[Michelle20567]

Good question. My opinion is that certain types of music have a more universal appeal than others. It also has to do with exposure. If black kids aren’t exposed to punk rock or heavy metal, how will they like it? it isn’t played on the stations they listen to, but hip hop and R&B are played on stations that white people listen to. I have had this discussion quite a few times, and we come up with the same ideas. Certain elements of black culture are often envied and copied. White women tan to get darker skin, they get collagen treatments to have fuller lips. Rock n’ roll was created by black people and stolen by the likes of Elvis and others. Same for Jazz, which is now considered the only classical American music. It seems like while black people were once reviled (and are still pretty disliked and pre-judged), we are seen as great sources of entertainment. White parents don’t want their kids dating us, but they are allowed to listen to our music. Why do you think so many people love Eminem? Because there is finally a white boy doing the music that white kids love so much, and they finally have someone to identify with racially. Being black is seen as being ‘cool’ or ‘down,’ so our music is universal. Everyone wants to be ‘down.’

As for sports, it is again exposure. A predominantly white school is more likely to have a hockey team than a black school. Most schools that are predominantly black barely have money for books, much less a hockey team. Black people look for people to identify with, being numerical minorities. Many of us didn’t care about golf before Tiger Woods because we had no one to identify with. Same for tennis before Venus and Serena. Young black kids look for role models, and when they look to sports, the sports with the most people they can identify with on the surface are basketball and maybe football.

Many black people are raised to see things in color, whereas many white people are raised to be colorblind. Race is always on the forefront of the mind of a black person, whereas it might not be for a white person. So a white person may just vibe to the music or love the sport, while a black person is looking for identifiers.

User Detail :  

Name : Michelle20567, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 24, City : Jersey City, State : NJ, Country : United States, Occupation : Non Profit, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

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