A new video that has come to the forefront of media recently is the video Hunger Games star Amandla Stenberg did for Hype Hair Magazine called "Don't Cash Crop on my Cornrows." If you haven't seen the video yet, you can watch it here. The video speaks out about cultural appropriation that has been, if you excuse the pun, 'popping' up in pop culture recently. I realize that I am treading on shaky ground here, as cultural appropriation is not something that directly affects me, but I want to share my opinion on the topic.
First off, the definition of cultural appropriation according to Wikipedia is "the adoption of elements of one culture by members of a different cultural group, especially if the adoption is without the consent of the originating culture, and when the appropriating group has historically oppressed members of the originating culture." In simpler terms, that basically means when a group of people take things that are central to a culture and change them in ways that mock or degrade them, especially when the group adopting elements of the culture are seen as having higher privilege, or have oppressed the culture in the past.
For example, one form of cultural appropriation that people often point to is the professional football team called the Washington Redskins. There are those who argue that using a race of people as a mascot is morally wrong, takes empathy away from American Indians who have historically been grossly mistreated, and is a form of cultural appropriation. This is something I can see the argument behind and will admit is probably appropriation.
In the "Don't Cash Crop on my Cornrows" video, Stenberg eloquently describes the evolution of how white celebrities began engaging in rap, which had previously been dominated by black celebrities since it stemmed from blues/jazz, which originally stemmed from slave songs. She talks about how white rappers like Iggy Azalea and Macklemore have become mainstream rap artists. She goes on to discuss how some white artists have begun styling their hair with cornrows and even wearing grilles in their teeth. She mentions how people like Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus have used blacks as "props" in their music videos.
Right off the bat I want to say I do believe cultural appropriation is a thing and I do think it is a problem. I understand why Stenberg is unhappy with the amount of white celebrities who have used cornrows as a fashion statement when for people with black hair it is a way to keep it clean and untangled. I also understand why it bothers her when whites dress in styles that are known to be predominately black fashions for the sake of looking cool or edgy.
I myself was outraged when Kylie Jenner posed for a photoshoot in what is undeniably blackface. (blackface is when white people paint their skin black for costume, usually in theatre but in recent years the definition has expanded past that. It has happened throughout history and is highly disrespectful.) I, as an incredibly privileged straight white female, do accept that cultural appropriation is real and it's terrible.
However, I do not agree with everything Stenberg has to say. It does not seem to me that the adoption of the rap genre by white artists is appropriation in any way. Not to say it couldn't be. In the early history of rhythm and blues music/rock and roll, it was incredibly hard for black artists to become popular because of the rampant racism of the 50's and people's fear that listening to music from blacks would corrupt children and teenagers. Often, white artists would cover songs written by black artists. In this era, blacks were not getting enough recognition for their music. The tides only began to turn in 1962 when black artist Ray Charles did a cover of white artist Don Gibson's song "I Can't Stop Loving You" and it reached number one on the Billboard charts.
The problem when whites adopt black styles of music is when they take credit for it as their own and ignore the work put in by black artists. I agree that Iggy Azalea is terrible (as a rapper and as someone who participates in appropriation. See here. Also here. Oh and did I mention here.) and I think most of it is she's stealing the spotlight from black artists, while also stealing their culture.
In my choir, we are singing a song called "Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down" and it's in the style of a gospel spiritual. Many of the words are intended to be said with the accent common to slave songs. There are words spelled "cain't" or "sistuh" and that's how they are supposed to be pronounced. It is a respectful homage to old slave spirituals and the gospel style that stemmed from it. Now, the majority of this choir is made up of caucasians. There are three black girls in the choir of over 70 people. Does that mean by singing the song we are appropriating black culture? No. We are being respectful and honoring a culture that's a big part of American history.
It should be the same with rap music. White artists creating rap music should not be appropriation; in fact I don't believe it is. As long as we don't lose the history behind the genre and the respect for those who created it. As long as we don't make white rappers more famous than the black ones simply because they're white.
So that's my long opinion that took about three days to write. I understand that this is just one opinion, but I decided to state it for the world. Because that's what the internet is for, right?
Lisa
