What? The comment above the one I replied to said that culture is independent of race. The one I replied to put black people in America into one culture and classified them based off of hardships they may or may not face. Which I'm sure is wonderful for young black Americans to hear. "You have less privilege. You have lower status. You should be angry your culture became mainstream." Black people have the most representation in media, greatest fan base among white youth, and most respect and opportunity in the history of their presence in this country. THIS IS BECAUSE MANY YOUNG WHITE PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY NO LONGER VIEW BLACK PEOLE AS A SEPARATE CULTURE. ALL THEY WANT IS TO ENJOY SOMETHINNG THEY LOVE, SKIN COLOR BE DAMNED. Stop saying rap or Jazz is R&B is black culture simply because it was popularized in black communities. Are movies part of exclusively white culture because they were originally crafted by whites. Should black people not participate in film because in its beginnings movies were racist and black people were excluded from them? There is a long history of property and culture being stolen from ALL types of people in America. I don't care if some black people are offended because a generation of white people with no involvement in the actions of white people in the past like "black music". That music is not black music. It is American music crafted by black artists. My point, which you never even addressed so Ill capitalize it for you, was that JUST BECAUSE A COMMUNITY OF MOSTLY BLACK PEOPLE PIONEERED SOMETHING, DOENST MEAN YOU ARE "STEALING CULTURE" FROM ALL BLACK PEOPLE, BECAUSE ALL BLACK PEOPLE WERENT INVOLVED WITH ITS CREATION. When you say that black culture is "stolen in the US" YOU ARE INDIRECTLY SEGREGATING BECAUSE YOU ARE SAYING THAT BLACK PEOLPLE ARE A GROUP SEPARATE FROM AMERICA AND ITS CULTURE. IF YOU WANT BLACK PEOPLE TO BE EQUAL WITH WHITES, STOP MAKING WHITE PEOPLE FEEL BAD FOR INVOLVING THEMSELVES IN THINGS TYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH BLACK PEOPLE. I AGREE ABOUT THE TERRIBLE HISTORY OF THE PAST, BUT CULTURAL DIVISIONS WILL NEVER MAKE A UNIFIED FUTURE. AND NO, NOBODY ACTUALLY SUGGESTED SEGREGATION, BUT BY SAYING THAT THINGS BLACK PEOPLE DO IS "BLACK CULTURE" , YOU IMPLY THAT BLACK CONTRIBUTIONS ARE NOT INHERENTLY AMERICAN CONTRIBUTIONS, THAT MAINSTREAM AMERICAN CULTURE IS ACTUALLY JUST "WHITE CULTURE", AND THAT THIS "BLACK CULTURE" IS SO DISTINCT FROM REGULAR "AMERICAN CULTURE" THAT IF WHITE PEOPLE ENGAGE IN IT, THEY ARE ACTUALLY STEALING IT FROM A WILLINGLY SEPARATE, aka SEGREGATED, GROUP. I personally don't think white people being involved in these genres is "appropriating" or stealing anything, because "black culture" IS AMERICAN CULTURE, and WHITE PEOPLE DO NOT DEFINE WHAT AMERICAN CULTURE IS. If anything, it is taking advantage of lower income groups by higher income groups, a problem not reserved only for black people. They have felt its worst, but black people exist in all walks of life, and many feel no relation to those genres of music, as they grew up alongside whites with no affinity towards those who are represented as the "typical black American". I know many black people who are disgusted by the fact that white people performing in these genres is considered "cultural appropriation", as they have no connection to the culture in those genres than their white counterparts, and are insulted that they are supposed to identify as a culture simply because of their skin. They view those genres as part of American culture, open to all, with simply a lower income portion of different race associated with its development Rap, for example, is not typically embraced by many whites for the same reason I've never heard Jimmy Buffet playing in my ex's lower income neighborhood. Socioeconomic and societal position greatly influence culture. Rap arose in a lower income community of mostly blacks, and thus has been associated with black culture. THIS IS HORRIBLY INSULTING BECAUSE IT ASSOCIATES BLACK PEOPLE AS BELONGING TO A CULTURE OF POVERTY, DRUGS, AND CRIME. The slow acceptance of this music by a large number of whites, and apparent racism of institutions such as the Grammys, is a result of many whites having no identification with that lifestyle, and thus they prefer rap if it is made with a theme geared towards them. HOWEVER, THE ACCEPTANCE OF THESE GENRES BY WHITES DEMONSTRATES THAT WHITES ARE NO LONGER VIEWING THINGS TYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH BLACKS AS TABOO, AND BY MAKING THIS MUSIC PART OF AMERICAN CULTURE AND NOT JUST "BLACK CULTURE", THEY NOW ACCEPT THAT BLACK PEOPLE ARE JUST SIMPLY AMERICANS AND NOT A SEPARATE GROUP WITH SEPARATE CULTURE. THIS IS A STEP ON THE ROAD TO ELIMINATING RACISM ON A WIDER SCALE. When the comment I responded to said culture isn't arbitrary to black people, they indirectly said that black people are either so different or so powerless, that they must feel certain ways and be certain things no matter what. THAT IS RACISM. And as long as people continue to group a vast group of people with no commonality except skin color into one culture, that group of people will never fully be equal.