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This been real for a long time. You look in the studio with these white pop artists you'll see black r&b singers helping them fine tune it.
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Thoughts?
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I call it appropriation, even if there's an attempt to understand the history, I think it's disingenuous to walk around in a dashiki and etc. when that's not the culture you were raised in or one even close. I don't question ppl tho, I let em cook.
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I agree. When the dashiki trend came around I was ready to go find me the flyest one but after looking online I learned that most of those prints and patterns aren't actually traditional and aren't rooted in Africa. Stopped there. Gonna find me a African shop around here and pick out some threads
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of course there is a distinction between seeking genuine knowledge & following a trend, but many people's way into the former is through the latter, which is to say for most people the trend is the introduction & for some that leads to deeper investigation...and it goes both ways how many africans are really interested in cultural exchange beyond the superficial in american culture? in general people have a limited bandwidth for information, so i don't know how far that expectation could go? we live in a world (at least in the industrialized world) where so much is available, should we all be sourcing the origins of everything we come across & acknowledge/give homage to them each time we use or encounter such things? i don't know something even at a smaller degree play out???
once something is put out into the world, it is really very difficult to control how that something will be consumed or interpreted. in a free society there is not much anyone can (or should) do really to stop people from wearing or "appropriating" the symbols of culture...but you'd hope, that both sides would be open & respectful to the conversation of how culture is consumed, that neither would just dismiss the other...
definitionally, yes but as long as the person isn't fronting, i don't see it as disingenuous...given how culture can be not only so amorphous but also so commodified, it just seems unrealistic to attach a negattive connotation to it what ultimately has been by and large a good thing (although this prolly depends on one's perspective)...yes it is unfortunate that some have been able to profit by "taking" from cultures they were not a part of without compensating or even mentioning the og source but 1) i don't know how that would be solved, and 2) i think that it is cool that people can appreciate other people's culture to the point that they would want to take part in it, even if it is a small/superficial as just wearing the clothing...
i guess the other part is of this historical, like how things get appropriated and oft times eventually claimed by the appropriators...i think that is a problem for history to sort out...
so real question: why does this matter to you? if the patterns were traditional but not made by africans, would that be ok?
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- Jun 9, 2014
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It's less genuine than expected. I liked the dashiki style more when I thought there was an attachment to Africa and after learning that it didn't it lost some it's significance.
Just to be clear I'm not saying that it's a problem but that it was less desirable to me. But no that wouldn't make much of a difference for me. I'd rather have something more traditional
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I get what you're saying but I would be annoyed to see someone of another race or culture wearing African symbolism and trying to pass it off as appreciation when it's very much a superficial claim... People can do what they want but I don't like it
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you/people have the right to be annoyed seeing (their) "culture" commodified, but i don't think people can/should jump to conclusion(s) about why someone choose a particular "appropriation" without having the discussion...it could be opportunity to learn/teach something
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It's funny to read this because even in Africa, the colorful prints (Vlisco wax) used in every day clothing often come from Holland, and we don't really think about that when we visit the tailor. If we like it, it's getting worn.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/...where_do_tribal_prints_really_come_from_.html
If we're gonna talk original, traditional African fabric, we have to look at things like Ghanaian Kente, Ndebele blankets (and other traditional fabrics from Southern Africa), Ndop (Western Cameroon), Sawa cloth, bazin (popular all over Western Africa), etc... Some are more accessible than others, and most are still used in formal attire.
Found this preview of a book about African textiles while looking for pics to post:
https://books.google.com/books?id=z...Bx8Q6AEIVTAL#v=onepage&q=nigeria ndop&f=false
...So
formerly beyondmeasure
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The Oldest HBCU in America Is on the Brink of Closing
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, the oldest historically black college in the nation, may be forced to close its doors for good. The school was founded in 1837 by Richard Humprehy, a Quaker philanthropist born on a plantation in the West Indies. Despite its rich history and roots, the 180-year-old institution has faced a barrage of financial and academic challenges for decades. Today, its enrollment has dwindled to 755 students, nearly half what it was in 2010. Meanwhile, students that do attend are often buried with debt and struggle to graduate within six years.
http://www.blackenterprise.com/education/oldest-hbcu-brink-closing-cheyney/
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, the oldest historically black college in the nation, may be forced to close its doors for good. The school was founded in 1837 by Richard Humprehy, a Quaker philanthropist born on a plantation in the West Indies. Despite its rich history and roots, the 180-year-old institution has faced a barrage of financial and academic challenges for decades. Today, its enrollment has dwindled to 755 students, nearly half what it was in 2010. Meanwhile, students that do attend are often buried with debt and struggle to graduate within six years.
http://www.blackenterprise.com/education/oldest-hbcu-brink-closing-cheyney/
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http://www.philly.com/philly/educat...ion-rate-failure-investigation.html?mobi=true
Failed to pick up applications from the post office; didn't open applications that made it to the office of admissions; failed to collect tuition; giving scholarships to students who had dropped out or weren't enrolled. No wonder 56% of freshmen didn't come back.
Can't really defend that...
Failed to pick up applications from the post office; didn't open applications that made it to the office of admissions; failed to collect tuition; giving scholarships to students who had dropped out or weren't enrolled. No wonder 56% of freshmen didn't come back.
Can't really defend that...
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That's very interesting and one of the reasons the African outfits and patterns register to me is because they are rooted with Africa herself. Reading that some of the outfits that I normally see often come from Holland is pretty enlightening.
And that second link is great because those prints and patterns and outfits being traditional means something to me and makes them that much better. Similar to how a painting that somebody bought for you isn't as "special" as a painting somebody painted for you.
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Woah, damn that's terrible
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