How the NAACP and cultural appropriation is relevant to the CNMI? Give examples.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the largest, oldest and most well-known civil rights group. The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. While, cultural appropriation often framed as cultural omisappropriation, is a concept in sociology dealing with the adoption of the elements of a minority culture by members of the dominant culture. It is distinguished from equal cultural exchange due to the presence of a colonial element and imbalance of power. In order to set a foundation of our understanding on the term cultural appropriation, I would like to quote Richard A. Rogers, a professor from the School of Communication in Northern Arizona University, in which he states that the term is “defined broadly as the use of a culture’s symbols, artifacts, genres, rituals, or ptechnologies by members of another culture,” and it is “involved in the assimilation and exploitation of marginalized and colonized cultures.” Based on this fleshed-out definition of the term, Post Malone is already accused of partaking in cultural appropriation. Regarding my feelings of cultural appropriation, I feel that people of another culture appropriating from a historically disadvantaged culture is morally wrong and unacceptable. Not to target white people solely, but historically, whites have been known for stealing from others and incorporating into their own culture for their benefit. It is important that this is examined as in a place such as CNMI, whites have found it particularly easy to blend and take part in a culture that is not theirs, and when they it disadvantageous or tiring to do so, they can then easily step back into their own culture and not be found as a traitor for re-assimilating back into their society. Blacks and other minorities, however, had and still have many obstacles to climb in order to successful in this country, and they find the only support they can garner is from their own race/culture. Therefore, when whites and other races can infiltrate that tight-knit community and exploit it for their economic benefit, it prevents people of that race from being able to build an economic empire for them, as their culture is no longer unique and distinct, but instead ready for any person to use and abuse.
