0 White Kid, Black Culture

Marvin's Note: I met Aaron at Edinboro University, where we were both journalism students. One of the things that struck me about Aaron was his intense love for hip-hop music. I mean, Aaron's the type of guy who could sit and discuss every track of every album of Biggie and 2Pac's career with you for hours. Yet, Aaron's interest in cultures which many people believe to be foreign to him has had its pros and cons throughout the years, here's his story...






By: Aaron McKrell






I consider myself a
pretty cultured person, especially for a white kid who grew up in an affluent
suburb of Erie, Pa. Particularly, I am familiar with black culture. Growing up,
my father took my brother and I with him to high school football games which he
would cover as a sports medicine physician.




It was during these cold
Friday nights that I became acclimated with black culture, from the dress to
the style to the poor living conditions of many residents of Erie's East side.




Those experiences, as
well as the fact that I have several adopted black cousins, many black friends,
and an obsession with hip hop music and culture, have made me very familiar
with black culture. In truth, I feel just as comfortable around my black
friends as I do lounging in my house in the suburbs, if not more. However, when
I stepped into a gym at a local YMCA last week, I felt strangely uncomfortable.




Walking into the gym, I
quickly noticed I was the only white guy in the place. That wasn't an issue;
when I'm with my friends I am often the only white guy in the room. Besides, I
believe that people are people, so I thought nothing of it and started shooting
around. Eventually, I recognized one of the kids shooting on the opposite end
of the court as a member of the Strong Vincent basketball team, one that I had
interviewed when covering a high school playoff game for the local newspaper. I
walked toward him and asked if he remembered me.




"I think I would
remember a 6'2, 200-something white dude," he said. I reminded him who I
was and he greeted me enthusiastically, bouncing over to me and dapping me up.
I caught up with him for a moment and
then went back to shooting.




After warming up for a
bit, I asked the guys if they wanted to get a game going. Unfortunately, other
than the kid I had interviewed, no one seemed interested in talking to me and I
was met with a few shrugs of indifference.




I shot around a little
longer and then asked again. I was met with pretty much the same response. The
guys had apparently been at the gym all day and were resting against the wall,
chatting about school and basketball. I tried to join in, purely out of
interest in the hoops they were talking.




My interest was met with
more indifference.




I tried to carry the
conversation, but the warmest response I got was a half-smile. Soon after, when
I realized there was going to be no pickup game, I went downstairs to use the
elliptical.




I knew what had happened.
The guys thought I was some white dude trying to impress them by talking hoops.
I've seen it before. As a matter of fact, it's something some of my black
friends laugh about; white people trying to impress them in an awkward manner.
Here's the problem: I wasn't trying to impress anybody. In reality, all I
wanted to do was chat about hoops and play a few pickup games. But the guys

saw me as an
outsider. 




This has happened to me
before; a few months back I was filling up my tank at a gas station and heard
the beat to Kendrick Lamar's "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" coming from
a neighboring car, except it wasn't Kendrick rapping, it was some pop singer
crooning.




 I asked the lady
in the car who it was on the song, and she just responded by simply saying
"okay", which basically meant "whatever", as she most
likely assumed i was trying to impress her or force a

connection.




I can't be mad at that
lady, or the guys in the gym. White people trying to impress black people is
something that I've seen happen many times, and I'm sure that would make anyone
jaded. For me though, I felt a little hurt, because my interest was genuine and
I was viewed as just another white dude trying to impress the black guys.




The old saying goes,
don't complain unless you can offer a solution, so here it is: keep an open
mind and be yourself.



As difficult as it is
for people to fight their preconceived notions of other cultures, it can be
done. If you're the only white guy in a room full of black guys, don't try to
impress them based on a movie you saw or song you heard.




Likewise, If you see a
guy walking into the gym, don't assume he acts a certain way because of the
color of his skin. And it's not just a white-black thing; it applies to all
ethnicities and cultures.




Be yourself, and give
people a chance to be who they are. If that happens, maybe I'll be able to walk
into the gym and talk with some kids from Strong Vincent without any
preconceived notions tensing the air.






And in turn, if that
conversation can happen, we can open up the floor to a whole lot more.