SHENECA SHARPE
Special to The Leader
Halloween is coming soon, and with that means an array of costumes from cute to funny to scary.
Sadly, Halloween is known for its use of cultural appropriation as costumes for trendy or comedic effects. For people who aren’t sure what cultural appropriation means, it’s the adoption or use of culture from minorities by a more prominent population. This can be seen in the form of skin tones, hairstyles and/or traditional attire.
Fredonia has a history of cultural appropriation on Halloween, in particular the use of “blackface” or traditional clothing.
These incidents have made Halloween around Fredonia an anxious time to experience, even from student leaders on campus.
Jamelia Smith, the president of Carribean Student Union said that this is a realization of how Fredonia truly is when it comes to dealing with incidents as this due to its location.
“Which, honestly, and sadly should be no surprise because we are in Western New York where diversity is scarce but racism is not,” said Smith, a senior dual major in geology and chemistry.
Some students feel numb to the cultural appropriation incidents due to the frequency and feel that Fredonia isn’t doing enough to change the conversation.
Terron Brown, the president of Black Student Union and a senior biology major believes that students need to willingly educate themselves.
“The college could have some mandatory program to make students aware of what’s appropriate and what’s not, but ultimately it’s up to individuals to be educated and responsible enough not to appropriate culture,” said Brown.
Using somebody’s culture is never comedic, no matter the intention.
Examples of cultural appropriation would be: blackface/yellowface/redface, dashikis, asian attire, polyenisian clothing, locs, indigieous clothing and more.
Keep an eye out for these costumes when looking for an outfit and avoid it. If there is curiosity on that particular culture as questions, take steps to inform yourself.
Also, being a ghost is a great option.