To the Editors of the Pioneer,
A few weeks ago, I drove from Seattle to Walla Walla to attend the memorial service for Dr. George Ball. As I was coming into town I fiddled with the radio dial and found some music that seemed interesting. As I listened to the song and looked at the dial, I realized that it was probably KWCW. When the song was over, a young, presumably white, DJ came on. She said [paraphrased], “Um, I don’t know what you guys . . . uh . . . like . . . think of that . . . but . . . if you could see the video? . . . you would see that . . . I don’t know . . . there seems to be this trend lately with African American bands? I don’t know if they’re like trying to be . . . Western . . . or what, but there’s this trend where they’re wearing blond wigs . . . and . . . I don’t know what that’s about . . . because that’s not their natural hair color.”
I was appalled. I can only hope that mine is not the only letter coming in on this subject.
I will let the comment about “trying to be Western” sink in and speak for itself. Let me just raise two questions, however, that may be helpful in starting a dialogue. Would the DJ be equally confounded to find that white band members were doing things that weren’t “natural” to their hair? And what criteria does she use to judge white people who appropriate the music, dress and hairstyles (think dreadlocks perhaps) of others?
As a Whitman alum, I have watched with pleasure the growth of the college over the years. The college offers a wider array of classes than it did when I was a student, and seems to attract a more diverse student body. I was mortified to hear these words coming from the college radio station.
Jeanne Morel
Class of 1980
What Is Racism? • Feb 29, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Not only is the statement of the disgruntled writer complete hearsay, it is beyond racist to assume that the DJ was “presumably white.” Was it because of the sound of their voice? How they talked? That is RACISM.
roxy v./kwcw dj • Feb 25, 2012 at 5:36 pm
I think that it should be put out there that the listener obviously was not clued into the context of this conversation. Ms. Morel, based on her paraphrased quotation, only listened to a portion of the program. Perhaps the DJ was, in fact, being critical of society’s norming of white standards, rather than being “confounded” by the hairstyle of whatever African American artist s/he had just played. I agree that the choice of words was not the best, but I encourage the Whitman and Walla Walla community to give the DJ the benefit of the doubt. As a woman of color myself, I am regularly quite forgiving of white Whitman students’ slips in language because it is clear that they do not intend to be racist or are just less articulate then they meant to be.
While the way Ms. Morel presented the comments frames them as “racist”, the questions the DJ brought up are quite relevant in terms of a discussion about the politics of black hair and the influence of black celebrities/musical artists on the self-concept of black people/people of color.
I am extremely surprised and disappointed that the KWCW directors were so quick to apologize for allowing KWCW DJs a medium to express themselves…
my2cents • Feb 25, 2012 at 4:26 pm
I don’t wish to trivialize Ms. Morel’s concerns, but I think she is mistaken in her judgment of the comments presented by the Kdub DJ.
First, the comments made regarding the hairstyle, presumably and within the context of the radio show (at least in my interpretation) were in no way meant to be confrontational or critical but rather should be viewed as mere personal observations. Thus, I find the debate alluded to by Ms. Morel regarding the DJ’s insensitivity to be far-fetched and exaggerated. In all likelihood, the DJ was simply trying to create a visual illustration of what she saw on the video and sharing it with the listener, whilst sharing her/his own personal observation on changes in hairstyles trends amongst African American artists.
Secondly, I do not deem these comments to be racists or out of place. I’m confident the DJ did not intend to spark a debate regarding hairstyle trends in African American music by his/her comment, but even if he/she did, what would be the problem? At Whitman aren’t we encouraged to ask such questions? I’ve personally encountered very similar debates in many of my classes –to what extent do white rappers act black to gain approval in the rap scene? And there are many more analogous questions we ask and are encouraged to ask at Whitman on a daily basis.
I encourage Ms. Morel not to jump to hasty conclusions and re-asses her level of scrutiny in judging a college-radio station.
Class of 2012
caitlinhardee • Feb 16, 2012 at 11:54 am
If the broadcast is accurately portrayed, I find that pretty offensive, as a DJ—firstly in the absurd, racist and shallow commentary, secondly in the extremely lax speaking style. I know it’s college radio, but really people, tighten up your broadcasting game. Mealy-mouthed mumbling doesn’t make good radio.