Cultural appropriation is no stranger to me. In case you’re not familiar with the topic there’s a very worthy synonym of the term.

Columbusing.

You won’t find this term in the Oxford dictionary but you’ll find it somewhere much better-Urban Dictionary. Now while this parody word bank holds some rather questionable definitions bordering on the pornographic, it does offer a fresh view of words in the context of a newer generation. For instance, the very first definition of Columbusing lays it out pretty clear.

I quote from Urban Dictionary user Meownir, “[Columbusing is] when white people claim they have invented/discovered something that has been around for years, decades, even centuries.” If you want to delve even deeper into Columbusing it comes from the biggest stealer of culture of them all, the one, the only, Columbus, himself. In case your knowledge of history was as skewed as mine I’ll make this explanation short. Indians were here first and people still claim Columbus discovered America.

Now with that in mind, imagine where I’m going with this and its relation to the word urban. People use the word urban to describe something when it is of black origin. If you have some doubts google urban clothing. Now google 90's African American fashion. It should be self-explanatory now.

Cornrows on a white person. Urban.

Harem pants. Urban.

Timberlands. Urban.

You won’t ever hear these so-called trends be described as they are. B-L-A-C-K. Black.

The top trends, dance moves, and most of mainstream culture usually come from an already long discovered tradition but someone, somewhere will tweak it by a millimeter and call it their own. The best part about it is there is absolutely no nod or slightest acknowledgement to the original culture. Now with that in mind. Sit down and see how many Columbused things you can think of. Put a time limit on it though or you might be there for a while.