University of Mississippi eGrove Honors College (Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors Theses Honors College) Spring 5-1-2021 A Stolen Culture: The Harmful Effects of Cultural Appropriation Amirah Lockhart Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis Part of the Africana Studies Commons Recommended Citation Lockhart, Amirah, "A Stolen Culture: The Harmful Effects of Cultural Appropriation" (2021). Honors Theses. 1804. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1804 This Undergraduate Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors College (Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College) at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. 1 2 © 2021 Amirah Ajai Lockhart ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3 ABSTRACT Amirah Lockhart: A Stolen Culture: The Harmful Effects of Cultural Appropriation in the Black Entertainment Industry Entertainment has always been an outlet from reality, no matter the culture. Whether in the form of music or television, entertainment has something for everyone. Different factors influence the content of the entertainment being consumed, but culture is one of the most important and decisive elements. The appropriation of entertainers in their work is not always immediately obvious to all consumers of entertainment, but members of the affected culture are quick to notice and usually shut out. I argue that the cultural appropriation of Black culture in most cases facilitates results that are harmful and damaging to the Black community. My research methods will use firsthand recollection of recent examples of cultural appropriation in the entertainment industry by members of the African American community who range from intellectuals to creators to consumers and juxtapose their accounts with historical examples of appropriation as recorded in primary and secondary sources.