Viral Texas Student Nifa Kaniga Joins Rainn Wilson To Talk Not Returning To “Normal”

As we continue to address racial injustice in America, Nifa Kaniga - a Texas-based college student who recently made news for holding a sign that reads "ask me anything" to prompt uncomfortable conversations with his community, joins Rainn Wilson on his weekly Instagram Live series with SoulPancake "Hey There, Human."

In his first interview since going viral, the two discuss not returning to "normal" but instead a reality where policies and attitudes reflect the current push towards racial justice. Interview highlights include:

• Nifa on why he wants to have these conversations - "I may not change everyone's mind. The reason I did this, my opinion is not the law, my opinion holds a little bit more weight because a lot of people don't have access to the experience of what a Black person has been through. You can end up in an echo chamber of hearing the same opinions, the same stories. I came out to challenge people to seek another perspective."

• Nifa explains the benefits of prompting face to face discussion - "What's missing is paying attention to nuance and empathy. If people started having empathy for each other. You don't have to agree with what somebody is saying but try to understand where they are coming from and why they have those opinions."

• Nifa shares what we can do to not return to "normal" - "Don't hold Black people responsible to talk about their experiences. I'm doing this because I want to educate and this is something I can do. Use the people who are willing to talk about it."

Tune in: New episodes of "Hey There, Human" stream live at 12pm PT every Tuesday and Thursday on the @SoulPancake Instagram channel.

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