3 posts tagged “race”

One day, a couple of weeks ago, I was walking home from work, down my beautiful Harlem block, and saw something that made me really happy.  What was it?  Well, two teenagers.  They were having a ball.  And they were skating.  

What's so great about that you might say?  Well, if you came up in the 80's it would be shocking.  Damn near revolutionary.  See, back then, black people did not skate.  They did not ski, did not surf and did not listen to rock music--even swimming was suspect.  Everyone knew this.   Some things were for white people.  Some things were for black people.  End of story.     

Of course (or should I say fortunately) my Mom tried to help mitigate the subconscious racial messages I was receiving.  "Black people can do anything,"  she used to say.  She repeated this all through college. "Don't limit yourself. Try new things.  It's your world." 

But in the 80s, even in the Bay Area, things were black and white (and Mexican). Black people didn't skate.  That was for white boys.  Black people played basketball, and football, and listened to rap music.  You could not cross racial lines.  

But let's fast forward to the present.  Now black people do skate.  And play golf.  And swim.  And do gymnastics.  And listen to rock music.   We can do all of these things.  We can even be president. 

Race has changed in America.  Things have gotten better.  Or, at least a wider range of black people and people of color are reflected in the media.   New ideas about what it means to be black or white or Latino or a woman are getting out there.  People, and I mean all people, feel less confined to stereotypical roles.  And that makes me happy.  Happy to see two black teenagers rockin' their worlds with skateboards.

Different Ethnicities That I've Been Mistaken For:

1. Mexican
2. Egyptian
3. Brazilian
4. Puerto Rican
5. Moroccan
6. East Indian
7. Arab
8.  Dominican
9.  Colombian

What's up with all the culture vultures in capoeira in the Bay Area?  I started thinking about this phenomona after a friend told me about her boyfriend's opinion of capoeira --"oh it's just a bunch of white boys thinkin' they can do something".  No, I thought, my capoeira organization is international there's a bit of everyone in the group.  But then I went to class and looked around--there were quite a few white boys.  In fact, on that particular day the majority of the people in the class appeared to be white. 

So what?--a voice inside myself said.  Everyone has right to do something they enjoy.  I'm not Brasilian so who am I to say who can and cannot do capoeira?  I don't have the right to judge others. 

But then I started to notice things--like how people play really cautiously.
And then there was a black history performance where all the students were white except me who is about mutt as they come (Black Panamanian, Jewish, probably some East Indian--I won't get into my whole pedigree--that's a whole 'nother blog entry).

So why does culture vulture phenomena bother me?  Well, first it seems as if a lot of white people play cautiously.  There are two aspects to the cautiousness.  First is people playing way below the rhythm.  This is a problem because it leads to bad capoeira.  If one person plays on the rhythm
(how the hell do you spell rhythm!!!) and then some one is off the rhythm then its hard to develop the game.  And it's bad for the person below the rhythem because it's easier to move around them and take advantage of their openings.  

The cautious playing also involves not checking people's openings.  Now, I'm basically a beginner of average ability.  And I'm still learning the game.  But I feel that you need to check a person's openings in order for that person to develop as a player.  I'm learning that there's a time when you ignore openings for a variety of purposes but if you don't check a persons openings and just let that person do what they want and you do what you want then where is the game?  It's just kicks and esqivas.  This is can leave the person with bad habits when they do play someone who will check their openings.  In a nut shell you need to check openings most of the time to avoid bad capoeria. 

Now is the 'cautiousness' a white thing?  No, it's probably due more to socio-economics.  And also individual differences in personality.  So why am I still bothered? 

Well, I guess the flavor of capoeira is just different.  My old group had lots of people of African decent and lots of people from different countries.  We joked a lot, laughed, and we had a strong sense of community (sometimes too strong in my opinion b/c people didn't think for themselves).  We hugged and kissed on the cheek.  We had energy.  We were outgoing and loud.  We moved our bodies in a certain way.  We had flava or sabor.  (It was no ideal community for me all of the time mind you--there were a lot of problems but there was sabor.) These are things commonly associated with people of the diaspora.  Can white people do these things that I just mentioned?  Absolutely--if they are exposed to the culture.  Culture is not genetic.  It is learned. 

So why am I still bothered?  I guess I want to see more people of the diaspora exposed to capoeira.  I feel that white people in the bay have more access to capoeira than people of color because of socio-economic status.  I want to see people of the diaspora enjoy art form that I have grown to love and has bennefitted me in many ways.  There aren't as many black people in the class because they don't have access to it.  That's the same thing that bothers me about the performance that we had for black history month.  The fact that there were mostly white people representing an art form that started with enslaved Africans in Brasil reflects that race and class structures in U.S. society.  And that bothers me because once again black people and poor people are on the bottom.  It's so ironic that capoeira has become a thing of privilidge (how the hell do you spell privilige!!! I tried it 3 different times!).

And another question--why am I not bothered when I see international people in class--Japanese, Russians, Israelis, etc. ?  I guess I see them as not fitting into the U.S. race/class issues so they get a pass?  This issue needs to be explored for me at another time.  And again this brings this back to the fact that capoeira is a Brazilian art form.  How would Brazilians see things? 

It's interesting because I thought I had dealt with the culture vulture issue already and I was ready to transcend race and see each person for who they are.  And I am in many, many ways I am.  But the culture vulture phenomena gets to me when it dilutes the quality of the art form (although who is to say how the art form should look and who am I to judge the 'quality'?) and because it reflects the race/class structure of our society.  So bring it on white people--but bring it with sabor.

P.S. So I just reread my previous entry about Culty Capoeira and now that I'm with a new group I want to amend some of my complaints.  I guess I see the value of 1, 2, if you see capoeira as a martial art.  Number 4 seems pervasive everywhere and hey if ass kissing is your thing--by all means pucker up. The issue of manipulation and power plays appears to be a personal choice of the instructor and I personally don't like it but if you like that kind of  thing or you get something out of it by all means.  I guess ideally, each person has to get to know themselves and find an instructor and group that's a good match for them.

P.P.S.  Check in soon for updates on my life in the Bay and all my recent adventures.