What were those beautiful fabrics draped over the shoulders of the kneeling Democrats?

[question everything]

[PatSeg]

1. I was wondering the same thing

[tblue37]

2. Looks like kente cloth. nt

[elleng]

3. Kente cloth

known as nwentoma in Akan, is an indigenous Ghanaian textile, made of interwoven cloth strips of silk and cotton. Kente is made in Akan lands, in Ghana, from the historic Ashanti Kingdom, including the towns of Bonwire, Adanwomase, Sakora Wonoo, and Ntonso in the Kwabre areas of the Ashanti Region. Wikipedia

[question everything]

4. Thank you. I kinda remember a trip to Ghana recently.

[Jirel]

5. Kente cloths.

Unpopular opinion, but not cool. Yes, the cloths were passed out by the congressional black caucus. But that still doesn’t sit well with a lot of folks who feel it was a cultural appropriation photo op.

[Withywindle]

8. The cloth was given to them by officials from Ghana

when they made a trip there last year to memorialize the 400th anniversary of the slave trade. It was a solemn occasion and so is this.

I get your point about cultural appropriation, but I think it's different when members of that culture give the items to you as a gift with the intention that you will use them, and show respect and solidarity by doing so. Like, Westerners visiting Japan are often given traditional clothing and they're expected to wear it!

[Jirel]

16. Not true.

If you have ANY source ANYWHERE, feel free to prove me (and every legit news source, apparently) wrong.

The cloths was provided by members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Members of the CBC did wear kente cloth during a memorial of the 400th anniversary of the slave trade, during the 2018 State of the Union, and I'm sure some other events. Where the CDC members got those particular cloths, we can't say. However, if the CDC members were given the cloths, that was a gift to them to be worn. It was not a gift to anyone or everyone in congress.

[question everything]

9. What's this thing about "cultural appropriation." A white man cannot have a taco stand?

[Jirel]

17. This is soooooo... wow.

Please question the place where YOUR OWN "question" is coming from. If you don't understand cultural appropriation and it's a joke to you, we have nothing to discuss.

[question everything]

20. You will be very disappointed in your life

[elleng]

10. "July 2019, Nancy Pelosi & Black Caucus members travelled to Ghana to observe

the 400th of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

They were given Kente in honor of their visit & the developing solidarity between our countries.

...

A reminder that the visit happened at a time where Trump was labeling many African countries as "shithole".

Pelosi & members of the Black caucus acted as diplomats in order to undo the harm & instead solidify our standing with international allies."

[Hekate]

12. Please rethink that statement in light of the info others have given you

It's not "appropriation" when it is a gift

[Jirel]

19. I think you need to go look for more information.

The "information" given is not entirely factual. Rather than being defensive about it, people on DU might want to think about how this was viewed by many members of the African-American community, whether on social media or news media or even comedian/commentators like Trevor Noah. While the African-American community is anything but monolithic, and many of the responses have been in the "WTF, that's hilarious... but no" category versus something far more negative, the level of negative versus positive response should speak for itself. It was a bad idea. Those kinds of photo ops should be avoided.

[obamanut2012]

15. Then take it up with the CBC who handed them out

Takes a lot of nerve to come onto DU and call the CBC cultural appropriation opportunists.

[Jirel]

18. Denying the problem will not make it go away.

The optics were horrible. It doesn't matter whether the CBC came up with the idea, or they agreed to an idea by other house members, or what. It has gone over as a publicity photo in bad taste.

You do your party no favors by trying to defend a bad idea. It's assinine when the GOP tries to cover for Trump's unbelievable bullshit at all costs, regardless of the consequences. It's no better for us to do the same. It doesn't require self-flagellation, but people should be willing to say "Hey, that was a really, really bad idea. Let's not do that again."

[pnwmom]

23. How is it appropriation when they were GIVEN the cloths and asked to wear them?

They wore them as a sign of solidarity.

[Blue_true]

6. Kente cloth. Traditional fabric in some African countries. nt

[seaglass]

7. Detail from Selena Adera about the trip Pelosi and the CBC took to Ghana where they

were given Kente:


"July 2019, Nancy Pelosi & Black Caucus members travelled to Ghana to observe the 400th of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

They were given Kente in honor of their visit & the developing solidarity between our countries.

...

A reminder that the visit happened at a time where Trump was labeling many African countries as "shithole".

Pelosi & members of the Black caucus acted as diplomats in order to undo the harm & instead solidify our standing with international allies."

Suggest those interested read the whole thread:

Link to tweet

?s=20

[Cha]

11. KR!

[Hekate]

13. KnR!

[soothsayer]

14. Kente was trending on twitter yesterday

...with lots of folks (prolly bots) upset about Nancy et al wearing those cloths. Immediately checked here but not a peep, as many were consumed with the “defund” lingo.

I thought it still might blow up, but it seems to have largely gone away, for which I’m grateful.

[tavernier]

21. Well I know nothing about all of that

but I thought they were breathtaking and obviously worn as a symbol of honor. I’m not quite sure why this would be insulting to anyone.

[lunatica]

22. I believe the Black Caucus wears them