According to Urban Dictionary, a “culture vulture” is “someone who steals traits, language and/or fashion from another ethnic or social group in order to create their own identity.”
AKA The audacity! Listen, if you want to be accepted in this world, you have to show up as your most authentic self. So why is it that black women and the black culture overall are often emulated...and what? NEVER DUPLICATED! It just isn’t the same.
From the way, we wear our hair and rock our decked-out nails, to how we rock our Airforce Ones, and style our outfits- and let’s not forget our music- do they want to be us or are they paying homage? Should we be flattered or pissed? We guess the real problem arises when companies jump on the bandwagon because they view us and our culture as dollar signs.
In 2020 we witnessed an outstanding spike in black-owned businesses. And with the Black Lives Matter Movement, the money flowed in. Was it a coincidence that popular companies like Netflix decided to highlight black movies to increase their viewers? What about generic statements from companies saying they support the movement, simply because they needed our coins? Where was the love before? Or how about Nike who continues to make Billions off of our culture?!
“Nike owes much of its success not just to the mostly black athletes who lend their name to shoe lines and their face to ad campaigns, but to black Americans in general, who made sneakers and sportswear trendy parts of the country’s casual wardrobe. To its credit, Nike is more active than most brands in its creation and participation in charitable programs, many of which benefit nonwhite kids who want to play sports. But Nike’s senior-leadership structure—the primary internal beneficiaries of the company’s enormous profits—is overwhelmingly white.”
It’s kind of a double-edged sword, right?! We’re so fly that they want to be us and they understand that the money lies within black communities. This only means one- thing….buy black. Let’s support one another and counsel the culture!
Shop our Counsel Culture hoodies today and let’s show these companies whose really boss!
