Are white people still white people?

[Tony74]

I cannot tell how many times I seen white people act as if they are black. They ride around blasting rap music. I mean hardcore rap music with extemely explicit lyrics to the songs. They some times talk and a few dress as if they are black. When they look in the mirror, do they know they are still white? They can hang around as many black people as they want. They will never be black. Vice versa for black people who try to portray themselves as white.

[Thuso]

Tony, Your comment reminds me of thoughts I have develped about what FREEDOM is. It means any of us can "act" as we please, whenever it pleases us. As it relates to those whites that you have observed "acting Black", it is just what you say -- acting -- like whatever the popular culture dictates at the moment.

Blacks are also FREE to "act" in ways that bring them some form of satisfaction -- wearing big afros, dreadlocks, or straightening our hair; sagging our pants, wearing streetwalker platform heels, or dressing in a Brooks Brothers $1500.00 suits.

"Acting" is different than "being." At the end of the day, our act ends and we return to being who we are when we look in the mirror tomorrow morning. When I worked in corporate America, I adopted the customs and practices of my employer when I was at work. It was necessary to succeed in that environment. But that was NOT completely who I was. I could "act" differently when I was hanging out with my homies, or visiting my relatives. None of us are insects. We have the capacity to adapt to our environment to survive, or thrive.

Inside all of us -- the whites that you observe, and Blacks also -- is a set of core values, norms, attitudes, and perspectives that are shaped by our developmental environments. Few people see who we really are, because we have to be adaptable to get through the day. Only those who know us well really know who we are. Our skin color, or the way we talk or walk or wear certain clothes don't define who we are. These are only outward manifestations of how we are adapting at the moment.

The best advice I have heard in this regard is "Don't believe the Hype." What we project is in many ways our "hype" -- short for hyperbole (an exaggerated expression of reality). What you are seeing is NOT white people trying to be Black, NOR Black people trying to be white. These are all coping mechanisms employed to get certain people through the day. The danger comes when we lock into certain stereotypes and lose sight of who we really are.

We must FREE our thinking from these stereotypes so that we don't become victims of our own mental enslavement. It is self-defeating to wake up thinking "I have to act this way because I am Black." Or worse, "I am this way because I am Black." We must be able to reflect on our culture and adapt to new realities, while building on the foundation of our cultural heritage.

I didn't mean to become overly analytical. But one of our historical scholars, Carter G. Woodson, warned us about this type of thinking in "The Mis-Education of the Negro."

[Tony74]

I don't mind the over analysis. Very well put. I come from an environment that thinks this way, so it is all I have ever known.

[ADickson]

That's how they steal our culture.

[Thuso]

Art,
I want to comment on your observation, "That's how they steal our culture."

The reality is that they cannot steal our culture. There is a saying that "imitation is the highest form of flattery." When we see others imitate our cultural elements, it is a form of flattery -- whether it is imitating our music, mannerism, language, or other elements of our being. Rarely do they understand the underlying cultural roots. Those roots are ours alone. When we embrace our roots, strength and unity emerge to make us better. Everything else is an imitation of life.

A good reason to celebrate Black History Month is to reconnect and embrace our cultural roots. If we forget our history -- and the courage, perseverance, and strength to overcome the suffering of our past -- then we have only ourselves to blame if we lose our culture. No one can steal it, but we can lose our way if we forget our history and our cultural roots.