Snapshot: North

America
By Prof. Jet Castillo
Racism and the History of
Planking
By Jet Castillo
Who are the African-Americans whom you
admire?
Have you ever wondered why African-
Americans excel, particularly in sports?
• Mainly because of their genes.

• And PLANKING also has something to do with it.

Planking began during the Age of
Imperialism
• Europeans discovered new lands and
colonized them.
• Beginning in the 15th century.
Planking began during the Age of
Imperialism
• The Europeans put up plantations of
sugar, cotton, etc. but they didn’t want to
work in the fields.
Planking began during the Age of
Imperialism
• So they went to Africa and took
natives to work as slaves in their
plantations.
The Africans were forcibly transported on sailing ships from
Africa to America.

• This is called the

Trans-Atlantic Slave
Trade
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

• They were
loaded in the
ships in the
planking
position, one
on top of
another
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
• Many died in the journey.
• The strongest ones were the ones
who survived the trip.
The Trans-Atlantic Slave
Trade
• The survivors of
the Trans-
Atlantic trips
worked as
slaves in the
homes and
plantations of
the colonialists.
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
• They were the great, great, great
grandparents of the famous
African-Americans today.
Now in the Modern Times…
1997
• Two British youngsters, Gary Clarkson (15 years old) and Christian
Langdon (12 years old), invented the Lying Down Game, out of
boredom.
2007
• It didn’t gain much popularity back then until facebook was invented
and they posted pictures of their “game” 10 years later.
 Beginning 2007
• The lying down game spread like wildfire from UK to the rest of the
world.
 Beginning 2007

• The lying down game took many names

in different countries: Playing Dead
(Korea), Facedowns (US), Lying on the
Belly (France), and PLANKING
(Australia).
• Planking became a world-wide craze.
• Celebrities did it (including Justin Bieber and
Ellen Page).
• Even New Zealand’s Prime Minister’s son did planking (with the
support of his father).
• But for some people, planking is
not a funny thing.
• African-American rapper Xzibit
condemns it and calls it a “racist”
act, an insult to their race.
• Planking has claimed its first casualty last May 15, 2011 when
Australian Actor Beale fell from the 7th floor of a building.
 In the Philippines
• Like in the rest of the world,
planking is popular among young
people.
 In the Philippines
• There are planking groups in key
universities like UP, DLSU, UST
and Ateneo.
Now…
Malayans, in the light of all these, what are
we to do?