San Francisco State University Dreadlocks Controversy
Submission 22,154
Part of a series on Cultural Appropriation. [View Related Entries]
Overview
San Francisco State University Dreadlocks Controversy refers to a video in which San Francisco State University (SFSU) student Corey Goldstein is grabbed by fellow student Bonita Tindle for wearing dreadlocks under the justification that he is committing cultural appropriation.
Background
On March 28th, YouTuber Nicholas Silvera uploaded footage of SFSU student Bonita Tindle physically harassing student Corey Goldstein and accusing him of committing cultural appropriation for wearing dreadlocks (shown below). Within 72 hours, the video gathered upwards of 2.5 million views and 13,400 comments.
Notable Developments
Online Reaction
The following day, a reupload of the video was submitted to /r/videos, where it gained over 2,400 votes (93% upvoted) and 1,000 comments before it was removed from the /r/videos frontpage by subreddit moderators. Meanwhile, Redditor MollyOverwatch reposted the video to /r/PublicFreakout,[2] where it accumulated more than 4,600 votes (92% upvoted) and 1,100 comments in the first 48 hours. The same day, YouTuber Tay Zonday criticized Tindle in a comment on the video, accusing her of exuding "profound intellectual poverty" (shown below).
Also on March 29th, YouTubers The Hodgetwins posted a video reacting to the controversy, in which they call Tindle "crazy" and mock her friend by comparing him to the cartoon character Inspector Gadget (shown below).
Goldstein's Response
On March 29th, 2016, the Xpress News YouTube channel uploaded footage of Goldstein giving his side of the story and responding to those who claim white people should not wear dreadlocks (shown below).
The same day, the CBS San Francisco news station KPIX posted an interview with Goldstein, who revealed he would not press charges against Tindle (shown below).
San Francisco State University's Response
On March 29th, SFSU released a statement about the incident on SFSU.edu,[10] in which the university claimed to be "taking the matter seriously" and would be conducting a thorough investigation through "applicable University channels."
News Media Coverage
In the coming days, several news sites published articles about the online backlash to the video, including Reason,[3] The Sun,[4] The Daily Mail,[5] SF Weekly,[6] NY Daily News,[7] The Washington Post[8] and ABC News.[9]
Search Interest
External References
[1] Reddit – Campus exployee confronts student
[2] Reddit – SFSU black campus employee
[3] Reason – Watch a Black Student Assault White Teen Because His Dreadlocks Are Cultural Appropriation
[4] The Sun – White man and black woman in angry confrontation
[5] The Daily Mail – Its my hair my rules my body
[6] SF Weekly – At SFSU Black Student Confronts White Guy Over Dreadlocks
[7] NY Daily News – White college student confronted over hair
[8] The Washington Post – Can a white guy have dreadlocks
[9] ABC News – University to Investigate After Video Shows Female Student Confronting Male Student for His Dreadlocks
[10] SFSU.edu – San Francisco State University statement in response to on-campus incident
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