Whiteness of Blacks and Appropriation

            The other day, I was joking with one of my friends, black of course, about another black guy who was playing a game of basketball. He was not very good. In fact, he missed every shot he took and was not athletic at all. We jokingly called him “a white black guy” and laughed it off, but he could not hear us. Later, I realized that what we did was not only wrong and unjust, but was also perpetuating a stigma that ultimately should be erased. Going to a magnet, high academic middle school, private high school, and landing ultimately here at Rhodes, I have been exposed to many cultures and diversities, including ones like I saw shooting basketball earlier this week, but clearly have not accepted those differences fully.

            Through my experience, I have encountered what people call “proper black” or “white, black people”. It’s a common term that people use when describing a black girl or boy who is not only educated, but speaks properly, and embraces their white friends’ lifestyles and cultures. These people who have done nothing wrong, have ultimately been the brunt of a term that not only discriminates, but also is inherently racist. The term ignores that person’s background or childhood, and solely expects a certain stereotype based on their blackness. However, when these people defy and negate those expectations, the term is instantly in full effect.

            Black people unfortunately, are not the only group who faces this issue. If a white person hangs with black people, dresses in certain clothes, raps a song, does a certain dance move, uses slang, and carries him or herself in a particular fashion, he or she is sought to be “appropriating” or “imitating” a culture that is not innate to him or her. He or she is also expected to act in a certain way, but when he or she does not, just like blacks, the racist, descriminatory terms begin to fly. This does not seem practical or ethical, but is in fact the reality. But why is it the case?

            It could be to the predetermined idea that just because the races mix does not mean their cultures have to. All individuals that ultimately feel a deep attachment to a pride in their culture carry out this notion. I am a guilty member of these people who would rather see my “brother” act like my “brother” and nothing else. We do not think it is right for one person to act outside of the stereotypes that we place them under, when ultimately it is not their reality. So, how do we fix this problem? We can only learn to accept the intermingling of cultures, to try to eliminate the negative stereotypes, and derogatory terms, so when I do see that kid in the gym not running as fast or jumping as high, I am not quick to place him under an umbrella of discrimination.