--- title: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Cornrows and Cultural Appropriation description: Whether it’s a hairstyle or jazz music, there’s a difference between honoring a culture and stealing from it canonical: https://time.com/4011171/cornrows-and-cultural-appropriation-the-truth-about-racial-identity-theft/ author: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-26T15:10:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:32.378Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Cornrows and Cultural Appropriation og:description: There’s a difference between honoring a culture and stealing from it og:url: https://time.com/4011171/cornrows-and-cultural-appropriation-the-truth-about-racial-identity-theft/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2891d82abb65ee4b/698860e4e20a879119a8ced8/lena-dunham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Lena Dunham Visits "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in New York City on Jan. 8, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Cornrows and Cultural Appropriation twitter:description: There’s a difference between honoring a culture and stealing from it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2891d82abb65ee4b/698860e4e20a879119a8ced8/lena-dunham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cornrows and Cultural Appropriation: The Truth About Racial Identity Theft > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar On Racism [Watch (HLS stream): Kareem Abdul-Jabbar On Racism](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QPdUnHb2.m3u8) (2:21)  _Published 2014-05-05. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: How To Tell If You're a Racist Like Donald Sterling_  by [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://time.com/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/)  ## Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Aug 26, 2015 3:10 PM UTC  Lena Dunham Visits "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in New York City on Jan. 8, 2015. Lena Dunham Visits "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in New York City on Jan. 8, 2015. Douglas Gorenstein—NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images  by [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://time.com/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/)  ## Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Aug 26, 2015 3:10 PM UTC Is the current cornrow controversy much hairdo about nothing? Or a gateway crime against black culture that includes stealing everything from music to art to clothes to language? Cornrows are just the tip of the follicle, but because so many white celebrities have adopted this hairstyle, it has become the public platform to discuss the broader topic of cultural appropriation. Celebrities who have exhibited cornrows include Fergie, Gwen Stefani, Heidi Klum, Paris Hilton, Justin Timberlake, Jared Leto, David Beckman, and, more recently, Lena Dunham, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, and Kim Kardashian. Several of them have taken heat for popping the cornrow, and prompted some African-Americans to accuse the dominant white American culture of stealing cherished icons of identity from the subjugated black culture. Kind of like wearing the teeth of your pillaged enemy as a necklace. Most white Americans would agree that the influence of black culture on America is significant. Without the black swing, blues, and jazz musicians, there is no Elvis or Jerry Lee Lewis or rock ‘n’ roll. And the influence is evident in all aspects of American culture, from fashion to food, from language to literature. What most white Americans won’t agree with is that there is anything wrong with that. In fact, they would argue that such assimilation of ethnic influences has occurred with every immigrant group in America, whether Latino or Irish or Vietnamese. They would argue that it is a symbol of American inclusion that we so readily embrace these foreign influences into our culture. The melting pot and so forth. American culture is not appropriating anything—that would be stealing!—it’s honoring black culture through homage. America acknowledges the influence and gives the influencers full credit. And, after all, isn’t weaving black culture into mainstream American culture the best way to end racism? Are cornrows the ambassador to racial equality or just another version of Al Jolson mammying in blackface? One very legitimate point is economic. In general, when blacks create something that is later adopted by white culture, white people tend to make a lot more money from it. Certainly, one can see why that’s both annoying and disheartening. Through everything from access to loans to education, systemic racism has created a smoother path to economic success for whites who exploit what blacks have created. It feels an awful lot like slavery to have others profit from your efforts. Loving burritos doesn’t make someone less racist against Latinos. Lusting after Bo Derek in _10_ doesn’t make anyone appreciate black culture more. So, the argument that appropriation is the same as assimilation doesn’t hold up. Appreciating an individual item from a culture doesn’t translate into accepting the whole people. While high-priced cornrows on a white celebrity on the red carper at the Oscars is chic, those same cornrows on the little black girl in Watts, Los Angeles, are a symbol of her ghetto lifestyle. A white person looking black gets a fashion spread in a glossy magazine; a black person wearing the same thing gets pulled over by the police. One can understand the frustration. Another aspect that infuriates many African-Americans: what white culture deems worthy to borrow is often so narrow that it perpetuates negative stereotypes rather than increases racial appreciation. Underwear sticking out of pants? Hip-hop language? Twerking? An unintended byproduct is that white people, feeling aglow in One-Worldness brought on by taking a hip-hop exercise class, forget the serious state of racial inequality that still exists and needs to be constantly addressed. In the face of being shamed and persecuted, African-Americans have cultivated art and fashion to maintain pride in who they are, so to see other cultures take this and profit from it while still allowing the shame and persecution to persist makes us want to holler. Having said all that, here’s the harsh reality. Whether we call it cultural appropriation, assimilation, exploitation, homage, plundering or honoring, it will continue to happen unabated or affected by complaints and protests. Sure, some products, like ones featuring the Confederate flag, can’t seriously claim to be an homage, so public outcry is more effective in eliminating them. But for the most part, Culture is a ravenous beast that consists of many commercial outlets that need to sell consumer goods. Music, movies, clothes, books, art, etc., are the products that keep the beast alive, but they have to evolve in order to do so. Because of that, all non-mainstream cultures are subject to being looted for inspiration to create new goods to sell. It is some consolation that, on a smaller scale, African-Americans have been able to do some cultural appropriation of their own. Once upon a time, professional sports were all white. Today, more than 77% of NBA players and 67.3% in the NFL are black. From 1950 to 2009, 81 percent of Billboard’s Top 10 bestselling albums were from non-white or mixed-race groups of artists. This shift will continue over the coming decades. The Census Bureau estimates that by 2060, 56% of the population will belong to racial and ethnic minorities—a minority majority. With each subsequent generation, cultural icons truly will be based on assimilation, not appropriation. “Almost cut my hair,” Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young sang in 1970 about a long-haired boy suffering from an identity crisis. Cutting his hair would be to turn his back on the cultural revolution happening at the time in order to seek comfort in rejoining the social norms he doesn’t believe in. In the end, he doesn’t cut his hair because, “I feel like I owe it to someone.” It’s just hair, it grows. But, like cornrows, it is symbolic of a cultural identity that does not want to be homogenized—like Pat Boone’s 1956 sleepy version of Little Richard’s dynamic “Tutti Frutti.” Wop bop a loo bop a lop ba ba, indeed! _Read next:_ [_Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: White People Gets It Right About Being White_](http://time.com/3971416/kareem-abdul-jabbar-mtv-white-people/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Download TIME’s mobile app for iOS to have your world explained wherever you go_](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/time-mobile/id328218429) ### Witness Protesters Taking Over the Streets After the Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision  A group of protesters rally against a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner occupy the eastbound traffic lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City in the early morning hours of Dec. 4, 2014. Jason DeCrow—AP  Protestors block 15th Street near Pennsylvania Avenue to protest the Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo in the Eric Garner chokehold case in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014. Jim Lo Scalzo—EPA  Demonstrators march through the streets of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  Regina Bates speaks during a demonstration in Oakland, Calif. on Dec. 3, 2014. Elijah Nouvelage—Getty Images  Police stand guard on the West Side highway as protesters block traffic in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters  Anwar Thurston, 36, joined demonstrators who gathered to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014. Mark Makela—Getty Images  A demonstrator cries while gathering to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014. Mark Makela—Getty Images  Demonstrators block traffic on Highway I-395 in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014. T.J. Kirkpatrick—Getty Images  Protestors lay down in Grand Central Station during a protest in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images  People take part in a protest against the grand jury decision on the death of Eric Garner in midtown Manhattan in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Eric Thayer—Reuters  Protesters raise their arms and chant at police officers in Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Caitlin Ochs—Polaris  Demonstrators march in protest on the streets of St. Louis on Dec. 3, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images  Police officers block protesters from marching up a highway entrance ramp near Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Seth Wenig—AP  A man holding a child walks with protesters as they march past Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Adrees Latif—Reuters  Atlanta Police face off with protesters blocking Spring Street in Atlanta on Dec. 3, 2014. Erik S. Lesser—EPA  A demonstrator stands next to a makeshift memorial where Eric Garner died during an arrest in July in the Staten Island borough of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters ## Transcript From what I can tell, more whites in America believe in ghosts than believe in racism, and that's why we have shows like Ghost busters and not racist busters. [ LAUGH ] As a general rule things don't end well if the sentence starts let me tell you something I know about the Negro. People see the fact that a black American could get elected President, they see that as the end of racism. That's absolutely not the case. [ NOISE ] It's a milestone in a marathon. Just a tip for you. [ LAUGH ] Don't start your sentence that way. I think it's pretty created a false sense of achievement that we've done everything that we need to do, and that we can just slump back into being complacent. Racism, unfortunately, rears it's head in places that you would never expect at, at times that you would never expect. I think the President is in a tough position because as a Black American, if he's. Too proactive or too enthusiastic, about dealing with racism. People think he has agenda. White Americans are not a group that is targeted, so it's a surprise to many White Americans that discrimination and bias can affect people's life. They, they think it's a thing of the past. We have shows like John Stewart and Stephen Colbert they're like colonoscopies into America's bowels. You know, they're looking for the polyps of intolerance. There is no racism in America. There's more Cholera in America than there is -. Than there is racism. [ SOUND ]. More Cholera! Yes. Racism has gone the way of [ NOISE ] where you drink. [ LAUGH ] And I think that by pointing those things out and ridiculing them we get a chance to identify issues and and deal with them in a meaningful way. You know there's only one lead story today and that is the racist comments of LA Clippers owner and Darth Vader with his helmet off, Donald Sterling. [ LAUGH ]. Racism has obviously been a hot topic with regard to sports. And, and Mr. Sterling's problems, but racism as it relates to society at large is something that we don't talk about enough. And inclusion should be the keynote of, of American life. We have people from all over the world that come here, and they can become American Citizens and have a, have a wonderful life here. 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