© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Acting White/Acting Black: The Search for Racial Identity

Here are some issues to consider:


  • What's it mean to you to "act white" or "act black"?
  • Have you seen someone you thought was "acting white" or "acting black"? How did it make you feel?
  • Have you been accused of "acting white"? How did you react?
  • Has the "acting white" issue been overblown? Is it really a problem?
  • How important is your racial identity to you?
  • Do white rappers have any business doing hip hop?

90.3 WCPN Moderators: Dan Moulthrop & Tasha Flournoy
Our discussion will include some nationally-known scholars:
Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett, Kent State University researcher of the "Acting White" phenomenon.
Bakari Kitwana, author of Why White Kids Love Hip Hop: Wangstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the New Reality of Race in America.
Jason Tanz, author of Other People's Property: A Shadow History of Hip-Hop in White America.

Plus, we'll have the music of a Northeast Ohio Mixed-Race Hip-Hop Duo Johnny La Rock & Mush Mouth -- also known as Eddie Fleisher and Aaron Donahoo. They recently spent a week on the popular Vans Warped Tour of alternative music acts.