Cultural Appropriation of African American Essay Example

the Hopi and Pueblo Native Americans (Lindtner, Silvia, Anderson, and Dourish 12). The Pueblo and Hopi communities complained that these dances were mimicking their culture and were insensitive to their culture. Such cases continue to emerge today as each community acquires a greater pride in their culture.
Cultural appropriation has been discussed in many public forums. Proponents of the debate argue that minority communities face a risk of losing their cultures to the bigger and more influential communities. For instance, they argue that African-American musicians face the risk of losing their ownership of art and music productions to the more influential and advantaged whites. Regarding this, the proponents of the debate argue that the African-Americans come from a history of oppression by the whites. In the same sense, Latinos and Indians have a bad history with the whites. Still, there are some aspects of their cultures such as music and art that have remained popular among the white population. For instance, the term ‘wigger’ is used to refer to a white rapper who adopts African- American behavior. The term was coined from ‘white’ and ‘nigger’. ‘wiggers’ are considered by some as lacking in cultural identity. However, the critics of such behavior refuse to acknowledge that the individuals are conveying their feelings and personality in how they carry themselves, and they have every right to do so.

Proponents of the debate of cultural appropriation unconsciously base their arguments on economic rather than cultural history. Regarding this, the feeling of a right to ownership of culture is often based on the fear of loss of economic influence. For instance, the conflict between white and African-American rappers is often based

on the history of slavery and oppression. African-American musicians remain conscious of the history of slavery, keeping in mind that their community was used to generate power and influence for the white oppressors (Young 18). Presently, most of the recording labels that African-Americans record their music are owned by whites. These memories are prone to create a tension in the modern association between the two communities. Despite efforts to coexist peacefully with the majority white population, minority communities are conscious of the fact that they were once slaves. Hence, any thought of a recurrence of such events is greatly dreaded and avoided. Though most of these communities do not mind living in the white neighborhoods, they feel that their independence and personal liberties lay in their identity to their cultures. Hence, they are greatly irritated when they lose this aspect of their identity to the dominant community.

Proponents of the cultural appropriation debate argue that the emerging trends of cultural appropriation have the potential to create tension among the minority communities because they remind them of the bad history they have had with the dominant communities. On the other hand, opponents of the debate argue that though this may be the case, the solution of cultural identity theft does not lie with creating barriers to the freedom of speech and expression. Regarding this, the opponents argue that telling a community what to do or how to carry themselves is similar to setting boundaries to their freedom of expression. In the end, the people will break these social constraints. Further, it is notable that for there to be peaceful coexistence communities must learn to appreciate each other

through their diverse cultures. Nguyen notes that the problem of cultural appropriation has became so big that “people would rather fight over things like food…that people would rather build walls that bridges” (1). What Nguyen means is that the people have become so conscious and sensitive with their cultures that they use their cultural diversity as an instigator of violence rather than peace. Regarding this, the societies today are characterized by who owns what cultures and who is adopting a culture that is not theirs.

Susan Scafidi is one of the opponents of the cultural appropriation debate. In Who Owns Culture?: Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law, Scafidi strongly criticizes views that cultures are stolen through such things as art and dance. She believes that the accusations of cultural appropriation are ignited by individuals who do not have interests in peaceful coexistence.
“The abstraction of a dance rhythm from its cultural lifeworld, whether via a market system or an intellectual property system that permits unfettered copying, may not severely harm either the source community or the cultural product itself. By contrast, the appropriation of a secret or sacred cultural product is much more likely to cause damage” (Scafidi 9).

Hence, it is appetent that criticizes the view that adopting a dance or artifact from another community would result to a danger in their coexistence. As some proponents of cultural appropriation would insinuate, such actions harbor hatred and eventually, violence. However, statistics of cultural violence tell a different story. For instance, a report by the World Health Organization named "Changing cultural and social norms that support violence" noted that most culturally based cases of violence result from social norms

(7). Hence, creating a social standard that sets a limited cultural constraint has a bigger potential of creating violence than encouraging the adoption of liberal cultures. Still, as Scafidi notes it is important to avoid cultural adoptions that would provoke violence through disclosing a secret or sacred aspect of the community.

Nguyen outlines a list of events and reactions that show how the issue of cultural appropriation has been exaggerated. Nguyen states that some of these reactions include students of color who would consider bad sushi as a cultural insult by the school. She thus questions the issue, asking the question of “who owns culture?” However, to answer this question o0ne would have to understand culture in its deeper meaning. That is, is it possible for someone to say that they own a certain way of living. If so, does the law have provisions over how one can stop someone from “stealing” their culture? All these questions will help to understand the complex issue of cultural appropriation. Williams argues that while some people would believe that they belong to a certain cultural enclosure, other people prefer to live a more liberal life that does not limit their abilities (28). Hence, it is arguably wrong to discriminate this latter group by setting constraints in the form of which culture is their and which is not. However, achieving this peaceful inter-cultural coexistence requires commitment and understanding from all members of the society. As Nguyen points out people must learn to question the existence of cultural appropriation. Nguyen points out that people must learn to recognize the history of economic appropriation, which is the cause of cultural appropriation.

Cultures fight

the wrong battle of cultural appropriation without recognizing that the real cause of their conflicts is not culture-related but economic-related. Further, it is notable that political institutions and processes have relied upon the organization of cultures and identities. Political aspirants use these divisions to garner support, but later they fail to put out the fire they helped to start (Young 14). Over time, these political strategies have advanced, and the result is obvious. Cultural groups have gradually attained stronger identities and ownership rights of these identities. While politicians benefit from these cultural divisions, the societies repeatedly suffer because they fail to coexist and support each other.

Conclusion

Cultural appropriation is a relatively sensitive issue in the contemporary world. Due to the existence of the world as a global village, cultures have spread and mingled in an extent that had not been witnessed before. Though this association is good for growth and development, it creates problems that make it difficult for communities to peacefully coexist. Particularly, the issue of cultural identity has raised a lot of concern. Communities have gradually acquired the belief that they own certain cultures, and the adoption of these cultures by other communities is not taken lightly. The seriousness of this problem is evident from the frequent cases of culture-related violence. It is notable that while one may belong to a certain culture they do not have exclusive rights to the practices specified by that culture. Hence, the growing concern for cultural appropriation is greatly exaggerated. Still, culture is an integral element of any community. Without a culture, a community is deemed irrelevant and at times insignificant. However, cultural identity should not be used

as a means of dividing people but rather an element of diversification.

Works Cited

1. Lindtner, Silvia, Ken Anderson, and Paul Dourish. "Cultural appropriation: information technologies as sites of transnational imagination." Proceedings of the ACM 2012 conference on computer supported cooperative work. ACM, 2012.
2. Nguyen, Viet. Arguments over the Appropriation of culture have deep roots. Los Angeles Times (September 26, 2016). Retrieved from; http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca- jc-appropriation-culture-20160926-snap-story.html
3. Scafidi, Susan. Who Owns Culture?: Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press, 2005. Print.
4. Williams, Catelyn. "media; the issues that come with cultural appropriation; and how we can possibly move forward from an issue that has been prevalent for years. Though cultural appropriation can affect many." (2015).
5. World Health Organization. "Changing cultural and social norms that support violence." (2009).
6. Young, James O., and Conrad G. Brunk. The ethics of cultural appropriation. John Wiley & Sons, 2012.