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0hn0myt0rah's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked the case studies and observations snaking around a complex critique of white racialised power and its continued syphoning off of Black capital and culture. I've never lived in the US and it's obviously very US centric obviously, so I had to Google people who got mentioned offhand. Not a critique just fiy
hbflynn's review against another edition
3.0
This three star review is more a reflection on my lack of intellect than the quality of this book. I trust every smart person who is better equipped to appreciate Jackson’s genius lol
justalittlejen's review against another edition
4.0
So well done! I feel like I’m looking at everything through the lens of this book now.
vi0letsunshine29's review against another edition
5.0
I was in a reading slump for a minute here but finally finished this one and I definitely think it’s revived my desire to pick up a book! I’m not a huge fan of non-fiction, I get it’s importance but it takes a certain kind of writing for me to stay interested, but the way Jackson writes makes reading non-fiction quite enjoyable. White Negros beautifully explores cultural appropriation with anecdotes from the digital age intertwined with the history of anti-blackness that’s so deeply embedded in American history. Cultural appropriation is an endlessly discussed topic for many but Jackson’s ability to bring nuance to this subject, as well as humor, keeps the reader enthralled throughout each essay. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to learn about black culture and how blackness has been commodified throughout history.
srfrq's review against another edition
3.0
"...in the here and now and the everyday, we are alone together with our desires and our gestures...if there is a call embedded in this book...it is a call to more alertness, more intensity, more care, and more fluency in the racial dramas performed as part and parcel of business as usual."
"to those who count themselves allies, may these essays make you a little less sure of yourselves"
i was a little uncomfortable when putting this book on my list and even while reading it, because of the n-word on the cover and also used a lot in a chapter discussing language. i say "n-word" in my head instead of the actual n-word, but i'm still perceiving it and processing it semantically which is what bothers me i guess.
usually, a conversation around appropriation begins and ends right there, no one digs deeper into the culture around us and even into ourselves. this was very much needed.
this book was written very clearly although at times it could get boring when the author was writing about memes i was already familiar with but i really appreciated the analysis that would follow! the chapter titled "the hipster" was about language, and i think the author makes a really good connection between the semantics of words.
for instance, a word like 'literally' also means 'figuratively' in our minds but that does not change the original definition of the word, 'in a literal manner'. another example might be the word 'queer' which was used a slur historically and is now being reclaimed in the community. in this way, the n-word also holds a very heavy and violent history, a word that the black community is reclaiming.
another thing that the author brought attention to is social media and what she writes is something i've been thinking about for a very long time! and i think we all to an extent know this as well. black culture is the foundation of fashion, art, and social media through memes, language, and designs. blackface evolved into digital blackface with the power of anonymity, and imitations and appropriation of black culture became secondhand! i recognized how i was a part of this, especially on twitter, and deleted all my social media. i was trying to escape appropriation (alongside surveillance and my own insecurities), but i'm living in a world shaped by social media and i know that it's impossible to escape anything. i still appreciate the mental breadth i have from society in general and the self-awareness that is being fostered as a result but it's truly impossible to individually destroy appropriation and other negative effects of social media.
"a protest is not an event but an endurance test. if we survive it's only for sharing such a scourge. i hope everyone keeps on til tomorrow, whenever that comes."
"i cannot overstate the regularity of appropriation, how often it is, for most, a nondilemma...complex problems often deserve complex solutions, but in the case of power and appropriation the answer is quite simple when looked at from a bird's-eye view. equality is too tame. fair compensation is too modest. our world deserves reordering. only under a transformation on that scale could i ever imagine a version of society in which black people have options instead of destinies, options instead of statistics"
"to those who count themselves allies, may these essays make you a little less sure of yourselves"
i was a little uncomfortable when putting this book on my list and even while reading it, because of the n-word on the cover and also used a lot in a chapter discussing language. i say "n-word" in my head instead of the actual n-word, but i'm still perceiving it and processing it semantically which is what bothers me i guess.
usually, a conversation around appropriation begins and ends right there, no one digs deeper into the culture around us and even into ourselves. this was very much needed.
this book was written very clearly although at times it could get boring when the author was writing about memes i was already familiar with but i really appreciated the analysis that would follow! the chapter titled "the hipster" was about language, and i think the author makes a really good connection between the semantics of words.
for instance, a word like 'literally' also means 'figuratively' in our minds but that does not change the original definition of the word, 'in a literal manner'. another example might be the word 'queer' which was used a slur historically and is now being reclaimed in the community. in this way, the n-word also holds a very heavy and violent history, a word that the black community is reclaiming.
another thing that the author brought attention to is social media and what she writes is something i've been thinking about for a very long time! and i think we all to an extent know this as well. black culture is the foundation of fashion, art, and social media through memes, language, and designs. blackface evolved into digital blackface with the power of anonymity, and imitations and appropriation of black culture became secondhand! i recognized how i was a part of this, especially on twitter, and deleted all my social media. i was trying to escape appropriation (alongside surveillance and my own insecurities), but i'm living in a world shaped by social media and i know that it's impossible to escape anything. i still appreciate the mental breadth i have from society in general and the self-awareness that is being fostered as a result but it's truly impossible to individually destroy appropriation and other negative effects of social media.
"a protest is not an event but an endurance test. if we survive it's only for sharing such a scourge. i hope everyone keeps on til tomorrow, whenever that comes."
"i cannot overstate the regularity of appropriation, how often it is, for most, a nondilemma...complex problems often deserve complex solutions, but in the case of power and appropriation the answer is quite simple when looked at from a bird's-eye view. equality is too tame. fair compensation is too modest. our world deserves reordering. only under a transformation on that scale could i ever imagine a version of society in which black people have options instead of destinies, options instead of statistics"
majkf's review against another edition
so smart and funny and poignant, just a really brilliant examination of race and culture that easily threads together current events with their histories. i learned, i laughed, and i felt a real call to revolutionary action that i don’t find in a lot of contemporary social criticism.
malikp's review against another edition
4.0
Lauren Michele Jackson in White Negroes provides engaging essays on topics having to do with cultural appropriation. Not necessarily having to do with *who can do what,* but the book has more to do with the power dynamics surrounding culture/cultural artifacts. The essays are focus on mainly on contemporary issues, but often finds itself going back through American history to show how some things stay the same.
zoes_human's review against another edition
4.0
Cultural appropriation is a topic about which I could read endlessly and still not fully understand. For one thing, I'm a bit culturally disconnected—oblivious for the most part to the Twitterverse, the music scene, and filmed media until some major event occurs that transfixes the world (and sometimes even then). For yet another, culture is complex and racism is complex thus cultural appropriation is exponentially so.
This collection of essays delves into the complexities of cultural appropriation. As with most academic works, it reads a bit dry; however, it is only lightly so given the topic at hand. It begs for more than one read to fully appreciate as it contains within 175 pages an astonishing amount of information requiring an intensity and depth of thought and consideration beyond what one normally finds even in tomes exceeding 500.
This collection of essays delves into the complexities of cultural appropriation. As with most academic works, it reads a bit dry; however, it is only lightly so given the topic at hand. It begs for more than one read to fully appreciate as it contains within 175 pages an astonishing amount of information requiring an intensity and depth of thought and consideration beyond what one normally finds even in tomes exceeding 500.