Columbus-nize – when a White person pretends they have invented/discovered something we been doing; a mixture of the words colonize and Columbus (who didn’t discover shit).
I went to sleep last night in a haze of White Nonsense from Hitler’s, Stalin’s, Donald’s Trump’s tweet insulting both Lebron James and Don Lemon.
An “I can’t even strive to reach mid-level mediocrity” mediocre White man that only had to be White and racist to succeed in America dares to call two Black men that have achieved what many would deem impossible. Especially in this world. Don Lemon is an openly gay Black man that has worked to become a reporter on one of the most watched news stations in the nation. And if I even attempted to list all Lebron James accomplishments, I would be here all day. Just a few days ago Lebron James opened the I Promise School that provides a holistic framework to education, providing wrap-around services for the students and families. Both men are the epitome of Black Excellence, and Black Excellence scares mediocre White men like Trump.
Trump’s statement can be attributed to his blatant dislike of all things Black-and by all things I mean Black people. Meeting with a group of Black pastors for a photo-op will never change the fact that Donald Trump is a racist.
Reading his tweet was enough White Nonsense for me for one day, and I went to sleep thinking, “Hannah, tomorrow is another day,” only to wake up to Vogue and their White Nonsense article written by Zoe Ruffner, This Hair Accessory Is Sweeping the French Riviera- And It’s Less Than $5. Oh, my!! Really? Sweeping the French Riviera? What could it be that we have NEVER seen before to get this breaking fashion news information?!
Claw Clips.
Yep.
Claw Clips
And Black women around the world laughed in 99 cents a pack hair store chuckles.
Giphy.com
White people genuinely believe they have invented EVERYTHING! They seem to dwell underneath the delusion that something doesn’t exist until they “ Columbus-nize” it. According to Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt, “women have been found buried with curved wooden combs that functioned as both ornament and, obviously, a comb in ancient Egyptian tombs at Deir el-Medina.” The hair comb/clip concept has been modified throughout the ages by various cultures so to pretend as if this is a new trend is laughable. Ruffner writes an article for Vogue about hair clips she “discovered” in France worn by all the woman on the beach and then she noticed them on her Instagram feed and just like that claw clips were invented along with rap, collard greens and cornrows because on the 8th day God said, “Let there be appropriation!”
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Then as if she was Carmen San Diego on a mission ready to pull off an Oceans 11 heist she, “heeded an insider’s tip and stopped into a small discount store on Antibes’s Rue de la République. It was there, on my last night in France, that I found them, gleaming in all their jolie laide glory. Clear bags were filled with clips in cotton candy pinks, fiery reds, and translucent blues the same as the sea I had waded through just hours earlier.”
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White people do this ALL the time.
They go into places with people that have AN ACTUAL CULTURE with the intention of trendspotting or coolhunting. Cool hunting is defined by Wikipedia as, ‘a neologism coined in the early 1990s referring to a new kind of marketing professionals who make observations and predictions in changes of new or existing “cool“ cultural fads and trends.” Or as I like to call it, stealing ideas and creativity from Black people and putting a White stamp of approval on them. With the invention of social media, it has become much easier to steal ideas from unique, stylish Black people that exude confidence, originality, and creativity. A few scrolls through Instagram, YouTube or Twitter and Vogue and other companies have their entire “New Trends On The Horizon” line-up of articles and products.
THE ONLY TREND I SEE IS STEALING IDEAS FROM BLACK PEOPLE!
THIS FAMILY IS THE CEO OF STEALING IDEAS FROM BLACK PEOPLE. Anytime you want to know what Black people are up to, check with a Kardashian. They have STOLEN it.
REALLY, STELLA? African Women have been wearing these since time was time!
PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 02: A model walks the runway during the Stella McCartney Ready to Wear Spring/Summer 2018 fashion show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2018 on October 2, 2017 in Paris, France. (Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
CULTURE VULTURE! These are NOT Boxer Braids. They are cornrows.
Kim Kardashian
So ya’ll just gonna pretend Solange didn’t do this on her album cover?
Photo Credit: @funnyjulius/Twitter
Black People have done this since forever! 
Didn’t invent Jack Daniels either!
Jack Daniels now says, “It didn’t learn distilling from Dan Call, but from a man named Nearis Green — one of Call’s slaves.” Photo: New York Times
I could go on and on. This happens in just about EVERY SINGLE CULTURE where White people come in to steal ideas and pawn them off as their own, reaping the acknowledgment, accolades, and monetary benefits. Behind some of the most innovative ideas in the world, there is a Black person that you will probably never know anything about. White people are notorious for this behavior only validating Black culture once they have stolen and repackaged it. Newsflash we do not need your validation. Black people don’t follow trends, WE SET THE TRENDS! Now pay us what you owe us!
Categories: Current Events, Race Relations, Thoughts, Musings and Reflections
I saw this occur recently with a popular baby-wearing company. It was interesting to see white women doscuss whether it was cultural appropriation or not. The company went to Guatemala, and worked with another company that hires Guatemalan women to make slings in their beautiful fabrics. I love that they hired the very women who live there, but it still irks me that white women everywhere now carry their babies in slings with a fabric that means nothing to them. A fabric that they would deem hideous if they saw it for sale at a flea market- that is, until it’s a trend, which it now is. As you said, it happens to so many cultures. Disgusting.
I promise just yesterday I was at a street fair and saw these Black dolls and I was like what’s that and went to check it out. White women selling African clothes, jewelry, dolls. I believe it was for an organization like you spoke of but I felt weird about it. I would have to know more about their organization, how much of the money the Black people are getting, etc. It just wasn’t a good look. I am all for empowering women. However, why can’t those African women be the face of their brand and make all the money? Just sayin’…
Recently on Tumblr there was that Eastern European cultural group that had their clothing ideas (some colorful jackets and vests) stolen by some kind of French or Italian fashion company. They went all out on their campaign to let everyone know they were the original creators and where the originals could be bought, started their own company, and began making their own money off the design, (as it should be because their culture had very obviously been pilfered.)
One of the sayings on Tumblr is: Something is only ghetto until it’s been stolen.
I don’t understand how a people that hate us so much can steal so much from us. Also, I think they do this because they don’t create or invent anything. They just piggyback off what we do. They have NO creativity!
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