Voting Station

Toya Graham

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Internet Personality

The Resume

    Born in United States
    Resides in Baltimore, Maryland
    Inner city West Baltimore mother filmed physically disciplining her son after catching him taking part in masked anti-police riots (Apr. 29, 2015)
    Footage subsequently went viral on social media and cable news, garnering millions of views on YouTube within hours

Why she might be annoying:

    She was nicknamed 'the mom in yellow' and 'mom of the year.'
    She also inspired the trending Twitter hashtag, #HeroMom.
    She might have been named after LaToya Jackson.
    Her overnight fame from smacking her son reinforced the stereotype of the 'Angry Black Woman.'
    She admitted to being an overly-protective parent (at times keeping her children indoors for the whole day).
    Some media outlets and pundits said that if she had disciplined her son the same way in another venue, it would have warranted a call to CPS on charges of child abuse.
    On the opposite end of the spectrum, arguments surfaced saying that she proved the only way to get through to rowdy black kids is to 'smack the hell out of them.'
    She was adopted as a cause celebre by the American Right, even after it became clear that her actions were motivated by fear that her son would be the next black teen killed by the police (the opposite of their argument).

Why she might not be annoying:

    She grew up in virtual poverty and saw her home burn down as a child.
    Her mother dropped dead of a brain aneurysm.
    She had previously found a dying shooting victim near her home after hearing the gunshots and going to help (Aug. 2014).
    She loves her children enough to move them out of harm's way without caring what people say about her.
    She inspired a funny New York Post cover reading 'Forget the National Guard... Send in the Moms!'
    Her angry, visceral reaction was a breath of fresh air to many Americans wondering wear the #BlackLivesMatter protestors' parents were.
    She was emotionally set off when she caught her son throwing rocks at police officers with other protesters (she had told him to come straight home).
    Oprah Winfrey called her to congratulate her and tell her she 'I understood why you did what you did.'
    She was singled out by Baltimore's Police Commissioner, who told the press 'I wish I had more parents who took charge of their kids tonight.'
    Her son was subjected to racist cyber-bullying attacking him as everything from 'a thug' to 'a wanksta' to 'a mama's boy.'
    She said 'to stand up there and vandalize police officers, that’s not justice. I’m a single mom, and I have six children, and I just choose not to live like that no more, I don’t want that for him.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 19 Votes: 10.53% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 16 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 26 Votes: 7.69% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 34 Votes: 35.29% Annoying