White Sorority Wins Major Step Competition: PostRacial or Just Wrong?

By Deputy Editor Thea Lim

So we’ve been getting lots of emails about this, both from readers and friends – in late February Zeta Tau Alpha , a predominantly white sorority, beat out three black sororities at the Sprite Step-Off, nabbing the $100,000 prize and honours as the best step team in the country.

This caused an immediate backlash. In the video below, as soon as the second place winner is revealed you can hear the crowd booing while other audience members begin walking out:

Five days later, in an (alleged) panic Sprite announced that there was a scoring discrepancy, allowing them to announce a tie and give another $100,000 to the second place winners, Alpha Kappa Alpha.

For readers who don’t know about stepping and black sororities and fraternities, Lawrence Ross explains on CNN what it means to have a white sorority beat black greek associations at a massive, televised step comp:

To understand why this is a big deal, you have to understand that African-American fraternities and sororities are as close to the Animal House stereotype attached to white fraternities as Pat Boone is to hip-hop. Black fraternities and sororities, known as the Divine Nine, form the fiber of African-American leadership in this country and continue to produce the leaders of tomorrow.

…The roster of Divine Nine members is a Who’s Who in African America: the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Jackson, Michael Jordan, Maya Angelou, Dorothy Height and over a million others count themselves as members. The civil rights movement is populated with Divine Nine members who developed leadership skills on college campuses… Pride in one’s organization is paramount to Divine Nine members, and one way to express that is through stepping.

Divine Nine fraternities and sororities take great pride in being original and innovative in their dances: highly coordinated, with elaborate costumes, and sometimes performed before thousands. It’s a point of pride to perform, but to win for the glory of your fraternity or sorority is the ultimate.

So when Zeta Tau Alpha members won the Sprite Step Off, it was not just that they’d beaten African-American sororities, it was seen as the first assault on yet another African-American cultural tradition that, if not guarded, would be appropriated from blacks like jazz and hip-hop.

For Sprite, Zeta Tau Alpha was enough of a racial minefield to justify spending an extra $100,000 to quiet folks down. Ok, so that’s just speculation.

But there’s been a backlash to the backlash. Several prominent black journalists (including Lawrence Ross) have chastised the black greek community for complaining about the white win. Jason Whitlock writes that the case of Zeta Tau Alpha shows that “the moral of the story will be that black people have no issue with being just as discriminatory as the white power structure they rail against.” This thread on Bossip is full of commenters saying that it is racist for Bossip to have a problem with Zeta Tau Alpha’s win.

Do I think Zeta Tau Alpha deserved to win? I don’t know a lot about stepping, but I’m going to trust the judges and I assume they were amazing. But do I think they should have won?

Well, no.

Writing for the Root, Lawrence Ross says:

The problem with the arguments presented by the critics is that they tend to gloss over the question of whether the Zeta Tau Alpha steppers were actually better than their competition. Instead, most of the criticism has been reactionary and sought to deny Zeta Tau Alpha the opportunity to compete based solely on their skin color.

By doing that, black Greeks do a disservice to our historic legacy. African-American fraternities and sororities were born in circumstances that sought to combat judgments based on race. And to do the same as those who would deny us opportunity, based on the notion that we’re somehow protecting our black cultural integrity, is morally bankrupt.

The problem with this argument is that it lacks context. Not historical context on stepping – Ross wrote the book on that, literally – but racial and political context. As Ross states, black fraternities and sororities came up as spaces for black students to be together, necessary in a racist climate. Well, it’s not as if that racist climate has disappeared. I am not sure if there are black frats and sororities at UCSD – if there aren’t, they sure could use some.

When Whitlock argues that black folks who would deny a white step team step awards is bigoted, and akin to white folks who support segregation, he’s suggesting that systemic racism no longer exists. In my book, the only way you can be racist is if you have the institutional power to be racist. The fact that black folks have more presence within the world of stepping than white folks, does not delete the barrier that racism creates for black folks in many other arenas. And you don’t have institutional power in bits and pieces – even if stepping is dominated by black folks, it exists within a racist context. This means that even within the step world, black folks don’t have institutional power. Stepping doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

When white folks don’t want black folks to participate in something, that’s racist. When black folks don’t want white folks to participate in something, it is not racist. That’s right! And no, this is not because I have a delusional double standard. In order for this to be a double standard, white and black folks would have to have to same level of power universally. But instead power relations in our society continue to extend far far more opportunities to white folks than to black folks, or any other folks of colour.

I would have no problem with a white team winning at a historically black competition, if black students (and other students of colour) were excelling at every mainstream (read:white) college turn. Instead, the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education has multiple statistics showing that black students have lower rates of graduation, citing racism, lack of space for supportive black campus communities, and strained family finances as reasons for this discrepancy. And if/when black students do graduate, it’s not like skin colour disappears. This New York Times article from the end of last year states that:

the unemployment rate for black male college graduates 25 and older in 2009 has been nearly twice that of white male college graduates — 8.4 percent compared with 4.4 percent.

Racism hampers all students of colour. Similar stats exist for black and non-black Latin@ students, and let’s not forget the recent admissions data we’ve seen about Asian American students.

Stepping and black fraternities and sororities exist to give black students a reprieve from these barriers, and a space to be together and celebrate who they are. As a non-black person of colour, I wish I had that – if anyone is setting up dance competitions for mixed race SoutheastAsian/Irish/Canadian women, let me know.

When top honours in such a space go to a white team, it is not an aberration or a historic event – it is a repeat of what happens all day every day, outside of that very small space. While I am absolutely sure that Zeta Tau Alpha are a great stepping team, they are still part of the dominant culture and reap its benefits, while black students bear its brunt. Being told that you are inferior to white folks all the time takes its toll – as the struggles of black students to achieve academic success demonstrates. Being told that you are inferior to white folks, within the place that you built to get away from such constant rejection? That cuts deep.

An academic I know bristles whenever teaching positions in minority literature go to white academics. Can white academics teach minority lit? I’m sure they can. But can they get jobs in every other lit position? Yes. Is it harder for academics of colour to get, say, Victorian Lit positions? Yes it is. So until that difference is rectified, the few positions of honour that can go to people of colour, should go to people of colour.

I went to the sold-out semifinals of the Sprite Step-Off at Texas Southern University in Houston, where Zeta Tau Alpha went on to qualify for the finals* in Atlanta. It was a great night. The crowd was deliriously happy. And most of the night was spent executing Texas hip hop dance crazes, like the Mr Hit Dat, the Flex and the Halle Berry. These dances may be redonculous, but they are also cultural rituals that above all express proud membership and belonging. In other words, it was clear to me that part of the joy of that night derived from the chance for these black college students to be together, and celebrate each other and the culture they and their elders had built together. There are so few spaces for young people of colour to do that.

When the entire college experience is a space for all kinds of youth to celebrate their personness, then it will be racist to complain when a white team like Zeta Tau Alpha wins a step competition. But black president or no, that day is a long way away. I look forward to it – even though it means I will be out of a job.

–

*Alas I actually missed their performance – I left in the middle of Lupe Fiasco’s number. I just don’t care for him. I did however, get to see Latoya Luckett, which was just delightful.

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Comments

SweeterJuice wrote:

Okay, so here’s what I want to know:

According to the WaPo article on this controversy, the ZTAs of Univ of Arkansas were taught how to step about sixteen years ago by a historically black sorority on their campus, as part of a “unity” night program:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/03/AR2010030303895_2.html?sid=ST2010030403984

The black sorority that did this–do they bear some responsibility for what’s happened? Are they some sort of race traitors for sharing a tradition that’s important to them with the white sorority, despite their intention to reach across a racial divide?

Because that’s the sense that I’m getting, from your argument. You say stepping competitions are an important part of the black college students’ critical need to celebrate themselves. But clearly some black college students–the ones who taught the ZTAs–didn’t see it that way. And the ZTAs probably saw it as an invitation to join in the tradition.

Therefore…what? Did the unknown black sorority pull an Uncle Tom of some sort?

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 1:41 am ¶
Kristen wrote:

I think you are way off base on this one. Yes, institutionalized racism exists. That doesn’t mean racial exclusivity is the answer. I think Lawrence Ross said it well:

“By doing that, black Greeks do a disservice to our historic legacy. African-American fraternities and sororities were born in circumstances that sought to combat judgments based on race. And to do the same as those who would deny us opportunity, based on the notion that we’re somehow protecting our black cultural integrity, is morally bankrupt.”

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 1:43 am ¶
RG wrote:

Listen, I’m a Latino who comes from a Fraternity who does not step/stroll. But, I do understand the importance of it, especially to the D9 organizations. A side of me says, you know what, each D9 org has their distinct moves and steps that represents them. For example, if you see a Kappa and a Q step, its obvious who is who. Its hard for the Zetas to simply come in and do what they choose seeing that these other organizations have to be aware of the history of each others performances. If a move is copied or repeated, not only will the org lose credit for the performance, but also lose credit for the org as a whole; i.e. cheaters, thieves. (Greek world is a small world)

But, as far as the competition, the Zetas f’n killed it. They were well rehearsed and basically blew the others out of the water.

I think as far as the aftermath, we have to look at is this, non-D9 orgs have been entering in step/stroll shows farely recently; last two decades. And, whenever one wins (ex. LSU/SLB) this whole argument comes up, “this is our tradition, yall shouldn’t even be here!” I feel that’s extremely petty and removes the whole competition aspect of it away. If anything, it should tell everyone to step their games up. But that’s just it, its stepping. It’s an awesome tradition that’s been around for a long ass time, but it’s stepping. People in Greek orgs forget that people who aren’t in Greek orgs could give a sh*t less about how fast you can stomp around a stage to “Move bitch get out the way”. It’s college, and I personally have a high respect for all Greeks. But when I wasn’t in my org, I could honestly care less what any of them were doing. Yes, I understand that scholarship money is a huge incentive, but for this to get soooooo much attention is just ridiculous. We all forget why we joined the organizations in the first place, and that was to service our community, foster education, and build friendships, etc. etc.

Again, I understand the importance of campus culture, and Greek traditions, but when all this negative energy gets so publicized, it makes all Greeks look bad. Not to mention, the Zetas show was so on point, they were probably trained and coached by someone who was in a D9 org; I don’t know for sure, I’m just saying. Yall need to chill out, and realize that if this really was as serious as yall are making it, the Zetas should not have even been allowed to register for the event.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 2:02 am ¶
Lauren O wrote:

My main concern would be that it’s probably impossible to judge a competition like this without certain preconceptions seeping into your thought process. People of color generally have to work way harder than white people to be considered equal to white people. I haven’t seen any of the performances involved, and I don’t know anything about stepping anyway, but it does seem likely that a white team would get more credit than a black team even if their performances were exactly the same. That might be exacerbated by the fact that it’s a traditionally black art form. If a judge thought, “Wow, this team is really good! And they’re not even black!” even subconsciously, they might have given undeserved bonus points to the white team, possibly by genuine accident.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 2:04 am ¶
HIdentity wrote:

This is bull. You can’t have a competition, allow anyone to compete, and then deny the judges their single jurisdiction of awarding their subjective winner. Regardless of whether you think the white step team did best, the judges certainly did. They’re own authority is thoroughly undermined by this Sprite mea culpa. It may not be racist according to you to disallow the white team in this situation to win, but it surely isn’t morally correct. And that is much more important.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 2:05 am ¶
I'm Just saying... wrote:

“In my book, the only way you can be racist is if you have the institutional power to be racist.” Well said. I couldn’t say it better myself.

I saw the performance and I thought Zeta Tau Alpha were horrible – stiff, lacked energy and “borrowed” a lot of their wow moves from other step groups. I believe they won because they were a novelty, white females doing a “black thing”. But that’s just my humble opinion.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 2:05 am ¶
izebe wrote:

Thank-you for this especially: “When white folks don’t want black folks to participate in something, that’s racist. When black folks don’t want white folks to participate in something, it is not racist. That’s right! And no, this is not because I have a delusional double standard”—TOO many people don’t get that. *insert sigh* I like to think about those spatial/skills building pre-school toys in relation to this–you know where you had to fit certain shapes of blocks into a shape-match container-top thingee and then it would pop right through?

Well you can’t squeeze a triangle in a square–they are not completely interchangeable and able to be swapped, even though they’re both kinds of blocks. It’s not the same. Ergo, I agree with your reasoning and see your stance completely. I myself, went greek *sheepishly admits* as an undergrad, in the south-east, inside a national traditionally white sorority. I’m also West Indian, have never stepped but greatly admire the cultural and historical connections in the movements and where those stem.

I don’t want people to see this as begrudging Zeta Tau Alpha a win (I know you’re not doing this either but I am sure that’s what some people will see), but it does seem to reinscribe certain kinds of problematic undertones. Speaking of swapping blocks and interchangeable racial situations: sometimes events like these continue to do just that, reinforcing such notions. And some folks miss the problematics altogether.

Worse yet and sadly, I sometimes feel like events like these feel like a tiny ripple on the armor of larger systems of oppression and domination and furthermore, people of colour are entitled to own their cultural spaces–no, not run everybody out or anything like that–but they are entitled to own them and envelope them in their loving communal arms. They can decide who to grant access to in encompassing and critical ways. They can. And they should. Cries of racism, my foot.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 2:26 am ¶
Missy wrote:

I appreciate you writing this article, but as a professional dancer (hip hop not stepping) and a B/F, I think you completely missed why the Black Sororities protested this obvious sham.
Shows like these (where White vs POC events are followed by MTV) are highly suspicious. MTV caters heavily to a young White audience and is infamous for *whitewashing* a numerous amount of elements belonging to Black culture.
Initially I thought the Black sororities were overreacting due to bitter feelings from being defeated by a White group of girls that were taught by one of their own at their own style.
However, after actually taking my time to watch each performance I can easily see that the AKAs were much better at stepping–their steps were much more advance, the call and response were on point and they showed way more attitude. I did like the Zeta’s outfits and they seemed to feed off of the crowds excitement and I greatly appreciated their use of space but truly believe that had they been another Black sorority, there is no way they would have won.
Being a victim of the whole “white girl can dance almost as good or just as good as you therefore she is better” attitude (which so often comes from other POC), I completely empathized with the AKAs. It always sucks that more people are rooting for the lesser but whiter talent simply because ‘White underdog mentality’ that has been brainwashed into our subconscious through devious programming like that of MTV.
But to take something that is 100% Black and throw White kids in the mix and have them win WITHOUT actually being deserving of it (as in technically superior) is a new low, even for MTV.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 3:03 am ¶
GENQ10 wrote:

In the comments section on theroot.com a few people pointed out that ZTA violated the rules because a. they did some booty-dancing at the end of the routine (sexualized dancing was prohibited by the competition rules, apparently), and b. they did not qualify the same way the other teams did. I don’t know whether this is true or not, but if it is true, it could be another reason why people are upset. In addition (again, from the comments section, not sure if this is true or not) the judges were not those who judge collegiate step competitions because they didnt want any bias.

Does anyone know more about this? I’m curious to know. Right now it seems like a major corporation captializing on a yet another black art form.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 3:06 am ¶
GENQ10 wrote:

@Lauren O

I agree completely. If a black person excels in a “white” arena, it’s due to affirmative action, or quotas, or something. If a white person excels in a “black” arena, he/she is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 3:08 am ¶
honeybrown1976 wrote:

Jason Whitlock, or witless, speaking on racism? Really? Did he fall on his head, experience a concussion, and totally forget the racialized sexism he sprouted from his less-than-evolved brain?

I agree that they shouldn’t have won. Quite frankly, it was a pity win to “show some post-racial face”. Please, those girls would have to do far more than imitate something they truly do not know anything about. Imitation isn’t always the greatest form of flattery. Sometimes is appropriated mockery.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 4:05 am ¶
miga wrote:

It seems unfair to me to have the pretense of an inclusive competition if and when you KNOW someone is not going to win. Period. White, Black, Latino, Asian, whoever. If you don’t want the white girls competing DON’T LET THEM IN THE COMPETITION IN THE FIRST PLACE. Allowing them in says: you have a shot. Which obviously people did not want here. I do not have problems with safe spaces, but you can’t invite someone into your safe space, ask them to play a game, and then be mad when they win.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 4:14 am ¶
Kat wrote:

Recently me and another woman sat at a table with two Jewish students who argued over the pros and cons of Zionism. Me and the other woman pretty much jumped back in our chairs, at the exact same time, rather unconsciously, so strong was our “Do.not.want.” (to be part of this) reaction. I just did the exact same thing. At my desk.
Minefield… However, I think the White teams should not be part of the competition in the first place. This (them winning, whether purely for racism or that plus really good dancing), then sort of retracting is just not a good idea. They shouldn’t be in the competition! On the other side, my certainty then took a slight (not entirely devastating) blow when I read SweeterJuice’s comment. By banning the White team(s), is one in a way dishonoring the Black teams who taught them the steps to reach out across color lines? Really complex.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 5:21 am ¶
Kat wrote:

BTW:

Here’s Alpha Kappa Alpha’s routine.

And here is Zeta Tau Alpha’s routine.

ZTA’s routine is waaaay more complicated. But it’s a bit of an odd comparison since there are fewer dancers for AKA.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 5:34 am ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:

Some notes to address what I’ve seen here.

1. They did technically violate the rules. Rule five mentions no sexually suggestive dancing or music and no gyrating, all of which happened at the end. That’s a technical foul, though my boyfriend (who went to an HBCU) notes he’s seen people disqualified for bragging coming off the stage.

2. I suppose a lot of this depends on how far your knowledge of stepping goes. I think both routines went well, they were just executed differently – ZTA was heavier into stepping, AKA was heavier with creativity. However, my boyfriend pointed out they lifted some very key moves and steps, one of which being one of the calls in the middle, which is traditionally done by the Qs.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 7:34 am ¶
Renn wrote:

A lot of people who are upset about this know absolutely nothing about Greek life and stepping. As a white woman in a D9 org, I’d like to point out that a major reason that the ZTAs win is an issue has nothing to do with race – it’s because as *technically* precise as their routine was, they stole their moves from other organizations and had hired coaching assistance in the past. Anyone familiar with the stepping tradition knows these are taboo, and “creativity” was supposed to be a significant judging category. That routine was straight out of the 90’s and has been done by every D9 organization, and they incorporated signature moves from all our orgs. If a black group had done the same routine and won with it, people would have been upset as well – it just wouldn’t have gotten the news coverage it has because we wouldn’t be upset about pretty little white girls.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 7:40 am ¶
Kat wrote:

@ Missy:
Thanks for your comment. I can see where you’re coming from completely. But how could one prevent that?

“Four black judges and an Albanian — Chili of the group TLC, R&B singer Monica and choreographers Devyne Stephens, Zack Lee and Aris Golemi — awarded the crown to ZTA, the lone white participant.”

In this case, it’s relatively easy: Not have White participants. But generally? I mean MTV can’t really only have ’segregated’ TV shows. Yet, if Whites will win through internalised racism whenever they enter…? Any suggestions for a solution?

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 7:50 am ¶
Bekka wrote:

If it’s really that important, then make it an exclusive space, don’t let them compete. I get it. But I have to agree with Miga:

“If you don’t want the white girls competing DON’T LET THEM IN THE COMPETITION IN THE FIRST PLACE. Allowing them in says: you have a shot. Which obviously people did not want here. I do not have problems with safe spaces, but you can’t invite someone into your safe space, ask them to play a game, and then be mad when they win.”

That seems to me to be the far bigger issue. Judges will always be subjective, there will ALWAYS be some people who disagree with the outcome of a competition judged by humans – heck, within this thread there are strong arguments for both sides.

That misses the point. Let’s assume for a second, for the sake of argument, that the ZTAs were far, far better than the other team – which I’m not saying they were. Would the problem still be there? According to Latoya, yes, the problem is their race and perceived appropriation, NOT their skill level. So why were they allowed to compete in the first place, if their winning was always going to be unacceptable? I’m annoyed that this wasn’t addressed in the post, frankly.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 7:51 am ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:

Update to my last comment:

We were discussing this on the Takeaway, NYC based radio show (at this evil hour of 6 AM) and the person who was on with me (Lester, didn’t catch the last name) pointed out that while the judges were black they were not step judges. As a former stepper, he points to a “one legged step” that the AKA’s pulled off that is extremely difficult to pull off – he said he would have given them the competition on that alone, because from a technical standpoint, that move is way advanced.

FWIW, I mainly answered questions about the backlash. The show (and some of the callers) definitely was of the opinion that black people should get over it (one guy even referred to Jazz as white musicians being unfairly denied the opportunity to participate and finished with “no one owns anything”) so I pointed out that this isn’t just random hysteria – there’s a history of African American creation being undervalued and white participation being overvalued. I said this was like the stepping equivalent of a Starbucks moving into the neighborhood – is there that big of an issue of one coffeeshop coming to the neighborhood? No. But Starbucks has come to signal the onslaught of gentrification, and I tend to think the white girls winning the competition brought up all the disparities between recognition of black art forms when black people do it, and when others step into the space.

After all, would we have heard about this competition on the news if a white team hadn’t won?

As sweeterjuice notes above, this one is complicated. When discussing acts that can be performed (cooking, dancing, music) eventually, someone not of that culture will learn how to do it. That’s cultural sharing, and I think that’s how the ZTAs got to where they are in the first place.

But inside of our larger history and context, the ZTA win brings up a lot of unpacked cultural baggage, particularly the looting mentality that requires minorities to “get over it” whenever someone decides they want to take the best of the fruits of our culture, and leave the undesirable parts of it (normally the people and politics that inform the action) behind.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 7:54 am ¶
Mia wrote:

I remember a big portion of black fraternities/sororities pulling together on campus to help alleviate alot of stress encountered on a white dominate campus. Even if you weren’t a member, there were things you were happy to participate in because as a black person you were shown some love and acceptance, and allowed to be a person and not simply a quota, or some affirmative action student.

With that said, I do question every time I see a white group try to penetrate that with “what about me, and can I join.” Not out of racism, but because in a white dominate society they are not willing to show the same kind of acceptance and love. I do however think we as a black community should be capable of showing better sportsmanship than what’s been displayed. Although we live in a country where racism is and has been perpetuated by whites, we cannot afford to attribute their strides with our humiliation any longer.
I think Lawrence Ross wanted to say, “We’re better than that.” When in fact there is still alot of hurt existing on these campuses.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 8:22 am ¶
Alexis wrote:

Regardless of white or black, the OTHER team (that wasn’t declared the winner until Sprite retracted and declared a tie) should have won because they pulled off some kind of one-legged step move. That was crazy! If the winning team had pulled THAT off, regardless of their skin color, no one would have complained.

Plus, the rules for the competition specifically mentioned “no sexually suggestive dancing” and the winning team dropped low with a bunch of booty popping at the end. They clearly broke the rules.

I think the other team shot themselves in the foot with the rhythm nation bit in the beginning BECAUSE the judges were MTV celebrities who would automatically think they were just being knock offs. I don’t think there was any malice in their decision, I think they genuinely gave the winning team more credit because they felt their performance was more original. Such is life when you have celebrities judging a step performance over people who actually know about stepping…. See More

As for the winners, I can’t deny their performance was good! It wasn’t as difficult and some people are saying the winners even violated the rules by doing booty dancing at the end…. See More

I understand how some people think see it as a “first assault on yet another African-American cultural tradition that, if not guarded, would be appropriated from blacks like jazz and hip-hop” but that seems to be a really limited view.

Really, when anything goes mainstream (which is bound to happen if you keep making movies about it) it is going to be embraced by everyone.

I just think people should find something else to be mad about other than the fact that the winners were white. The president is black and “we” won’t let anyone be mad about that, so why can’t everyone be happy that the white people won the step show. At the same time, just watching them yell like that was hella hilarious. I felt like I was watching Stomp The Yard meets Bring It On me.ets The Matrix (because of their outfits).

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 9:43 am ¶
Mary wrote:

So why were they allowed to compete in the first place, if their winning was always going to be unacceptable? I’m annoyed that this wasn’t addressed in the post, frankly.

I agree. If a team is allowed to compete, that team should be allowed to win (though I’m not weighing in on whether the Zetas in particular deserved to). If you want to say that the Zetas should not have been allowed to compete in the first place, I wouldn’t necessarily argue with that. But once they were permitted to compete, it’s not fair to ANY of the competitors to forbid one team from winning. It wouldn’t be fair to the Zetas, yes – but it also wouldn’t be fair to whatever team did win, because their victory would be tainted.

I will also say one thing that unsettles me is this: why is ZTA “mostly white”? Is this a case of, “we admire black cultural traditions but don’t really want actual black people in our sorority”? I don’t know very much at all about ZTA so maybe this is an unfair question, but I can see why it sets the appropriation alarm bells ringing.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 10:02 am ¶
Juan wrote:

*sigh* Can’t really have not just safe spaces but some sort of culturally safe space it seems. ALmost can’t wait for this to be a made for TV movie with unflattering portrayls of any or all black characters.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 10:30 am ¶
blah wrote:

This is just so wrong the! ZTAs should not have won. This is just another example of white people waltzing in and not even following rules or the traditions of a minority culture and still winning. Juan, the largely white mainstream media will of course portray this as Black people being “racist too” w/o even talking about the reasons why so many of the people were upset. This is wholly the fault of MTV and the judging

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 11:58 am ¶
9jah wrote:

This is not an issue of appropriation. If that was the case, ZTA should not have been allowed to compete in the first place. I would have supported that. And I disagree with Latoya that their winning per se is what is bringing this notoriety – as much as anything its the backlash to their winning that’s making waves.

Besides, one point I think no one has mentioned is that black fraternities and sororities have proclaimed (publicly, anyway) open membership to other races. Prominent whites have joined black greek orgs, notably Eleanor Roosevelt as a honorary AKA and Lyndon Johnson a honorary Alpha. Black folks cant stand for inclusivity and then arbitrary change the tune when it doesn’t benefit.

One other point is – granted ZTA may be a historically white sorority, has anyone seen the pics of the chapter that won? At least half the group appears to be (visibly) non-white.

Appropriation is a historical menace but we can’t afford to blur the line on inclusivity for many reasons, chief among which is that it we risk losing the moral ground to point out injustices elsewhere. I like how Ross closed his article. Regarding appropriation he says rather than put up barriers, “We should instead be good stewards of our own traditions, work to improve them and demand respect by anyone, black or not, who attempts to bring tribute to it.”

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 12:13 pm ¶
.elise.anne. wrote:

@Lauren O

I agree when you said, “If a judge thought, “Wow, this team is really good! And they’re not even black!” even subconsciously, they might have given undeserved bonus points to the white team,”

especially now knowing who the judges were, and that such a big deal step competition was not judged by people who know all the ins and outs of stepping. Hello?! How the heck are they supposed to choose the best and judge the technicality and the history of the specific moves, etc, if they are regular pop culture stars?

I think that was *one* of the problems from the get-go.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 12:21 pm ¶
Penni Brown wrote:

I think the white sorority benefitted from a bit of exoticism. Part of the reason they were seen as soo great was because they were white girls, doing the moves. They were behaving against stereotype.

I’m not saying they weren’t good. They were. I saw the video.

But, its kind of like when Eminem was considered the best rapper and received all of those accolades. He was/is good, but even he acknowledged that part of the appeal was that he was a white boy spittin’ like black boys do.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 12:39 pm ¶
9jah wrote:

One retraction regarding the makeup of the ZTAs. I had looked at a pic on The ROOT showing about six members of the team. The competition stills of the ZTA team would suggest a mostly white team.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 12:40 pm ¶
Olivia wrote:

‘… like jazz and hip-hop.’
And of course rock and roll

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 1:05 pm ¶
Val wrote:

Missy @ Renn, thanks for your comments. Both of your comments give me a better perspective on this.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 1:06 pm ¶
Lola wrote:

I don’t understand why their race is being framed as the reason people booed at ZTA. Did the crowd boo when they made the finals? Did they boo every time ZTA performmed. Maybe the crowd just didn’t think they deserved 1st place based on their performance. This just seems to be yet another example of “blacks are the real racist” which seems to be a popular meme.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 1:15 pm ¶
KHIA213 wrote:

The Root’s article brings up the process by which the winners entered the contest. THEY AUDITIONED. They didn’t go the the process of regionals and quarter finals. There is something wrong here. And it sounds like they were brought in as ringers.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 1:15 pm ¶
sweeterjuice wrote:

Returning to the thread to sum up my understanding of the situation. Please note that I am a B/F who was never Greek or part of the D9, and though I enjoy a step show I haven’t been to one in a decade.

(1) I appreciate the point that black college students need their own safe spaces to celebrate themselves. In this case, however, it seems there was a collective fail in that restricting the competition to the D9 Greeks wasn’t done. I can support the position that the ZTAs should not have been permitted to compete, but once they were allowed to compete and started advancing…well, y’all, sorry about your luck. The right thing to do, the good sportsman thing to do once they were allowed in, is judge them fairly and award accordingly. It seems that was done, and the only reason a “tie” was declared was because people hate the fact that a white team won.

(2) I’ve heard the argument that the AKAs were better than the ZTAs and therefore should have been declared the winners. That’s a problem with the judges, and you don’t strip the winners of their prize because a judge screwed up. File a formal protest, and get better judges next time.

(2a) I know a lot of people are claiming that they aren’t upset because of the race of the winners. But I can’t get past what I see on those videos: the audience, right on down to the last man jack and the last woman jane, is 100% behind the ZTAs when they do their routine. The clapping, cheering, and support is huge–through all the steps, the controversial sexualized portion of the routine, right up to the moment the Zetas won. Then they turn on them.

What other conclusion can be reached? Don’t deny it’s about race, here.

(3) I go back to my original point: the ZTA chapter that won was taught to step years ago by a black sorority as part of a program designed to increase racial understanding between black and white Greeks. Sometimes, folks, when we actively share parts of our culture/history/what-have-you with white people, it’s gonna come back at you in ways you don’t particularly like. But the larger goal was, and should continue to be, learning about and appreciating each other. Consequently, I don’t think this is a “waltzing in” appropriation story–I think it’s more of a “who knew this anti-racism program would backfire in this particular way?!” story.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 1:16 pm ¶
Sean wrote:

23.Juan wrote:

*sigh* Can’t really have not just safe spaces but some sort of culturally safe space it seems. ALmost can’t wait for this to be a made for TV movie with unflattering portrayls of any or all black characters

It’s in pre-production. It will be called “The Last Steppers,” starring Miley Cyrus and Justin Timberlake.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 1:18 pm ¶
Kat wrote:

I don’t think the celebrity judges would know the “no gyrating” rules and be able to distinguish between the complexity of the steps. So many having celebrity judges is a bad idea in the first place. I realized that I liked the ZTA performance better since a) there were far more dancers b) for the sexualized moves. Which once I realized it made the entire thing even more complicated (I’m a feminist and against this in video clips etc, yet it still seems to work, subconsciously).

Why were they not competing in groups of equal size though?

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 2:06 pm ¶
Kat wrote:

(that was supposed to read “MAYBE having celebrity judges is a bad idea”)

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 2:07 pm ¶
Moviegirl wrote:

I’m familiar with the artistic side of stepping. A few years ago I caught a televised competition and ones who won (the men) were in strait jackets and were insane (meaning good). It was the coolest thing ever. However I’m not aware of which steps belong to which greek “chapter.” I thought that ZTA were good and deserved to win from my layperson’s stand point. They were cleaner and tighter in their movements (also something that is probably a little more mainstream than traditional black stepping or dancing for that matter).

But this is what bothers me, they win $100,000? What? It’s like when VH1 came out with the “White Rapper Show” the winner won $100K, not $10K or even $20K but $100K!!! This show was exclusively for white people making $100K off a traditional black art form. I have never even seen a show dedicated to black art forms for black people earning that much money. It bothered me then and it bothers me now especially when they are excelling in “black art forms.”

Don’t even get me started on America’s Best Dance Crew. It’s a show about hip hop dancing and out of nine crews, there’s only one all black crew??? Does this make any sense to anyone? “Breaking” or b-boy style has been traditionally a latino/black thing so it doesn’t really bother me when I see a latino crew or even an all Asian crew which are featured but they rarely have any all black crews. And to top it all off, they have as a crew this season who are the national champions of double dutch which are a seemingly white crew.

Didn’t mean to derail but it seems art forms such as stepping, double dutch, and jazz that were created by black American people (correct me if I’m wrong) rarely benefit from those arts forms in abundance andI think it’s a tragedy esp when you are offering $100K or more in prize $$$

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 2:24 pm ¶
Emily wrote:

When I heard about this, I checked out both routines. Then I watched both again, and again. As a former long-time cheerleader (presently a white girl, never a Greek), what became clear to me about ZTA is that they executed their routine like cheerleaders (I read somewhere that they are known as THE dance/cheer sorority, at least at their university.) And that, to me, on a technical level, is the main difference b/t ZTA and AKA’s performances. The question for me then becomes, after mulling the arguments over, is did the ZTA’s integrate “their” own “traditions” into their step routine? Of course they took their steps from black sororities; white sororities don’t usually step. But their routine was very different from AKAs. Perhaps they did win b/c they were a novelty (especially when you factor in the ass-shaking at the end, which looked like a big ‘fuck you’ to me). But they still tore that stage up. And my first response to someone that says this isn’t flattery? You obviously haven’t practiced for hours every day for almost a year on a dance/step routine. You have to love and respect the art form.

I understand the racial angle. I see it. ZTA shouldn’t have been allowed to compete at all, if black people want to keep their traditions intact and sacred. I understand that it would hurt to “lose” to white people all the time in our society, and this is just another reminder, another stab in the gut.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 2:34 pm ¶
Missy wrote:

LOL @ Sean

Yup the movie has just been picked up by Lifetime lol

No, but seriously I just wanted to add some notes…

1. I don’t think I’m giving the Zeta’s enough credit. Honestly, when I first watched both routines I was more intrigued by the Zetas. But then again (like I said before) I am NOT a stepper, I am a dancer so when I watched the AKAs I thought “why the hell are they dancing” in the beginning? They should of stuck to stepping. The Zetas did very good but this is what leads me to my next point…

2. Thank you Letoya (#15 and #19) for your points, I didn’t know that not only were the judges *Popstars* but also the Zetas broke the rules. This makes sense because from the perspective of a dancer(or in this case popstar) the Zetas would be “technically” better because we do not know the in’s and out’s and do’s and don’ts of stepping and as a dancer, I am way more inclined to liking a routine similar to the Zetas compared to that of the AKAs. This is why I think Sprite awarded the AKAs first place after the fact, they know they didn’t do their homework when picking the judges and knowing the rules of a competition like this (why have a non-D9 organizations compete???)

3. I was gonna come back to say that if I was an AKA, I would NOT have protested this unless the Zetas were so obviously worse than my team (In this case I don’t think they were) BUT after reading about how they broke the rules, MTV following them, and the judges being Pop stars and not actual steppers themselves I absolutely agree that they shouldn’t have let something like this slide.

Events like this have to be nipped in the bud when it happens and “lesson learned” IMO

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 3:22 pm ¶
jen* wrote:

I’m gonna try again since my first comment this am never made it through. I’m in agreement with those who believe the ZTAs never should have been included in the competition. And Emily, you’re totally right that they performed their steps much more like cheerleaders. It was probably the closest things they had to draw from for experience and feel.

To me, the ZTA routine was more visually pleasing as a pure dance routine. However, this being a step show, I feel the AKAs were actually much more true to the art form. It is also likely that the judges took crowd response into account, and there was much more audience appreciation during the ZTA routine than there was during the AKAs. [I didn't even hear any of that high-pitched thing that AKAs normally do in support of each other. (full disclosure, I was GDI but if I went Greek I'd have gone DST. And I don't really know how else to respectfully describe that call they do.)]

It seems like the judges weren’t really fit for their role, and the ZTAs should have maintained their stepping as a legacy for their school. Since they didn’t, though, I can see why the ZTAs won. And I can see why people are angry. Same ol’, same ol’.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 3:51 pm ¶
BSK wrote:

“When black folks don’t want white folks to participate in something, it is not racist. That’s right!”

While I agree with this, the issue was not one of “participation”. Clearly they had no issues with the white group participating, or they would not have allowed them to in the first place. But to allow a group to participate with no actual opportunity to win… well, what’s that? I’d be more than okay with this competition being limited to black sororities/fraternities. But I’m bothered by the assertion that non-black groups can enter but have no opportunity to win.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 4:24 pm ¶
Lola wrote:

the main problem with this competition was the choice of judges, not only are they not step experts, they didn’t follow the rules and I seriously doubt any of them went to college and therefore would not have had the opportunity to join D9

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 4:44 pm ¶
Jus' Plain Ol Me wrote:

At Renn:

I am also a D9 member (’06) and crossed in the mid-90s at a Catholic University with VERY few lack folks. Heck, I pledged solo.

As a result of my experience and being from that mid-90s era, I actually liked ZTA’s performance more. I am not used to the skits and basket tosses and dance routines. (Rhythm Nation? Really?) I just want to see somebody step.

If their routine was truly something from the 90’s, as you say, it may explain why I preferred their routine.

Moreover, coming from a campus where I applauded inter-greek interaction (such as our fraternity being the only black fraternity to play in Pi Beta Phi’s Arrowspike volleyball tournament), I would not have been bothered by seeing a white org step. Then again, I know some of my frat brothers would have said WTF. Also, I wasn’t at an HBCU or in the South.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 5:01 pm ¶
Azizi wrote:

“Black art forms” are types of art that “originated” (in a particular visual or performance style or structure) FROM Black people. That does not mean that those art forms will only REMAIN with Black people (or remain at all with Black people).

And it’s simplistic to say that a particular art form was solely (no pun intended) created by African Americans. For instance, the lyrics of certain Black step chants are adapted in part from White fraternity songs, from Mother Goose rhymes, and/or from early 20th century (White) vaudeville songs. Also, the Sigmas and the Kappas (and others) purposely incorporated West African stick dances in our step routines. And African Americans early on probably purposely borrowed movements from South African boot dancers. Although there are foot stomping/body patting movements forms among Germans/Austrians, this movement art probably had nothing what so ever to do with the development of African American stepping (although a very similar body slapping & foot stomping dance in Samoa may have come from Germans).

My points are that cultural sharing is nothing new; cultural sharing happens all the time; and with YouTube videos and other Internet sites, there will be more and not less cultural sharing.

With regard to Zeta Tau Alpha’s step routine in the Sprite step off, if what I’ve read here is correct, it’s troubling to me that
1. that step team did not participate & win in regional competitions in order to earn their place in the national competition as the other teams did.

2. that step team did not adhere to the rules which were suppose to determine the quality of their performance

3. the judges unfamiliarity with stepping made them unqualified to determine the best step team (Just because a performance is a crowd pleaser does not mean it’s technically better than other performances, or that it is the most creative performance etc). IMO, it is racist to say that any Black person could be a step show judge. It is also disrespectful to the art & skill of stepping to assume that any person who is skilled in another dance genre could be an appropriate judge for stepping. The quote that was shared earlier in this thread about the technically difficult one legged step that the AKA team performed underscore this point about the need for judges to know about what they’re judging.

As an aside, speaking of cultural diffusion, I’m wondering if people here know that the US army has a step team. This step team has performed at “Black” events like the Essence festival. IMO, they’re quite good-in at least a crowd pleasing way.

For those interested in reading examples of step chants, and seeing videos of step shows-such as the Sprite Step off routine that the Zeta Tau Alpha group did, the Alpha Kappa Alpha routine, and other step shows (including the US army and community/church groups) google my website cocojams.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 5:04 pm ¶
eh wrote:

If they won because they made stepping “accessible” to a wider audience, then they should not have won, since they didn’t stay true to the tradition. At my school some of the historically black sororities were filled with Latinas (there was a even low Latin@ population at my school). Apparently this is true for some societies in the state as well, and they would win some of the step competitions. This was never an issue. Step routines do not equal dance routines.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 5:07 pm ¶
Allison wrote:

So, then what if the situation was slightly different and the top two groups were AKA and a multicultural sorority? If the multicultural sorority won, would it still matter since many MGOs have white members (but also numerous members of color)? There are numerous MGOs who step as well-not as some random thing, but it is a part of their tradition.
Just curious about your opinion about it.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 6:07 pm ¶
Jasmen wrote:

I’m a University of Arkansas alum. I remember
when the “Unity” program was intiated by the local chapter of AKA. This is how the ZTA’s were introduced to stepping (circa 16 years ago.) And, ironically, it was the AKA’s who taught them (ZTA’s) their moves.

The U of A chapter of ZTA have been competing in step-offs for years. They came to participate in this particular competition via a flyer posted on campus inviting anyone interested to audition.

This is a link to an interview they did on NPR shortly after to competition. It goes in to some detail how they came to be involved with stepping and the Sprite Step-off.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124275557

I co-sign with all the posters who said that the fault lies with the judges and their ignorance of stepping and the rules, not the ZTA’s. And if you’re not open to people who aren’t part of the D9 winning then don’t let in the competition.

I understand and have participated in step shows. I thought ZTA brung it! I believe they were deserving of the win. Even with points deducted for the booty shaking bit at the end.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 6:12 pm ¶
kalane wrote:

@9jah
I heard about ZTA winning well before I heard about the backlash, so I think Latoya is right.

On an unrelated note, no one should ever listen to listen to Jason Whitlock’s opinions on anything other than sports (and sometimes not even that). His understanding of the structural inequalities that plague this nation are shallow at best.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 7:01 pm ¶
me wrote:

I DONT think the problem is with the white sorority competing. I think it is the *imo* skewed judging. The crowd was cheering partly (if not mostly) because of what other commenters stated, exoticism.

I liked both routines, I dont think you can mess with that one-legged stunt the AKAs did..that was sweet. But I think it is like beauty ideals, which has been talked about here, Angelina praised for her lips when it is not that uncommon for WOC to have those lips, same goes for butts and curves.
Its not to say that Angelina is NOT beautiful and shouldn’t be touted as a sexy woman, it is just that she should not be elevated above WOC.

This to me is what happened, the judges and the crowd (for a while) thought the Zetas were killing it because they were white and as someone stated white girls dont usually step, but I whole heartedly agree with what Missy and others were saying…

Regardless I think the comments after the win (saying it was racist to be mad or whatever) is just another sad fact that we are soooo freaking far away from *a post racial society

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 7:09 pm ¶
HalleBerry wrote:

To alexis you say we won’t ‘allow’ people to hate on the current president but that hasn’t STOPPED anybody now has it?! That’s the whole point of this post until there truly is a ‘level playing field’ the dominant group can’t keep coming to us with this ‘get over it attitude’. Especially when any and all changes of racial equality in this country were RARELY if ever made by their hands. And Latoya I hear you and what REALLY gets me is those same people fail to notice all the blatant animosity towards athletes like Debi Thomas,Shani Davis,the Williams sisters,Arthur Ashe,Lee Elder,Willie T. Ribbs,and yes even Tiger. And let’s not kid ourselves here with ALL due respect to our Asian brothers and sisters does anybody actually believe if BOTH Tiger’s parents were Asian the media would be digging every hole and crawling under every rock and tripping over themselves to find the PETTIEST of things to vilify him over?! Me neither funny how those same ‘noone owns anything’ folks go bats$$t when the slightest remnant to what they have dominated gets challenged I know it’s not music but still. But speaking of rappers the Beastie Boys were treated like royalty and I feel that was ONLY based on skin color so who is it trying to be ‘fair and objective’ and not appropriating again?!!

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 7:14 pm ¶
Miss. R. wrote:

I watched both videos and didn’t realise how sloppy the ZTA routine was, until I watched the close-up version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=016C4sUj5_8&feature=related

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 8:13 pm ¶
miga wrote:

my problem with this article is that it was framed not in terms of “they broke the rules, they shouldn’t have won-that’s unfair!” It was presented as “they’re white, they shouldn’t have won-that’s unfair!” And only AFTERwords in the comments, did people bring up the rules, the judges, the routines, etc.

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 10:05 pm ¶
Alan wrote:

Long time reader, first time commenter.

Sorry, but this was easily the most disappointing article I have ever read on Racialicious.

See reasoning @ 33. sweeterjuice

Posted 05 Mar 2010 at 11:27 pm ¶
Umm....wut wrote:

I have a few questions,

if stepping is such a hallowed black collegiate Greek tradition, then why does sprite have the authority to declare the best steppers in the world? Sure, they might be just flipping the bill, but I find it strange that a generally white owned/controlled company is so central to black Greek identity.

What does this mean for black members of historically white Greek orgs and for white members of historically black Greek orgs? Who is more entitled to step? How to other non-white ethnic Greeks fit into this context? what happens if some LUL bros or SLU sisters win one of these comps with their own distinctive style? Do we cop an attitude because the MIGHT be a little lighter and speak Spanish despite their diasporic connection to black Americans?

What can we make of the ZTA routine in terms of legitimate critique? From the comments here, it seems that they didn’t so much appropriate so much as they plagiarized (appropriation implies the establishment or contention of ownership and it is clear that they took distinctive moves from many black Greek orgs). That sort of thing is generally frowned upon but I wonder if there is room to consider that act a tribute to the stepping tradition as a whole; a way of saluting the big dogs (pardon the pun)?

How do black Greek organizations outside of the divine 9 tend to fare in these competitions (groove phi groove for example)? Is there just a general favoritism for divine 9 orgs that is acting as an intensifier in this situation.

Outside of barring white participation/victory, what can blacks do to maintain cultural ownership of our arts? What has always struck me about the whole “stolen legacy” appropriation narrative is that it implies the mere presence of whites in an idiom contaminates a genre tonthw point that we can no longer enjoy them. Why did Elvis et al picking up a guitar translate into droves of black people putting their guitars down outside of industry contexts? Put another way, why did rock and roll die on the street and inbrhe club because white people started doing it (often times badly and through creative theft) on tv? Why does death in the matrix mean death in real life (hehe)? At this juncture, I can’t see any amount of white people stepping dissuading a rowdy pack of q dogs from stomping it up or a pack of kappas from working their canes.

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 6:55 am ¶
Umm....wut wrote:

oh, and I forgot a couple.

Also, is the zta victory less fair than say Teena Marie or any other white performer winning Amateur Night at the Apollo?

And just because something isn’t racist in an institutional sense doesn’t mean it’s not effed up for racial reasons. The notion that racism is only a device of institutional power of course invites the question “can a group of people who have no institutional power over you be racist?”. Anecdotally, can an – insert randomly selected non-European nationality – person be a racist if they have no institutional power over anyone? In my book, no amount of institutionalized oppression grants a person or people the right to be effed up to other groups just on principle alone. that said, the context in white bodies in spaces of color and the ensuing ctural dispossession is very real. What are the terms on which whites can interact with black cultural productions? As thinkers about culture, comfortable can we be with imbuing our cultural innovations with reactionary racial exclusivity if so many of our cultral institutions are themselves reactions to racial exclusion established to protect us from it and ultimately defeat such notions?

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 7:13 am ¶
Chris Little wrote:

i’m a white male high school teacher, and I understand my biases some, but if the competition is about who’s the best stepper, and you exclude some subset of pretty good steppers, are you ever going to find out who is the best stepper? Understanding the context, if you did create a solely black step competition, and a mixed or solely white competition, wouldn’t you want the winners of each to compete against each other just to find out who is really best?
Can’t this build solidarity instead of separation? Maybe expropriation and praise of the other’s artforms go together. Many African American jazz musicians have no trouble being amazed by some white jazz musicians work, even though they understand its context.

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 9:43 am ¶
Moviegirl wrote:

Schools that do not have a tradition of stepping or at least a history of developing stepping shouldn’t be allowed in the competition. Period. I really feel that if people want to step then they should apply to schools that step. Many HBCUs are struggling to maintain their charter bec of financial reasons. This would certainly bolster their rosters and funding. So if an mostly white sorority in an HBCU wins, so what, the money still goes back to the school. Could any crew/team join the competition? What’s from stopping an unbeatable British team from stepping, winning the money and then leaving. If that’s possible then they really need to rewrite the rules or have separate competitions. I’m really still on the money aspect of it all.

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 11:38 am ¶
JColtF wrote:

“In my book, the only way you can be racist is if you have the institutional power to be racist.”

This is not even remotely true. If I go to Japan and decide I hate every Japanese person no matter what I am guilty of racism, even though I have no “institutional power to be racist.”

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 3:13 pm ¶
Digital Coyote wrote:

The cynic in me says it all sounds suspect.

If:

a. it’s true ZTA didn’t have to compete like the other teams to get a berth in competition and got to audition instead

b. the choice to pick celebrities familiar to the MTV audience rather than people who have knowledge of step and associated competition rules was deliberate

then this was never about step or its cultural significance at all. It was about convincing the “Jersey Shore” audience that this is something new they’re good at and that Sprite is relevant to them because it’s hip like they are.

Cheer and dance teams at the high school and college levels aren’t as popular as they have been in the past. Their brief periods of resurgence are often linked to lifting “urban” dance moves and showing them to an audience that’s never seen them before. With this in mind, I can see how a bunch of people unfamiliar with the intricacies of step might think of ZTA as superior for creativity, but miss its lack of attitude (vs. cheer-like crowd engagement) and technical difficulty.

Their color makes it more “accessible” and less ethnic in the same way that Elvis, Eric Clapton, or Eminem sanitized rock, blues, and rap for white audiences. That there was money involved means we’ll see more of it.

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 3:35 pm ¶
Tatiana wrote:

Renn’s points seem, to me, to hit closer to the truth. To have a group of white women knowingly violate rules that are traditionally followed by D9 steppers is offensive to say the least. Then to take things even farther and steal steps is beyond reproach and a literal example of cultural appropriation. It makes me wonder if the ZTA’s knew the judges were not going to be experienced stepping judges and therefore took advantage of the situation. For the reasons Renn identified, I do not think they deserved to win and should have been disqualified.

The crux of this article is way off base. At the heart of it is the suggestion that PoC cannot be racist because we lack institutionalized power. This is an absolutely ridiculous and incredibly dangerous posit to be throwing around. It is a notion that also, inevitably, plays into the foolishness of Oppression Olympics.

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 3:46 pm ¶
Audigirl333 wrote:

Two questions come to my mind to find a simple answer.

1. Was the crowds reaction due solely to ZTA’s stepping ability?

2. If ZTA was made up of African American womem, would their performance have been good enough to win this competition?

With that being said, for a more complex answer, the (negative) response runs far deeper than this competition…

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 4:10 pm ¶
clairelynette wrote:

I am very disappointed in this article. Kristen and HIdentity sum up my viewpoint quite nicely in comments 2 and 5 respectively.

But in my own words:
I understand institutional racism and that the frame point for debate here is based on acceptance of this idea/actuality… But I honestly believe this alludes to a greater moral issue than a difference in the type of racism. I won’t argue that here, but it is something that continues to bother me as I do believe regardless of who you are discriminating against anyone on the basis of race alone is just plain wrong.

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 4:38 pm ¶
BSK wrote:

Two very unrelated questions:

1.) People have mentioned the 1-legged move by AKA. I know nothing of step, but am curious to see it. Can anyone tell me approx what minute mark it is at on the YouTube video? I’m really curious to see it.

2.) I was thinking a lot about the ways in which art forms of different cultures become co-opted by other groups. Break dancing was mentioned earlier, and I was walked the streets of Manhattan today, I came across a couple of kids performing. From the looks, one was African-American and the other was white, and neither were older than 16. Part of the impression I’m getting here is that art forms created in and performed by PoCs ought to be preserved exclusively for PoC’s or, not going quite so far, require a certain about of education, investment, and knowledge before people from outside groups, specifically white people, enter those spaces. Now, I certainly see the problem with cultural theft and can recognize the multitude of issues that can arise when we sit the transformation of rock and roll. But, I also wonder what to think about a white kid who stumbles across a b-boy crew, is amazed by the performance, and wants to get involved. In this day and age of YouTube and whathaveyou on the internet, it is entirely possible this kid could learn and develop into a fantastic b-boy without once learning the cultural context of how the dance came to be. For better or worse, he would have no idea of its history. He’d be incapable of both deliberately stealing from another culture and paying homage to the original group. Is this a bad thing? Should this kid not be allowed to pursue the interest? This is not to say the information isn’t available; I know it is. But do we want to tell kids who see something cool on the street or on TV that they can’t try their hand at it until they’ve learned the entirety of the history and context of it?

I think of the inverse situation (and not that inverse analogies are perfect; far from it) of basketball. You often hear old white guys bemoan today’s crop of young, African-American basketball players, insisting they don’t know the fundamentals or being shocked if they aren’t aware of white basketball players of yesteryear. But, as far as I’m concerned, who cares? You don’t need to know all that crap to excel at basketball. However, basketball doesn’t hold the same place in white society as these art forms often hold for the cultures from which they’re derived, so, again, this analogy isn’t perfect, and may not be relevant at all.

I guess I’m asking… when is it okay for non-members to enter these art forms? I totally realize the value they hold for their communities and recognize the horrors of white folks saying, “I can do that, too”, co-opting the art, repackaging it, and taking it to heights that a PoC never could). Is the issue so much with whites or non-members entering these spaces? Or is it the fact that institutional racism and white privilege allow whites to take these art forms to places that the original group members couldn’t? If whites participate but don’t excel, is it still a problem? If whites participate and do excel, but the form has already gained as much popularity/appeal/notoriety/etc. as possible and is not changed by their presence, is that okay? What if whites participate, make it a big deal, and PoCs are allowed to also enjoy in that success? This last one seems troubling, but the previous ones less so respectively on back towards the beginning.

I’m really curious to hear more thoughts, because I’m trying to wrap my head around this and best understand if and when it is appropriate for whites to enter the art forms of other groups. Not because I want to crash the party (I can’t dance for shit no matter what style it is), but because I think the ideal is to have more opportunities for people to cross racial lines, while also still respecting an individual group’s cultural legacy. Thoughts?

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 6:14 pm ¶
eh wrote:

I like how a lot of people have commented, that seem not know anything about stepping, or have read any of the previous comments. In my state of 11 million people it was common for non – Divine 9 frats, sororities to win, and it was common for there to be non black members in historically black frats and sororities. It was also common for non non black frats and sororities to participate (and win). The Latinas in the sororities where of white, black, and “mixed” ancestry. I like how this bored always seems to devolve into “the black folks are racists to!” narratives.

IMHO this was another fake controversy, dreamed up by Viacom, to promote themselves.

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 7:53 pm ¶
Simone wrote:

Should the ZTAs have won? Absolutely. As already mentioned above, I trust the judicious decision of the competition judges. Practicing racial exclusivity, i.e., only black people can succeed in fields they pioneered, is morally and logically backward.

@Moviegirl: That’s nonsense. Stepping competitions is not solely about HBCUs, it’s about black culture. All schools should be allowed to enter competitions regardless if the teams attend an HCBU. Just because I attend a mainstream school, should I be exempt from participating in part of my cultural heritage? No.

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 8:28 pm ¶
amanda wrote:

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were more sororities that are actually mixed and not separated by Black and White lines. Then sororities can truly join in competition together.

Posted 06 Mar 2010 at 8:42 pm ¶
Moviegirl wrote:

@Simone ah yeah. Stepping not just a black tradition, its a black american tradition. I’m black; however I didn’t go to an HBCU, which means I shouldn’t be able to partake of experience that one gets by going to an HBCU. I can certainly appreciate it but that doesn’t mean I should be allowed to be counted. Again what’s from stopping Brits or Canadians from partaking, winning and then enriching their schools? But hey that just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 12:32 am ¶
Moviegirl wrote:

Furthermore, not everyone gets to compete in the Ivies. Why is it that everything black must be shared equally with all but not the same for many other colleges and universities who I’m sure have their competitions where only select schools can participate.

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 12:40 am ¶
karak wrote:

I’m backing away from a lot of the more academic, philosophical arguments in favor of looking at it like this:

everybody has a “thing”. And this thing belongs to that person and maybe the group they’re from, and they love to share that thing, but the thing-ness is theirs.

I’ve gotten deeply wounded from outsiders coming in and monopolizing my “thing”, my subculture created-phenomenon that I participate in on all levels and belongs to me. This is MY thing. Get your OWN thing.

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 1:48 am ¶
Dr. Ivo Robotnik wrote:

Yeah, I’m usually with the blog consensus on most things that are posted here, but this… no, I can’t in good conscience support it. I agree with Sweet and Simone.

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 2:00 am ¶
anon wrote:

I think that the ZTA group did a great job and I say let the best team win.

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 3:20 am ¶
Danaja wrote:

“In my book, the only way you can be racist is if you have the institutional power to be racist.”

You need a new book. Race is a constantly evolving social construction, and there is not going to be a clear dividing line between when one group is in power and then out of power. There will be no clock on the wall, no bell will chime, there will be no notification to you: “OK, now you are sufficiently empowered. But watch out, because now YOU can be racist too!” Racism is the belief in the inherent difference between the races; what you’re calling racism – institutional power brought to bear negatively on a group of people – is actually called oppression, and we need to keep that distinction so we can continue to discuss social justice issues clearly.

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 4:58 am ¶
ashlynn wrote:

If I may add another comment, after looking at the footage again, I am picking up on what I would say at best, is a coinkydink, and at worst, some seriously unsettling black/white cultural shifts:

Though I did like the ZTA performance, it wasn’t quite for the right reasons, as I might have touched on a bit in my last comment. I was shocked, surprised, and intrigued the first time I saw their step, but the next time around, pretty queasy.

If a black woman got on a stage and started booty popping, it wold be typical, expected behavior of her. Furthermore, she would risk really disgusting, derogatory criticism from Black, White, and people of color in general. She is a stereotype.

If a white woman got on stage and started booty popping, it would be surprising, exciting, sexy, because dayum, she can move like that?! Furthermore, she would be embraced- perhaps a little less from White people and more from people of color- because now she possesses the traits found desirable in Black women, without the scourge of, you know, being Black.

Now, on to the AKA’s. The AKA’s have, at least in more recent years, been the main purveyors of the Black Barbie ideal: prissy, clean lines, upper class (or “uppity”, depending on your POV). You see it clearly represented during their step- their giddy, fantastic displays of beauty, all encapsulated in a fabulous shake of nice, straight, free flowing hair.

If a White woman gets up on stage and shakes her hair, it’s expected of her. she will be attractive almost automatically, in that long, free flowing hair is prized in society(and so are White women).

If a black woman gets up on stage and shakes her hair, she’s stepped her game up. She’s acquired one of traits most prized in White women (and I know that women of color share that characteristic as well; how ever they are largely perceived as being more acceptable, or “closer to being White” for having that trait), still holds all the conventions(stereotypes) of being a Black woman, and so, she becomes “bad” (SIDEBAR: Latoya, this is EXACTLY my beef with Nikki Minaj, by the way). She has sort of elevated from being a sexy Black chick into just being a sexy chick.

And of course, the sheer irony in the fact that the AKA’s and the ZTA’s TRADED with each other years ago is just too good/much/bizarre to ignore.

To sidebar a little bit, as for Chili and Luda not being aware of step traditions, I’m not having that! They were both raised in the HEARTLAND of stepping- ATLANTA! They know what it is.

To sidebar a little bit more, I would love to know if any other Racialicious readers have been noticing that Black Barbie image as well; I would love to write about it, but I’m afraid it would not be as cohesive and high quality as Racialicious posts adhere to.

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 5:17 am ¶
Missy wrote:

ashlynn (#65)

Your post is chillingly on point!

Have you ever seen Spike Lee’s School Daze? If not, I suggest you rent it out (or watch it on YouTube). But there is a scene in that movie that depicts exactly what you just wrote— the division amongst AA college sororities.

As far as Chili and Luda, I believe they don’t know the *rules* of stepping even though Im pretty sure they’ve been exposed to it and are familiar with it.

But I too found it ironic that ZTA, out of all the Black sororities, are in controversy with the AKAs…

I have to leave but Im gonna come
back to post another response to your post

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 1:55 pm ¶
charlie wrote:

This pisses me off. I was actually surprised by all of this initially hearing; and decided to look up both vids of zta and aka. As a viewer I decided it was technically a tie; zta were constant, tons of energy and very technical. While AKA, had a show, precise on moves, showcased creativity and displayed the characteristics of their sorority. BUT, after hearing ZTA

1. had coaching assistance in the past (NO NO).
2. They stole moves from other sororities.
3. They AUDITIONED and didn’t go through the rounds like the rest. (FISHY FISHY FISHY)

I was a little peeved. It was like BRING IT ON all over again.

For my step show attendance history, I can say that ZTA’s were really good, but if MTV and their celeb judges wanted a step show they should have understood what a step show really is; which is more than technical precision copied from other sororities.

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 3:47 pm ¶
charlie wrote:

I meant to say “which is more than technical precision and particular moves copied from other sororities”.

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 3:50 pm ¶
Catherine wrote:

When ZTA performed, the crowd cheered them on through out the whole perfomance. When ZTA won, they booed. Why?…The answer is simple, and it’s not because of race. The message the crowd was giving was, “Hey look, you’re good, but you’re not THAT good.” When the crowd was cheering, it was to give “Props” to ZTA, show good sportsmenship, and that was it. Basically, ZTA wasn’t doing anything that I’ve or the crowd had never seen before (step wise). Its just the fact that the steps were being performed by white girls…If they weren’t white, they probably wouldn’t have won. The fact that the judges didn’t know enough about step plays the biggest role. So what if they were raised in the ATL, that doesn’t mean they know enough about Stepping and the culture. I’m from Cali, where Krumping, Jerking, and Turfing came from. I wouldn’t judge a Krump competition, because I wasn’t apart of the Krumping culture. The simple fact that they were judging on something they didn’t know the in’s and out’s of is ridiculous. They couldn’t even call them out on “borrowing” other crews steps. Why? Because they didn’t know enough….

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 4:25 pm ¶
Catherine wrote:

and the reason why AKA flip their hair has nothing to do with “stepping there game up”. I’ve been told “This is something that is traditional to the sorority, and if you are seeing AKAs for the first time you woulndn’t understand why they toss their hair. “

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 4:32 pm ¶
Azizi wrote:

@BSK, the AKA’s step team’s performance of the one legged step is at 3:42 of this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1swlMFa3pvw&feature=related

**
Full disclosure- I’m African American, I’m a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc (though I’ve been inactive for decades), and- fwiw- I’ve wore my hair in a ‘fro when I was pledging that sorority in 1966 and since then.

BSK, in response to you second question, speaking for myself as we all do, I do not believe that the fact that individuals from a particular race or ethnicity or nationality originated a particular dance/movement form or music genre means that people from outside that race, ethnicity, or nationality shouldn’t perform that dance/movement form or music genre. The only exception I would make for this-and it’s an important one-is religious ritualistic dances, and some religious ritualistic music.

I very strongly believe that it is up to those who care about those dance/movement and music genres (particularly those who are from the originating cultures) to do all they can to document, preserve, teach, and disseminate ACCURATE information about the cultural context/s of those art forms.

I definitely think that national administrators of Divine 9 orgs-because of the association of stepping with hazing-are at least conflicted if not in active opposition to stepping. At the very least, it seems to me they don’t want to promote stepping. This is problematic for it leaves the door open for others to take that art form over -without crediting its orginators.

But I think it’s important to realize that since it is an art form, stepping isn’t fixed or dead. It’s alive, and therefore it’s subject to change-and change may be a good thing.

In the ten years that I’ve been actively studying African American (Greek lettered) fraternity & sorority stepping, there have been definite changes in its performance (for instance, less chanting, more acrobatic moves, and more recorded music). Also it seems to me that-if it’s not already- the act of strolling (doing party walks) may soon be more popular than stepping.

In summation, I don’t think it’s cultural theft for any non-Black person or non-Black organization to step or stroll. These teams should compete the same way that other groups do- If the ZTA’s got their spot by auditioning instead of competiting in regional shows, that’s a BIG no no. And I think that regardless of their race, ethnicity, nationality, step teams should be judged by people who are knowledgeable about the performance art. I don’t think that happened in the case of the Sprite off.

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 5:59 pm ¶
Tatiana wrote:

@ ashlynn: your post was incredibly on point and I really hope you write a piece on this for Racialicious. Don’t doubt your writing ability, it’s clearly there.

Also, it’s not just that the ZTAs had coaching and somehow skirted the normal method of admission to the competition…but that they knowingly violated rules. Competition rules clearly stated that sexually suggestive moves were not allowed. Did they dismiss this and do them anyway? Yes. And, as mentioned before, stealing moves (especially signature moves) from others is also against the rules (traditional stepping rules…hence the “creativity” as part of competition rules). Did they steal signature moves? Well, there seems to be a resounding “yes” on that as well.

Did they put on a good show? Yes. Were they tight in formation, transition, etc.? Yes. But all of that is void when you acknowledge that the rules were violated. Athletes who violate prescribed rules (doping, gambling, etc) get removed from competition all the time. I don’t see why it shouldn’t be the same here.

As PoC, we often see instances throughout society where the sense of entitlement felt by whites results in a blatant disregard for rules. I think this is yet another case of such behavior and, sadly, it was rewarded.

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 6:20 pm ¶
Azizi wrote:

One more thing I meant to include-I do think it’s theft for a step team to take another group’s signature steps and include them in your routine. Who “owns” step chants are more problematic, since more than one step team has claimed to be the first to use specific chants. But certain chants or songs should be exclusively considered the “property” of a specific Greek lettered organization. For example, I don’t think that ANY other organization’s step team should perform AKA’s step “It’s A Serious Matter” or stroll to George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog”, which is the “property” of Omega Psi Phi.

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 6:23 pm ¶
naomi wrote:

Wait wait – Did all of the groups audition or only the ZTA’s?

Posted 07 Mar 2010 at 8:04 pm ¶
bdsista wrote:

I’m a Delta and in the comments section of an article in espn.com, someone wrote that the producers moved whole section of Greeks to make room for the ZTA’s so they would have better camera space and a producer was challenged by a Delta who overheard him say to the ZTA’s when you win and she said “excuse me” and he changed it to “if you win”. But apparently from the reports of those who were there, the ZTA’s got a lot of special treatment and this was more of a gimmick for Coke and MTV that apparently backfired since they did not realize that Step Competitions have “real” rules. I notice the ZTA girls do the Alpha fist pose and the Que jump kick. That is not original and being Greek, I do not imitate other Greek moves when I step. I have friends who are 60 who step. If you want to see old Greeks step in ballgowns and tuxedos, come to a major Greek event. That’s why this is such a big deal, its not just something that young people care about, there are generations of people upset and concerned about this.

Posted 08 Mar 2010 at 2:38 am ¶
ashlynn wrote:

@Catherine,

It’s not my first time seeing the AKA’s step(my sis is a Howard University undergrad, and I’ve been dragged to many an AKA show. I saw dragged because this is a Delta household. lol). I completely understand that it’s a part of their culture. But culture is not always insular; it so happens that the AKA hair toss is a very common symbol or expression of femininity, particularly a certain kind of femininity, which many if not most black women aren’t able to come by naturally. Perhaps I should have prefaced that comment saying that I know where the hair toss comes into play, but most people watching a step show, or even fairly familiar with Black Greek/D9 culture, won’t make that connection. So in writing that, I was writing from the perspective of an outsider looking in, so to speak. All that said, I still stand by what I wrote- hair shaking like that is perceived as stepping your game up.

Posted 08 Mar 2010 at 3:34 am ¶
ulises wrote:

After reading all the comments, i find myself pretty torn between the two sides. My main question is then, when does it become okay for people of another race to become accepted in what is predominantly one race’s artform/culture/etc? If the answer is when power is held equally in all hands, I find that to be too farsighted to be of any use right now. When is it okay for anyone to enjoy anything honestly, in the meantime?

Posted 08 Mar 2010 at 7:29 pm ¶
JJ Riv wrote:

I will check out the perfomances for myself.

But, honestly, this does reek of black soroities/fraternities saying that this is their competition and that the victors of this STOMP FEST should always be a traditionally black soroity / fraternity.

If that is NOT what they are saying, they need to clarify it, because that is EXACTLY what it appears to be.

Other wise, they should NOT allow any diversity at all, and limit the competition to BLACK ONLY and don’t allow white/ caucasion organizations to even compete.

The argument and criticisms directed toward the ZTA’s seem petty and make it look as if the traditionally black greek organizations are more upset with the fact that the 100,000 dollars went to a non-historically black soroity, instead of one of their own. (or that a White soroity actually won “their” competition at all).

Nobody is arguing that “stomp” started in the traditionally black greek organizations in the southern all-black colleges in the last century, and it is clearly an integral and historically important ritual to those groups.

But, it should not mean that other cultures and groups can not learn more about the historically all black greek organizations, by participating in that ritual too.

Otherwise, the attitude that is coming across loud and clear here, reflects much of the same seclusion that black athletes had to endure from baseball and basketball in the early half of the last century.

When it comes to sports, music, and entertainment, talent is talent and should always remain color blind. I hope that is what these young people are learning from sharing these cultureal arts (such as stomp) with each other.
I hope that these competitions continue and develop a more diverse following and inclusion in the future.

Otherwise, just say, if you are not of a certain race, (in this case black), then you can NOT be included. And that would be very sad indeed if that occurred.

I say, congratulations to all the soroities who competed, and a special congratulations to the ZTA’s for winning, and I hope that in the future, there is NO up-roar like this should another non-historically black group win this competition.

And a real big hand to those soroities in Arkansas that shared their step ritual with the ZTA’s years ago, that got them interested in the whole cultural idea to begin with.

I believe that its this kind of thing that drives groups apart, when it should be bringing them together. And black greek groups should be happy that white/ causasion greek groups find their rituals and traditions important enough to learn and do themselves. Thats what it should be about.

Posted 08 Mar 2010 at 9:11 pm ¶
BSK wrote:

Azizi-

Thanks for the info on both points. I didn’t see that part of the video but that was frickin’ NUTS, and I don’t know much about dance at all.

To your perspective, I think the point about the accountability/responsibility of the original group is really important. To simply put a flag down on something and deny others access seems a bit ridiculous. Also, to your point about art forms evolving, I think we have to look at whether the “new” people entering the form are contributing or simply taking/stealing. If they are looking to help grow the art form, I think that is far more legitimate than simply taking what others have done and calling it your own. And, if the original members of the group aren’t feeling the contributions, we come back to your point about them speaking up. Now, this isn’t always possible. I don’t know what position African-Americans were in to wrestle back control of rock-and-roll in the 1950’s, given the power dynamics at the time, so I think there must also be a responsibility on the part of the “new” people to respect and inform themselves on the original culture. It’s a two-way street and if either group fails, then we run the risk of seeing an art form disrespected and a culture (further) marginalized. Thanks!

Posted 08 Mar 2010 at 10:35 pm ¶
SirenaintheDesert wrote:

In my humble opinion, the controversy is about the above mentioned rule breaking. I know pretty much nothing about stepping but I do know that lifting/looting/stealing moves and calls from another org is a major no-no. And though the booty shaking part (and the whole ZTA performance) was entertaining, it was another blatant rule violation. But of course this is being made into another “example” of “reverse racism.” Read the youtube comments if you’re feeling masochistic and need to summon up an upset stomach.

Posted 09 Mar 2010 at 2:44 am ¶
Colin wrote:

So basically, a group of women trained real hard for a contest they were invited to perform in (or at least accepted to perform in), put on the best performance, and won. Case closed. Am I missing something?

The point about institutionalized racism is taken, but irrelevant. No one is saying that blacks have the same opportunities as whites, and this white sorority winning a dance-off won’t change that. Stepping won’t take two steps back (no pun intended) now that a white group pulled off a better performance. Black people will continue to step because it’s a part of the culture and a chance to celebrate their community, as you said. After all, it’s not as if rap became all-white once Eminem won for best rap album at the Grammys.

Point is this: art and culture are all fluid. You can’t stop one race from enjoying and participating in the culture of another race. If this white sorority hadn’t performed that routine there they would’ve performed it elsewhere. It’s a free country. Should we all just stay in our own lanes?

Besides, aren’t you glad to see a part of African-American culture become more popular? I see it as progress.

Posted 10 Mar 2010 at 1:09 am ¶
Miss. R wrote:

@Colin (#89)

Sometimes popularity spells the death of said culture. And why are posters saying ”you should be glad”, ”you should be happy”. Please state why?

No, but when Eminem was having his moment he was all you ever saw and was promoted as the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Personally I don’t understand why sometimes people cannot enjoy something from another culture/people, without always wanting to be a part/get involved/try to take over – just sit back and relax for goodness sake.

Posted 15 Mar 2010 at 7:22 pm ¶
jazlynn wrote:

I think there’s pretty good arguments on both sides. I know nothing about stepping and I’m willing to bet that the judges judging this competition didn’t either. It reminds of a photography class I took. We were supposed to be critiquing each others pictures but I didn’t know what a GOOD PICTURE was supposed to look like. Or how on Top Model I always think some of the girls they pick are not pretty…They, the proffessional judges know what to look for in a good model. And I agree that the popularity of a good thing often means the death of…just look hip hop.

Posted 31 Mar 2010 at 3:05 am ¶

White Sorority Wins Major Step Competition: PostRacial or Just Wrong?

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