I began this book last week and would love to have discussions based on the prompts provided within the book. The book is set up so that after each day's reading, there are a handful of prompts to respond to. Feel free to respond to as many or as few as you like. I would love for this to be a discussion and a place where we can learn and grow together. Please be honest, because that is the only way anything will change.
Additionally, I have been compiling a list of books under the #BlackLivesMatter Reading List tab. I am usually adding books daily that I find, or are recommended by others. Please leave a comment on that page if you have titles to add. I hope you can find titles on this list that you will learn from as well.
Day Thirteen Prompts
Cultural Appropriation - the adoption or exploitation of another culture by a more dominant culture, such as its objects, symbols, motifs, rituals, artifacts, and other cultural elements (definitions at 45 and 46%)
1. How have you or do you appropriate from nonwhite cultures?
2. What actions have you taken when you have seen other white people culturally appropriating? Have you called them out? Or have you used your white silence?
3. Have you been called out for cultural appropriation? How did you respond?
4. How have you profited (socially or financially) from cultural appropriation?
5. How have you excused cultural appropriation as being "not that bad"? How do you feel about it now having done thirteen days of this work?
Let's talk!
Sarah
I recently had a conversation with a few of my gay friends about this. We talked about how many aspects of gay culture or gay stereotypes are actually the appropriation of black women. It is interesting to reckon with that part of myself. Something as simple as calling each other girl stems from another culture.
ReplyDeleteThat is something I never thought about before! I call Eleanor 'girl' all the time, but that came from the website A Mighty Girl and after a while I went from saying, 'Hey Mighty Girl' to just 'girl'. But I have also used it with my students in the past, some of whom were Black. I had never thought about it coming from the appropriation of Black women, because a handle of my closest friends at that time when I started saying it were gay men. So I appropriated it from gay men who appropriated it from Black women. So much work to do, but I'm glad you are having these conversations, that is my biggest hope through all of this, that we all have these 'AHA!' moments. Thank you for sharing!
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