White Oppression Of Black Culture Essay

White oppression of black culture reflects an elitist system that values white experiences and voices over those of people of color. This is evidence in rap and hip-hop music, as the music and culture made by musicians of color are conveyed as noise and unpleasant to sensitive white ears. According to Jennifer Lynn Stoever, “U.S. White supremacy has attempted to suppress, tune out, and willfully misunderstand some sounds and their markers and histories.” This is evidence in how white musician “borrow” the music from black culture but refuses to acknowledge the culture the music was created in. Whites separate the music from the message and experiences of black culture without the reciprocation of the black experience. This leaves those of white culture tone deaf to the pleas of their peers of color, as they have not only deemed their experiences inferior but refuse to acknowledge an issue with race in America. By refusing to listen, we, as white people, are refusing to not only acknowledge the cries of injustices in black society but are enabling a system that favors white sounds and therefore the white

We have determined their words to be invaluable to ours. We have determined the person their message, as well as what they stand for, is both powerless and useless. Erasure of black culture and black experiences occurs when white musicians cover black music. By covering black music, white musicians twist the words and meanings of songs to fit their own agenda, neglecting the impact the message was supposed to have. White society feels our message is more important and will twist black rhetoric to fit in with the ideal white society. An example of this form of silencing is evident is the prominent use of “All Lives Matter” to downplay and reject the message of “Black Lives Matter” as white society has become color-blind to issues they no longer believe are race