest Black people, colored people in the world,” she said. “A lot of people would die to take your position, and you sit here and complain about it. It is absolutely disgusting.”
She continued:
“The amount of entitlement that comes out of the Black community… is just taking advantage of the very opportunities that you have—what your ancestors died for. But it’s the white man’s fault, right? Well, you tell me this—why do Caribbeans come here and outpace Black people in everything? Why do Africans come here and outpace Black people in everything?”
Jaycee concluded his remarks by arguing personal responsibility:
“America is the best chance you’ve got. So if you waste that chance, that is on you. That is not on the system. That is not on other people. That is on you. Only you are responsible for you.”
The post has since gone viral, drawing both support and criticism. Some users praised Jaycee for promoting accountability and resilience, while others accused him of dismissing systemic racism and the lived experiences of Black Americans.
“I’ve said it Years ago and they tried to give me back lash but we won the Slave lottery!” one person commented.
The debate reflects broader conversations online about race, opportunity, and the balance between personal effort and structural inequities in America.
