So tell me #Twitter, is there something wrong with wanting to be #Black? Or have you forgotten that Black is everywhere? Go #AskYourself
— Absolut Creative (@AbsolutCreative) June 13, 2015
This uproar over Rachel Dolezal can't really be about the appropriation of Black culture can it? No I don't think so. Rachel Dolezal, All American is an edifying tale of Black like me. And has exposed those long held fears of a Black planet.
The furor is over a white woman identifying so strongly with the Black experience that she has come to think of herself as Black. In this era of gay and transgender awareness I am genuinely offended that media outlets are a buzz about her supposed ethnic subterfuge. The narrative here carries a racist undercurrent; the belief that in America it's acceptable to assimilate if you're ambition is to be white i.e., *whiteish. Historically Asians, Indians, Hispanics and a myriad of other ethnicities have a long and continuing history of assimilation into whiteness american style. Their assimilation has been looked upon favorably as these groups have adopted whiteness in manner and norms, but what has given their acculturation full acceptance is their embracing of racist white ideologies when it comes to encountering Blackness.
And in Rachel Dolezal the world is encountering Blackness. Blackness in favor over whiteness.
American has a litany of historical figures who have downplayed and denied their Blackness yet white privilege has once again bamboozled social media with the hashtag #AskRachel *post being updated. 7/13/15 And yes I am still writing this post, issues and complications are always at the heart of a good post. Maybe just not this one.
