At least if you’re not actually Black or somewhere on the African American or in between spectrum anyway. This week you’ve probably heard about the controversy surrounding none other than Awkwafina. Now, let’s make this clear that this post has nothing to do with her comedic or acting ability because she’s a funny lady for sure.
But the use of a Blaccent when she isn’t Black is actually the problem here. A Blaccent or Black accent is as one might expect an accent you’d commonly here by someone who is textbook Black. Putting it simply, for example, one might remember how racists back then and even today would use a particular way of speaking when mimicking or trying to sound like a Black person (the problem is that they often don’t sound like a Black person at all but instead are making a fool of themselves.)
This was her response to the controversy surrounding her use of the accent.
“My immigrant background allowed me to carve an American identity off the movies and tv shows I watched, the children I went to public school with, and my undying love and respect for hip hop,” she wrote. “I think as a group, Asian Americans are still trying to figure out what that journey means for them — what is correct and where they don’t belong.”
Textbook Black in this instance means someone who is Black without any misconceptions and would otherwise be easily identifiable as such.
In the case of Awkwafina, her use of a Blaccent isn’t quite appreciation but rather appropriation because she has used it in her career for financial and physical gain.
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