It is with no doubt that most white people enjoy black culture. They enjoy Hip Hop, which is predominantly an African-American genre. They also enjoy African-American cuisine and fashion. The nagging question is, do white people love the African-American population? If they do love them, why not partake in advocating against vices that are committed towards the African American population? Why wouldn’t they unite with the African-American population and chant “Black Lives Matter” This essay, therefore, sets out to answer the question “What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we love black culture?”
The main reason white people may not love black people but rather only appreciate their culture is because they get to enjoy the end product but not appreciate the processes that led to that end product (Stenberg, n.d.). For example, white people may enjoy rap music, but they don’t understand the struggles that led to the emergence of that particular genre. Hip hop or rap music which emerged from jazz and blues was a way of black people to communicate among one another during slavery and the era of black empowerment and emancipation (Stenberg, n.d.). This leads to racial appropriation i.e. white people only listen and enjoy to rap music but do not understand the significance of the genre. White musicians who have ventured into the rap scene have also been praised to better rappers than their black counterparts. Racial appropriation is the reason white people “hate” black people (Blaque, n.d.). I mean, why would you compliment a white woman with cornrows and shun a black woman having the same cornrows? Why have the double standards?
These double standards have led America to love the black culture but not black people (Stenberg, n.d.). But what if the black population felt that America did love them and not only their culture? This would herald a new era. An era that would make black people want to share their culture with other races and not view white rappers as culture vultures. They would welcome white people who wish to identify as black people and wouldn’t brand them as ‘transracial’ and dismiss them. The white population would also appreciate that cornrows are not necessarily a fashion trend, but rather a means for black women to maintain net hair. Black women would not be forced to cut their hair. Racial equality would be promoted. The opportunities given to white kids would be similar to those accorded to black kids. It would be a new dawn in the American history. A dawn that Martin Luther King Jnr. envisioned. An era that black people would pursue their dreams without anything holding them back.
References
Stenberg, A. n.d. Amandla Stenberg: Don't Cash Crop On My Cornrows. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1KJRRSB_XA
YouTube, n.d. Azealia Banks Goes Off on TI, Iggy + Black Music Being Smudged Out. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFDS-VEEl6w
Blaqoe, K. n.d. WHAT'S WRONG WITH CULTURAL APPROPRIATION? YouTube. from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuO8Z12Ri1U
