Ok, so this video has gone viral of two students (one "White" wearing dreadlocks, the other a Black girl with a 'fro) arguing. The Black girl is accusing the White dude of "cultural appropriation"...for wearing dreadlocks.
The video is only 47 seconds long, but incredibly cringeworthy
Now, cultural appropriation (really cultural genocide) is part of systemic White Supremacy. What can't be destroyed is suppressed and erased. How many racist fans of rock music are there? How many of those fans realize that Rock n Roll was "N*gger music" before Elvis? Not many. Hell, not even many Black people do. That's what cultural appropriation does. it erases. Not everyone has this power in our society.
Hair in particular with Black women is an issue and has been an issue, because White Supremacy not only requires loving the image of Whiteness, but hating the image of Blackness.
Watch this video to get a brief history lesson and the politics of Black hair.
Why is image important? Because anti-Blackness is the foundational fulcrum of White Supremacy.
Anti-Blackness is also a part of Black culture. Sound crazy? Why do you think skin bleaching is a billion dollar business...in Africa? Look at rappers music videos...most of the featured women look like this: light skin, straight hair.
It's internalized White Supremacy. It's also an essential part of human psychology. No one wants to be on the bottom of the totem pole.
Cultural Appropriation requires a lot of systemic power. Look at the media's attempt to brand corn rows...as "Boxer Braids".
It's not "new and innovative"...this is Khloe Kardashian in 2016 and Ciara in 2009.
There are lots of Black women who were once Black girls who's mothers permed their hair, straightened it and damaged it until they have to wear wigs / weaves / extensions the rest of their lives because natural "nappy" Black hair was frowned upon.
Black people were taught to hate themselves and it's slowly being unlearned and that's a good thing unless you become an idiot about it like the chick in this video.
See...race is a social construct. At one point the Irish weren't considered "White"
UFC's biggest star, blond haired, blue eyed Ronda Rousey is the spitting image of her Great-Grandfather (her Mom's Grandpa) who also happens to be Dr Alfred E. Waddell one of the first black doctors in North America
Ditto Barack Obama who's the spitting image of his "White" Grandfather
When people start talking about race and what belongs to whom, it's often coming from ignorance...because the very concept of race as a biological surety is fallacious. This girl's ignorance also spreads to the fact that White people have also been wearing dreads for thousands of years, hell anyone who doesn't comb their hair, it will eventually form into dreads. These are Hindu holy men who don't comb or cut their hair.
Hundreds of years of White Supremacy and cultural genocide have Black people (and everyone else) hating "Blackness" so reclaiming the beautiful parts about you is important. There's a reason why TV watching reduces the self esteem of everyone except White males. Often the "ideal" image doesn't reflect anyone else because of long standing inequities and norms.
Tone deaf people that screamed "racism" when the hashtags #BlackGirlsRock & #BlackGirlMagic started trending clearly missed this point as did everyone who didn't understand Formation by Beyonce. It was an unapologetic celebration of Blackness, by a woman who's own beauty is on the far end of the beauty she's celebrating. No one thinks Jackson 5 nostrils & afros when they think of Beyonce.
Now, I'm all for Black empowerment (hi, I'm Black™) and while you may know me as KenBryan™ when I leave my house, I'm just another N*gger to some people...ask the dude that spit in my face in December because I wouldn't let him call Asian kids racist slurs.
You can't have true equality with two unequal parts. But what I'm NOT for is Black Supremacy. I don't want to replace White Racism with Black Racism. I don't want to replace White ignorance with Black ignorance.
This girl is clearly ignorant (of history and "her culture") and using "cultural appropriation" to bully this young man and justify her bigotry.
And while fighting for equality is noble, if you're going to be fighting for something...know what you're fighting for or else you're just a bigoted zealot who needs to STFU. Like this chick.
KB