September 7, 2016 - 02:57
A friend who I will refer to as “Murtle” and I are were walking past the campus center where a group of outwardly appearing black students and one white friend were sitting. Murtle is white and has dreads. The group of students saw Murtle and said, “Her hair is just one matted, moldy thing.” “Her entire existence is cultural appropriation.” Murtle felt really uncomfortable, guilty, fearful, and ashamed. We went inside a building and on our way out, we took a different path to avoid the group of mostly outwardly appearing black students.
As a white person who grew up in New Mexico where there are very few black people, most of the times when I saw dreads, they were on white people’s heads. My initial associations of dreads were dirtiness, people who enjoyed exploring the woods and going camping, people who didn’t shower, and “hippies.” Through observation and experience, I began to connect dreads to African American culture.
Is it inherently problematic and racist for white people to have dreads? Yes… and I know that having the same hairstyle and specific beads for a long time connect people to positive memories. Dreads can be a connection to the past and a way to observe transformation and growth. Yet, especially as white people, if we don’t have to offend, exclude, marginalize, or challenge people’s identities, especially not accepted ones, do we have a right to? Should we? What are the complications/limitations of cultural appropriation when we are always influenced by the people around us? Yet, some physical traits are strongly associated with some cultures, identities, ethnicities, and races and therefore when white people have them/ adorn them, many people seem to agree that they are being culturally appropriative. Are these people appreciating/ recognizing the conflicting/ damaging/ inspiring histories associated with these physical traits?
Should we/Murtle have confronted the people near the campus center? Should we/Murtle have asked the group why they made those comments? Would that have been insensitive and forced them to consider racism and trauma that they did not want to address or not want to address in the way that we may have unintentionally or intentionally forced them to? Was the group of students defending/ protecting their identities by calling out/ questioning Murtle’s identities and her dreads?