My Views and Hunger Games' Amandla Stenberg's Cultural Appropriation Lesson

1BlessedNatural: My Views and Hunger Games' Amandla Stenberg's Cultural Appropriation Lesson

Actress Amandla Stenberg of The Hunger Games movie teaches us a lesson on cultural appropriation in her video "Don't Cash Crop On My Cornrows." In an almost 4 1/2 minute segment, the 16-year-old breaks down the importance of hair, specifically cornrows in Black culture and hip hop. She continues by giving brief a history of the 2000s and the adoption of elements of Black culture by white music artists. Stenberg points to artists like Iggy Azalea and Miley Cyrus who  have publicly been said to use these elements in their videos, but are not fully aware or involved in the struggle of Blacks.

I agree with Stenberg. I also believe that there is nothing wrong with borrowing things from other cultures like hairstyles, but there should be a respect for the culture. I have a problem when the same people who borrow also demean or look down on another culture or race of people. Black cultural influences can be seen in more areas than music. Almost every time I turn on the TV there is a commercial that capitalizes on Black culture by using popular Black slang influenced terms and phrases. For example, Dr. Scholl's had a commercial for one of their products where they asked the question, "Are you gellin'?"Black cultural influences can be seen everywhere, but  (again) the problem occurs when we are still viewed as being on the bottom of the shoe of society.

Stenberg ends her video with the following question: What would America be like if we loved Black people as much as we love Black culture?  I think the video was well done. Check it out below. 

 What do you think of Amandla Stenberg's message in "Don't Cash Crop On My Cornrows"? 

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