The “Black guy on the phone” meme shows politician Martin Baker talking on his cell phone. The photo became a Black Lives Matter joke in 2014. During the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, Baker was spotted at a rally in support of police officer Darren Wilson and soon became a symbol of right-wing black men who label their own community as informants or people who otherwise side with the police.

Over time, Baker became the face of a meme about annoying or pushy people who don’t mind their own business and tell on you about every little thing. This eventually expanded to represent anyone who is somewhat of a nerd and maybe a little pushy at the same time.

What is the “Black Guy on Phone” meme?

The photo in question shows Baker wearing a blue striped collared top, glasses and khaki pants with something on his belt. He is standing with one arm crossed in front of him and the other holding his cell phone to his ear while looking at the camera. His facial expression is blank and could be interpreted as slightly sulking.

People online use the image as an exploitable meme, often in the “I if” format or to describe another person’s actions. Sometimes the image is simply paired with a made-up statement in quotation marks.

Who is the black man on the phone?

In 2014, when the photo of him on the phone first made the rounds online, Baker was the Republican primary candidate for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District. He lost to fellow Republican Daniel Elder on August 5, after suffering a similar defeat in 2012. He also lost as an independent candidate for the same seat in 2020.

However, he became famous for his participation in the rally in support of Darren Wilson after he shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson on August 9, 2014.

Origins of the meme

A thread titled “Meet the only black person who showed up at the rally for the cop who killed Mike Brown” was posted on the Lipstick Alley forum. The thread included a photo of Baker holding up a T-shirt with Wilson’s badge and smiling.

Later in the thread, another user posted the meme photo of Baker with a mocking comment:

“Hello Comcast? Yes, this is Martin Baker. I just left my friend’s house and I don’t think he pays for cable.”

Meme spread

Just days later, Twitter users started posting this photo, either to specifically attack him for what they felt was a betrayal of the black community, or as a general joke about anyone who has to make a phone call, usually for an embarrassing reason. This could include young children who have to call their mothers because they forgot their permission to go on the trip.

In later years, the meme was used to represent someone calling a person or company to harass them, perhaps to ask them to hurry up with the release of the PlayStation 5 or to stop ruining their lives with bad game of Thrones Consequences.

2017 Martin Baker sighting

Twitter user @Jay_50_Williams discovered Baker in the wild, specifically in a liquor store, in 2017. He snapped a new photo of the failed politician examining a soda bottle and posted it to his account on February 22.

The post went viral and the new image of Baker briefly became its own little meme, but never came close to the popularity of the original.

Meme examples

The internet is messy—but we break it down for you in a daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet delivered straight to your inbox.