I tried so hard to stay out of the newspaper after understanding that DePauw does not care about the injustices that harm Black students on this campus.
Then, Greek God and Goddess happened and Kappa Alpha Theta thought that it was okay for two white women to wear afros and run with a sign that read: “CIRCUS FREAKS.” I am not angry because I am going to assume that this white women’s fraternity is ignorant to the message it is sending out. So, allow me to take the time out my day to explain why this is not okay: I have a beautiful best friend who is Black and she has a twin – they both wear afros as their signature looks. Two white women in one shirt, wearing afros, and identifying as circus freaks is not okay.
Black people are the only ones that can get their hair into the natural afro that Americans consistently describes as “nappy.” So, because of the fact that these two women wore afro wigs that resembles Blackness, no person can tell me that they were not dressed up as Black twins, calling themselves circus freaks. Not only is it insulting to the Black community, but it also perpetuates the dehumanization of Blacks. It also impacts the way we are treated and how we view ourselves. While there are many conscious Black students, I know that when I was a freshman I was afraid to wear my natural hair without a perm or being straightened. Therefore, when people decide to wear a wig on their heads and it looks like my natural state of hair – as a freshman that would have been damaging to my self-esteem.
Furthermore, you must know your history before you put on a performances like such. Circuses and circus freaks are dehumanizing. Europeans took Black women around and made money displaying the size of their buttocks. They used to hold Black women in cages and make them dance, making money off of them without paying them a dime. Have you heard of Sarah Baartman (Saartjie Baartman) or the term Venus Hottentot? If not, please Google! She is a Black woman with an afro from South Africa who was labeled “CIRCUS FREAK.” Africa just received her body parts back from a European museum in the early 2000s. She was slaughtered in order to display her buttocks and vagina.
Lastly, let talk about appropriation. “Appropriation” or “to appropriate” -- according to Google: “is the intentional borrowing, copying and alteration of preexisting images and objects.” Theta “borrowed” the “afro” look from Black culture and won recognition. Black people on DePauw’s campus and in America cannot even win recognition for wearing their natural state of hair. Instead, we are criticized as being unapproachable, thuggish or ugly. I should not have to educate someone who attends a school as prestigious as DePauw about appropriation or explain why my feelings are hurt. Where are our professors? After all the movements Black students and other marginalized communities have organized on this campus, why are you all still insulting us?
Jones is a senior women's studies and English writing major from St. Louis, Missouri.