Jada and I presented on the topic of white fragility. White Fragility is a term coined by DiAngelo, author of White Fragility, to describe the “discomfort and defensiveness on the part of a white person when confronted by information about racial inequality and injustice.” Her book illustrates why it is so hard for white people to talk about racism and details the defense mechanisms white people often use when they experience discomfort surrounding race-based conversations. White fragility is characterized by feelings of anger, fear, and guilt, and it is manifested in reactions of anger and silence. These behaviors prevent cross-racial conversations about race and racism. DiAngelo proves that whites don’t see themselves in racial terms and don’t draw attention to their race or behave as if it mattered. Conversely, race is one of the first characteristics noticed by a white person when meeting a person of color. The white person links stereotypes to people of other races while denying their own involvement in the system. Because of the western ideologies of individualism (whites seeing themselves as unique beings who stand apart from others, even within their social groups) and objectivity (the idea that it is possible to be free from all bias), it becomes more difficult for white people to explore the collective aspects of the white experience. It also becomes status quo to avoid racial conversations that create discomfort, but DiAngelo argues that these open dialogues are the only way to challenge white fragility.

In our facilitated discussion, Jada and I introduced the idea of the author’s credibility. Does DiAngelo have the right to speak on behalf of the black community? An how does DiAngelo’s whiteness contribute to the the style and message of the book? What would change if the book were written by a person of color? I enjoyed our class conversations surrounding these questions because everyone held different opinions, especially in regard to the right of a white person to speak up for or on behalf of a person of color. While some students argued that whites should speak up for black people because they hold the position of societal dominance and thus may have more influence, others believed that a white person should not speak for a person of color because this perpetuates white privilege and the white person does not fully understand the perspective of the person of color.

My favorite part of the presentation was the video we showed to the class. This was the Pepsi commercial featuring Kendall Jenner that suggested that a soda can could solve racism and police brutality. The class reacted in an uproar, noting the absurdity of the commercial and its complete lack of reality. Kendall Jenner cried when she received backlash for her role in the video. I thought this connected well to DiAngelo’s theme of white women’s tears: how when white women cry over issues of race they take the necessary attention away from the act of racism itself. Kendall Jenner’s reaction detracted from the invalid message in the commercial and caused the audience to pay more attention to her than the commercial.

Following this week’s dialogue, I was left considering the ways in which white fragility contributes to white privilege and how white people can act as allies without overstepping boundaries.

The assigned readings for the discussion were “Color-Blind Ideology and the Cultural Appropriation of Hip-Hop” and the Cultural Appropriation packet. The first reading illustrated how white kids participated in the cultural appropriation of hip-hop by engaging in a color-blind ideology. The author performed a social study in which interviews about hip hop culture were conducted with white concert-goers. This reading was interesting because it exemplified how the black space shifted to a white space, and the white people in this setting used their participation in the culture to deny the reality of inequality. Hip hop was created by the black community but overtime shifted to become dominated by whites. White rappers like Eminem even began to replace black artists.

The second set of readings (from the cultural appropriation packet) discussed different ways in which cultural appropriation manifests itself today. I found it interesting to explore where the line is drawn between appreciation and appropriation, and I liked pondering which specific aspects of culture can be appropriated. For example, can Taco Bell be considered cultural appropriation because the fast food industry is “whitening” traditional dishes? I also was intrigued by the opinion articles on cultural appropriation, especially the piece called “Cultural Appropriation is a Joke,” which encouraged the cultural appropriation of Halloween costumes because the author considered this to be respectful engagement with another culture and would help the individual discover similarities across cultures. 

In our presentation to the class, Kennedi and I first defined cultural appropriation as the adoption of the customs, practices, or ideas of one group by members of another and typically more dominant people or society. There is often a power imbalance associated with cultural appropriation- the powerful take from the powerless. We then instigated a pair share in which we posed general questions to the class about the readings. Each group had a different response to which readings most intrigued them or what most surprised them in reading about cultural appropriation.

My favorite part about the facilitated discussion was the agree/disagree activity. This activity required the student to choose a side in their agreement disagreement with controversial statements. The activity sparked concerns over when cultural appropriation was okay or not okay, and I enjoyed the conversation surrounding the acceptability of cultural appropriation when a minority group appropriates the dominant group.

Kennedi and I ran out of time to finish this agree/ disagree activity, and we were not able to conclude our presentation with additional questions and other examples of cultural appropriation that we had brainstormed. I had wondered what the class would have thought about the new Barbies and American Girl dolls that are of different races, body types, and abilities/disabilities. Is this a positive change to our culture? Are we doing enough to combat whitewashing and color-blind racism? Is cultural appropriation getting better or worse over time? Or does it just change forms? These are some of the questions I left the discussion with last Wednesday. The discussion made me more aware of the ways in which our society takes from other cultures and has made me reflect on what is acceptable and what needs to change.