Regarding the Tribal Disco II Event

Summary of Events:

It is with a heavy heart that I write this statement because of the traumas involved for many of Western's students. Many of you are aware of the events of April 5^th regarding “The Disco,” formerly named “Tribal Disco II,” and the student-organized protest and dialogue that took place in response to the cultural appropriative nature of the event. For those who have not heard of the events, here is a brief overview: An AS Club, the Music Producers Club, organized an event called “Tribal Disco II” and concerned students questioned the nature of the event in terms of cultural appropriation. A dialogue took place prior to the event and then a protest was held to speak out against cultural appropriative programming and to raise awareness about the issue of cultural appropriation. The Tribal Disco was shut down early as a result of an altercation that took place between an attendee of the event and a protester. I will explain this in more detail later. I want to first explain that I am approaching this issue as the Associated Students President, and of course my personal beliefs and understandings inform my decisions and actions as the AS President. I am releasing this statement to provide an overview of the events, to address the problematic nature of programs that create an exclusive and unsafe space for students, and to ensure that as we broach this subject, we have a common language and a common understanding. For those of you who choose to skim this statement or to skip certain sections, I offer a metaphor that I see as the basis of my understanding of these issues. It my interpretation of a metaphor Beverly Daniel Tatum, President of Spelman College and an expert on race relations in the classroom, uses to explain racism: Racism is like a moving conveyor belt in an airport (or like an escalator for that matter). Because racism is pervasive and built into almost every aspect of the system in which we live, by simply standing on the conveyor belt, we are each passively contributing to racism because the belt is still moving forward. If we choose to walk with the belt, we are actively being racist and contributing to the system (for any number of reasons, including internalized racism for people of color or White privilege for White people), and are then travelling at a heightened speed. If we turn around and walk against it, we have acknowledged the privileges we have, or at least woken up to the system in which we are being subjected to simply by existing, and have taken small steps to address them, however, we are now just staying in the same spot because the speed at which we are walking against the conveyor belt is counteracted by the speed at which the conveyor belt is moving in the opposite direction. However, if we actively and aggressively walk against the direction of the conveyor belt, we will slowly begin to make progress in the direction of combating racism. This is what we all must commit to do.

Acknowledgements:

Before recapping the events of the evening, I want to begin with four acknowledgements:

1.) I am a white male. This is relevant to this statement because I, as a white person, and specifically as a white male, carry with me vast amounts of privilege as I walk through this campus every day, and as I walk through my life. This isn't to say that my experiences are invalid, but that my lived realities are different from the lived realities of the students of color on this campus. My truths and my perceptions of the event are influenced by the perspective I bring to the table and by my ways of thinking and knowing.

2.) We all participate in the same system that has a disproportionately negative effect on some of us. The first step to changing that system is acknowledging that we are all actors in it in some way or another. Beverly Daniel Tatum offers the following analogy: “Prejudice is one of the inescapable consequences of living in a racist society. Cultural racism—the cultural images and messages that affirm the assumed superiority of whites and the assumed inferiority of people of color—is like smog in the air. Sometimes it is so thick it is visible, other times it is less apparent, but always, day in and day out, we are breathing it in. None of us would introduce ourselves as ‘smog-breathers’ (and most of us don’t want to be described as [racist]), but if we live in a smoggy place, how can we avoid breathing in the air? If we live in an environment in which we are bombarded with stereotypical images in the media, are frequently exposed to the ethnic jokes of friends and family members, and are rarely informed of the accomplishments of oppressed groups, we will develop the negative categorizations of those groups that form the basis of prejudice.” It is also important to differentiate between prejudice and racism, which I will do in the following section.

3.) We are all learning. Each and every day, we are all learning. Inevitably, I will make a mistake in writing this statement because I am human, which means I am a mistake-maker. The important thing is that we all engage with one another to ensure that we are learning. This topic must be approached with an open mind and with an open heart. After all, much of what we think and believe is not a result of what we have been told or of what we have learned, but rather a result of what we have not been told and not yet learned. This is a university, and there is no better place to question honestly and have constructive dialogue to allow learning to take place on all sides.

4.) Throughout this statement I refer to a couple groups, including “the protesters  and the “Music Producers Club.” I want to acknowledge that there is not a single attitude or idea that each group possesses. Each group is made up of individuals from various backgrounds who relate to these issues in very different ways and one cannot make assumptions about either group as a whole entity.

Definitions:

I would also like to begin with a few definitions. After taking part in the “dialogue” in the Ethnic Student Center (ESC) prior to the Tribal Disco event on Friday, it became clear to me that we must begin this conversation by identifying key concepts and making sure that everyone is on the same page in terms of definitions. Here, I offer some of the definitions under which I am operating when I use certain terminology and I also clarify some of the terms that were used during the event/protest. The intention is that these definitions will help us all understand the underlying issues leading up to this event. These definitions are a compilation of my own thoughts and the thoughts of those who write about race in their works, many of whom are referenced at the end of this statement. I will refrain from parenthetically citing my ideas to avoid overloading this statement with academic jargon and bibliographies, but I will acknowledge the texts that have informed my understandings and include their titles at the end of this statement.

·         Racism: A system of advantage based on race and supported by institutional structures, policies, and practices that create and sustain advantages for the dominant White group while systematically subordinating members of targeted racial groups. This relative advantage for Whites and subordination for people of color is supported by the actions of individuals, cultural norms and values, and the institutional structures and practices of society. Because White people hold most the power in society, there is institutional backing and powerful support that privileges White people over people of color and systematically excludes people of color from parts of that system. White people systematically benefit from racism in the context of our broader society and specifically in the context of Western, a majority White campus.

·         Prejudice: Prejudices are individual acts directed at, or beliefs about, other individuals or groups of people based on preconceived notions and personal biases.

·         White: I use this term to refer to people of European ancestry. It’s also important to note that perceived race can sometimes be equally as important in a racist system as is actual race. If one appears to be White, oftentimes they are the beneficiary of the same privileges afforded to White people, and conversely, White people who have darker complexions can be subject to subordination by the dominant group. I intentionally avoid the term “Caucasian” because of its racist beginnings and implications of superiority (for more information on this notion, refer to the resources section)

Internalized Oppression: Internalized oppression is the manner in which members of an oppressed group come to internalize the oppressive attitudes of others toward themselves and those like them. For example, sometimes members of marginalized groups hold an oppressive view toward their own group, or start to believe in negative stereotypes. Examples include internalized racism, internalized sexism, and internalized homophobia.

Cultural Appropriation: The adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It describes acculturation or assimilation, and becomes at once problematic when a dominant group appropriates one or more aspect of a minority culture. It can include the introduction of forms of dress or personal adornment, music and art, religion, language, or social behavior. These elements, once removed from their indigenous cultural contexts, can take on meanings that are significantly divergent from, or merely less nuanced than, those they originally held. Appropriating aspects of another culture as members of the White dominant group is a racist act because it serves to further marginalize that culture by reducing their cultural elements to singular and simplistic representations of a much larger nuanced tradition.

Colonization/Colonialism: The establishment, exploitation, maintenance, acquisition, and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. Colonialism is a set of unequal relationships between colonizers and the indigenous population. Colonization takes place in many forms including the colonization of the mind in various aspects of academia where the viewpoints and ways of thinking of the dominant group are foisted upon the larger population often resulting in internalized racism and further marginalization of groups to whose culture is not the dominant culture. 

White Privilege: Peggy McIntosh, in her article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” describes White privilege as “an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day but about which I was meant to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack with special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.” McIntosh is eloquently describing the system of privilege that serves to benefit White people regardless of whether or not they are aware of it or choose to acknowledge it. Society is built to serve White people because of a long history of oppression.

White Supremacy: The Belief of, and/or promotion of the belief, that White people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is also used to describe a political ideology that perpetuates and maintains the social, political, historical, and/or industrial dominance of Whites. White supremacy is innately part of the system I describe above under the term "racism."

·         “Reverse Racism”: I put this term in quotes because reverse racism does not exist. Operating under the definition of racism I have listed above, one can see that without systemic and institutional backing and without the power associated with the dominant perspective, one cannot be racist against someone who is White. The system won’t allow it. Certainly, there are people of color who are prejudiced against White people just as there are White people who are prejudiced against people of color, but this is simply prejudice (which is also problematic) and not racism.

Microaggressions: "Commonplace," public experiences or situations such as being stopped for a security check at an airport, being ignored by a waiter/waitress at a restaurant, or being assigned to a particular task by an employer, might seem irrelevant or innocuous situations under most circumstances for White people. However, when such situations are interpreted as being linked to racial differences, they become distinct, and take on a different connotation. As a result, people subjected to them (people of color) experience emotional pain, trauma, or other negative feelings that constantly grate in the individual's livelihood and well-being.

·         Tribe: A term used by European colonialists to describe groupings of native peoples. The term was reflective of the European perception that native peoples had a primitive and inferior position in society in relation to the White Europeans.

·         Courageous Conversation: This is a term coined by Glenn E. Singleton and Curtis Linton in their book Courageous Conversations about Race. Courageous Conversations involve agreements made by all parties to critically engage in a conversation about issues surrounding race and to expect to feel uncomfortable. Another agreement is that participants should expect a lack of closure. Talking about race isn’t a tidy endeavor and often leaves folks feeling uncomfortable and asking more questions. We encourage Courageous Conversations because this is a great way to engage with others in a healthy dialogue that encourages openness, candidness, and accepting and acknowledging that our understandings of issues are never complete.

·         Critical Consciousness: Critical consciousness is a concept widely credited to Brazilian pedagogue, Paolo Freire, focusing on achieving an in-depth understanding of the world, allowing for the perception and exposure of social and political contradictions. Critical consciousness also includes taking action against the oppressive elements in one's life that are illuminated by that understanding. Being someone who is critically conscious involves recognizing that we all have a deep responsibility to one another and allows us to be more knowledgeable today than we were yesterday because we engage in conversations that are courageous and take action to ensure that injustices are addressed.

·         Ethnic Student Center: The ESC is a programmatic and resource office housed within the Associated Students. It is composed of professional staff and student staff. The goal of the ESC is to help students affirm their identities, build a sense of community, and cultivate leadership. The ESC is also home to 15 diverse clubs open to students of all backgrounds.

I will do my best to provide resources at the end of this statement for folks to continue their personal education regarding issues such as racism, colonialism, and cultural appropriation. These are very important issues that we all must confront and actively work against. Another note: it is perfectly acceptable, and in fact encouraged, to feel uncomfortable. Acknowledging one’s privilege or one’s internalized oppression is tough, but we all must agree to tackle these issues together in order to make any progress at all.

What Happened?:

To paint a picture of what happened on Friday, April 5^th regarding the Tribal Disco II event, it is important to know that there was a Tribal Disco I in the spring of last year. After the event, many students raised significant concerns regarding the portrayal of various indigenous cultures by the event’s attendees. This year, when the Music Producers Club requested money from the AS Activities Council, the council made sure to raise concerns about the nature of the event. Pictures from last year’s event and a copy of the poster did not surface until after the money was approved. Regardless, the AS currently allows clubs to have autonomy in regards to the nature of campus programming, though the council subjected the Music Producers Club to extra scrutiny given the concerns that had been raised. At the time, the members of the club made a convincing argument about the title of the event and the nature of the music being played. Here is where I will take personal responsibility for not being more vigilant in my efforts to thoroughly address this issue. Had I done the research upon first hearing about the event, I would have unearthed the event photos and explored the origins of the “Tribal House Music” the club was referencing.

When the event was publicized, students who were concerned about the cultural appropriative nature of the event organized a protest to speak out against this type of racism. When organizers from the club were made aware of the planned protest, they offered to have a dialogue in the Ethnic Student Center on the day of the event to discuss the concerns that had been raised. All club members in the Music Producers Club were encouraged to participate in the dialogue, and two student members showed up. The dialogue allowed for the event organizers to express their intentions and for the protesters to express their concern. Concerns included the fact that the term “tribal” was used in the title, that it was juxtaposed with a color scheme that represented another cultural aspect of Eastern culture, that the music itself was fundamentally appropriative because the rhythms and beats had been borrowed from indigenous cultures in Africa and South America and were appropriated to what I will refer to as rave culture. Additionally, pictures featuring culturally appropriative garb and “costumes” from last year’s event were posted on the event page and the protesters were concerned that this would encourage attendees to dress in similar fashions, and the cultural appropriative nature of this event created an unsafe space for students of color on this campus. Some protesters asked that the event be cancelled to honor and respect the students, faculty, and staff who come from the native cultures that were being appropriated and also in order to confront the issues of racism and cultural appropriation that permeate this campus. The Music Producers Club agreed to change the name of the event to “The Disco,” to remove the pictures from the Facebook event page, and to turn people away who showed up in appropriative dress while informing those people why their choice of dress was problematic. When the Music Producers Club did not cancel the event, the dialogue became less fruitful, and the use of terms like “racist” and “cultural appropriation” was proliferated. Something that is important to acknowledge is that everyone in that room may not have been operating under the same definitions of the words being used, which is why I have chosen to define my language above.

At the event, protesters showed up with signs and chants to protest the occurrence of the event. Protesters shouted chants at the attendees referencing cultural appropriation, racism, and colonization, including calling some of the event attendees racists. After the event had begun, an attendee emerged from the event and proceeded to have physical interactions with a protester by dancing up against them, resulting in both individuals stumbling and falling and ripping one of the protester’s signs. Since this happened so instantaneously, it is uncertain whether the protester was pushed and the sign ripped intentionally or if the attendee unintentionally fell into the protester causing the sign to rip. At this point, security got involved, the University Police were called, and the Music Producers Club chose to shut down the event and one of the DJs emerged from the dance and shouted to some of the protesters that they should “go die.” Unfortunately, educational dialogue ceased at this point, which is not ideal. We want this dialogue to continue so folks have the opportunity to confront their own biases, misconceptions, and understandings of racism and what it means to be culturally appropriative.

Of course, this is a much broader issue that stems from the ubiquitous microaggressions and racism that society perpetuates. Racism, both passive and active, as well as microaggressions and prejudice occur on this campus every single day and this event was a highly visible form of the omnipresent injustices suffered by people of color on this campus that needed to be addressed and still needs to be addressed.

This is why it is so important to continue this conversation. We must actively seek to educate ourselves about these issues and confront instances of racism in our everyday lives. As I said above, we all participate in this system in one way or another, whether we are being positively or negatively impacted by it, and whether we are benefiting from it or being marginalized and excluded by it. I now want to take us back to Tatum’s conveyor belt metaphor that I presented at the beginning of this statement. With that in mind, we all must acknowledge our privileges and/or the ways in which we are marginalized. We must actively seek to educate ourselves about the issues and work to confront them in our everyday lives. We must certainly encourage others to join us in this endeavor. And we must be compassionate and loving with one another as we all seek to walk against the direction of the conveyor belt we are all standing on. That being said, I encourage the continuation of these conversations. I encourage everyone to take the time to explore the few resources I have provided below and seek out more resources.

Resources:

·         Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum

·          “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh (or here is a link to a short 6-minute youtube video on White Privilege: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRnoddGTMTY)

·          “Getting Rid of the Word Caucasian” by Carol C. Mukhopadhyay (an essay in the book, Everyday Antiracism)

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you are interested in engaging in a courageous conversation about this issue or if you want more resources or even if you simply would like to chat further about this issue. I also encourage you to check out the Center for Education, Equity, and Diversity (CEED) in Miller Hall 005 for more resources and to have these conversations with your friends and families, chosen and/or given.