Session 4: Culture and Cultural Appropriation 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this session participants will:

• have explored the invisibility of dominant culture norms
• be able to distinguish between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation

Suggested Agenda

• :00 Cultural Appropriation Poll with the following questions (set up as an agree/disagree):
  • BIPOC folks can be “racist” against other BIPOC folks or White people
  • People of a privileged identity should NEVER wear, impersonate, or make media using cultural identifiers from a different culture.

• :10 Grounding Activity
• :20 Watch Ta-Nehisi Coates on words that don’t belong to everyone
  ***Please note there is some strong language in this video***
  (Invite for Black facilitators to share their feelings on the “n” word first)

• • What is the point Ta-Nehisi makes about the importance of context?
  • Why does he suggest White people have a problem with context?
  • How do language, power and privilege interact?
• :30 Breakout Rooms
  • Select a reporter
  • Topics for Breakout Rooms about Appropriation
    • Language
    • Hair/Clothing/Make-up
    • Movies/TV shows/Films
    • Questions for all rooms:
    • Who does the appropriating?
    • How do you distinguish between cultural appreciation and appropriation?
    • How would you respond to a person of a privileged identity who says, “Aren’t you happy that people are interested in your culture?”
    • How can someone with a privileged identity appreciate another culture while not appropriating it?

• :55 Report Back
• 1:10 PO3 Final Showcase Discussion and Vote
• 1:20- Integrative Closing:
  • I liked
  • I wish
  • I wonder

Facilitator Section

Sofia’s Field Notes

• The Ta-Nehisi Coates video was very powerful and allowed the youth to discuss when hurtful words or slurs have impacted their own lives. It led into a great discussion about entitlement
• Centering oppression in the conversation of cultural appropriation was helpful in explaining the topic
• Discussion on how minority groups can be racist towards other minority groups in the polls brought more nuance and was very interesting

Youth Advisory Notes

• How we identify ourselves vs how others identify/label us.
• -Cultural Appropriation is an advanced and less straightforward topic. Be sure to modify session to your own group and knowledge base.

Additional Resources

• Smith, Arri, Dec 13th, 2021. Blackfishing and Cultural Appropriation: Who Controls Black Women’s Socio-Cultural Narrative?. Retrieved from https://www.anewseducation.com/post/blackfishing-and-cultural-appropriation
• Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to be an antiracist.New York: One World.
• (No longer a functional link but she has others)@Tee Noir. Cultural Appropriation: Who Gets a Pass? YouTube. https://youtu.be/fgXajmZ4Nco
  (This is advanced social commentary- note there is strong language)
• Tucker, Angela. Black Folk Don’t. Black Public Media, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. https://www.pbs.org/show/black-folk-dont/ (Exploration of stereotypes of Black people)