A US podcaster has called for a “mass exodus” of Black Americans to Africa in response to the conviction of 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony for the murder of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, sparking widespread mockery and a fierce online backlash even from within the Black community.
Speaking on his Larry Reid Live podcast, Atlanta-based host Larry Reid said: “I want you to begin to think about this America and the white people problem that we have… As a collective, let’s drain this place of its benefits and make our mass exodus and go home and build.” He went on to describe Africa as Black Americans’ true “home,” telling viewers that “civil rights did not make white people that are infected with whiteness stop being racist,” according to footage shared by Breitbart News and widely circulated on X.
The comments came in direct response to Tuesday’s verdict in the Karmelo Anthony case. A Collin County jury, which deliberated for under three hours, convicted Anthony of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a Frisco track meet in April 2025, sentencing him to 35 years in prison with parole eligibility after roughly 17.5 years. Anthony had admitted stabbing Metcalf once in the chest with a utility knife after a confrontation inside a tent belonging to Metcalf’s team, but argued he had acted in self-defence against a larger aggressor. The jury rejected both that claim and an argument of “sudden passion.” Anthony has filed an appeal.
Reid’s comments drew an immediate and largely critical response online. Many commenters pointed out that the overwhelming majority of Black Americans have deep multigenerational roots in the United States, and noted the significant governance, infrastructure and economic challenges facing many African nations — challenges that have themselves driven substantial emigration out of the continent in recent decades. Others drew comparisons to historic “Back to Africa” movements, including that led by Marcus Garvey in the early twentieth century, which failed to achieve significant scale.
The episode unfolded against the backdrop of a trial that drew sustained national attention for its racial dimensions. Both supporters of Anthony and supporters of Metcalf gathered outside the Collin County Courthouse throughout proceedings, and at least two arrests were made outside the courthouse following the verdict as tensions flared. Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, told reporters after the sentencing that the case had “never been about race,” adding: “It’s about right and wrong.”
Reid’s remarks have since been picked up across a wide range of outlets spanning the political spectrum, including Townhall, WCBM News-Talk Radio and Alex Jones Live, fuelling further debate about race, justice and rhetoric in the aftermath of one of the most closely watched criminal trials in the United States this year.
