The Case Against Cultural Appropriation
By W. F. Twyman, Jr.
[Introduction: This essay is inspired by
I am in full agreement with the writer’s thesis. Too many are bullied due to specious accusations of cultural appropriation. However, there are areas where black Americans appropriate African culture, Ashanti slave trader garb to be more precise, at countless Juneteenth and commencement ceremonies. Should we embrace this cultural appropriation of African garb? I wonder.
The following essay is incomplete for which I apologize.]
“Happy Freedom Day!”
“I have mixed feelings about Juneteenth. Glad they were free but pissed it took so long.”
“It’s a great day to celebrate our culture and TEACH as necessary.”
And I always thought the point was to celebrate freedom. The Manuscript and Freedom Juneteenth (A Refrain) A Preliminary Defense of an Imperfect Muddle What does it mean if the point of a federal holiday is to push “our culture”? What does it mean if the point of a federal holiday is to “TEACH”? I mean, don’t we already recognize Black History for a month? Why Study Black American History? Black History Month: An Overture In the above text messages, I stumbled upon the quiet part out loud. Let’s explore the ramifications.
To Push Our Culture
Kente Cloth
As a matter of universal humanity, I do not believe the point of a federal holiday should be to “push” one culture. Cultures are organic and shifting and transient things. A federal holiday should celebrate the things that unite all of us. For example, the Declaration of Independence is an uber federal holiday as the written words of Thomas Jefferson on parchment unite us all as Americans. The Declaration is our genesis as a nation, a people. Similarly, celebration of the birthday of George Washington, the man who won the American Revolution, the man who presided over the Constitutional Convention, the man who served as our first President, serves the aim of a unifying federal holiday. The same goes for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday. His Free At Last speech is the modern equivalent of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Again, we are brought together in unity of our peoplehood. It is freedom, the most common word in Dr. King’s speech, that unifies. The same goes for Memorial Day which honors our fallen who gave the last measure of devotion in battle like my Uncle King Solomon Womack who perished far from home in Korea. Memorial Day: King Solomon Womack It is the fidelity to our nation we remember. That’s what federal holidays are for.
Federal holidays are always in service of a more perfect Union.
What happens when federal holidays are manipulated in service of pushing a culture? Before we can answer this question, we must define what we mean by culture. My observation of the human condition (a tip of the hat to my young writer friend) suggests culture has an unbending and unyielding definition. Culture is a performative use of kente cloth. Presentation of kente cloth on a hallway table, for example, signifies pride in one’s race, one’s tribe, one’s Blackness. I am always annoyed with these unexamined displays of Black consciousness. Did you know that kente cloth is the garb of the Ashanti slave trader? kente cloth The Ashanti wore the kente cloth like a toga. These are the same Ashanti people who were heavily invested in the Atlantic slave trade. Don’t believe me — believe AI:
The Ashanti Empire, located in present-day Ghana, was heavily involved in the Atlantic slave trade, both as traders and as a source of enslaved people. They acquired slaves through warfare and tribute from conquered peoples, and then traded them to European powers for goods like guns and textiles. The Ashanti used slaves in various capacities within their own society, including labor in mines and agriculture, and also as porters and guides in trade networks.
The colors of the Ashanti slave trading people are used to celebrate American freedom for American slaves. Am I missing something? It is like a bad joke which shows the depths of an unexamined life among many black Americans.
So, we are pushing “our culture” by decorating a table at church on Juneteenth with the kente cloth of the slave trader?
I offer several possible explanations for the unexamined life. First, people go along to get along. Kente cloth became popular during the Civil Rights movement as a way to get back at the Man. No one apparently cared to the research the connection of kente cloth to the slave trader. I have found that, for those for whom Blackness is extremely important or very important, the critical faculties shut down. Love for kente cloth becomes impervious to reason. Second, people want to cling to something to show heritage. I get it. Italians have Italy. The Irish have Ireland. Even the Powhatan Indians have the James River. Descendants of American slaves look back to Africa and see what? Indigenous slave traders. Not particularly interesting. So, one latches upon kente cloth which looks nice and comes from Africa and the reasoning process stops right there. Look a little deeper, I suggest. Hold the Ashanti slave trader to the same exacting standards some of you hold the Founding Fathers. Third, there is way more to one’s heritage than Sub-Saharan Africa and kente cloth. I am thinking of a family member who is more Irish than anything else. How often does this family member celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the same intensity and gusto as she celebrates Juneteenth? I know a family member whose family tree can be traced to King Malcom III, King of the Scots. Pretty neat. Never has this family member shown the slightest interest in a Scottish lineage, just performative wearing of the kente cloth of the slave trader.
Malcolm III, King of Scotland
I urge scholars, intellectuals and writers to explore why some black Americans embrace the kente cloth of the slave trader with euphoria while suppressing any remembrance of a Scottish past. Even Alex Haley recognized his Scottish roots. Roots Author Had Scottish Blood It seems to be a common form of psychological disorder to me. King Malcolm III of Scotland was not trading slaves to the New World. The Ashanti in their kente cloth grab were trading black slaves. Just saying.
I am not original at this point. AI has done a fine job of cataloging the pitfalls of pushing a culture. Allow me to review salient consequences of pushing our culture through the guise of a federal holiday.
Demoralization of the Individual
Loss of Individualism
Burnout & Disengagement
Pressure to Conform
Emotional Suppression
Lack of Cultural Sensitivity
Misinterpretation and Misunderstanding
Hinders Open Debate
Stifled Creativity
Negative Consequences for Marginalized Subcultures
To TEACH Our Culture
Conclusion: I support Juneteenth as a federal holiday celebration of freedom. In this regard, I am authentic. Juneteenth is an imperfect muddle but I can muster up a preliminary defense. I do not support manipulation of any holiday to push cultural agendas. If there are over 40 million black Americans, there are over 40 million stories, experiences and perspectives. There is no one culture to be pushed on us all. There is just manipulation, dogma, slogan words, and the warm embrace of kente cloth prized by the slave trader.
Do we not see the cultural appropriation for ill?
Good evening!