Inviting Cultures On Our Campus

This fall, I submitted an application to the Small Concerts Initiative and was given a grant to bring hip-hop artist, Chris Felner, aka “Felly,” to Middlebury.  His show was scheduled for last Friday, and ultimately he performed for over 550 students.  However, just prior to his arrival in Vermont, Chris was accused in a Middlebury Campus op-ed of being a cultural appropriator because of his skin color, the way he talked and the sound of his music.

Elizabeth Dunn, the author of the op-ed, is certainly entitled to her opinion and, while I don’t agree with all of her views, I fully respect her right to share them with our community and beyond.

But after spending the weekend with Chris, I felt compelled to respond to her piece, which I believe not only unfairly tarnished our guest, but also misses the point of artistic endeavors and their role in our community.

When I picked him up from the airport on Thursday after his eight-hour cross country trip, Chris had already gotten wind of the op-ed.  I expected him to be upset that he was facing a growing protest at the school where he was about to perform.  I was wrong.  Instead, Chris, who turned out to be a down-to-earth, positive, optimistic kid, was interested in Elizabeth’s perspective and wanted to speak with her.  He told me he had “nothing but love for her for expressing her opinion and being so convinced of something. But,” he noted, “anyone convinced of something should be open to hearing another side.”  And while we immediately reached out to Elizabeth after Chris’ arrival on campus, we unfortunately did not hear back from her in time to arrange a meeting.  That was certainly an opportunity lost.

For those of you who don’t know his music, Felly uses African and Jamaican rhythms and roots from African and Jamaican culture in his songwriting.  Yes, it’s true that Felly is not African-American and he is not Jamaican.  Yes, it’s true that he comes from a privileged background and might not have the same experiences as many African American or Jamaican musicians.  But if we cherish diversity, don’t we want cultures to influence each other?  Don’t people from different backgrounds deserve equal opportunities to express their inner creativity and artistic inspiration? Should Eric Clapton be prohibited from singing the Delta Blues because he has a British accent? Transcendent musicians crossing cultural divides is musical appreciation, not cultural appropriation.

Yet the editorial expressed deep skepticism over Felly’s “supposed” Rastafarian connection. It’s interesting to note that Bob Marley, one of the musicians most associated with “Rastafarianism”, was half white and half black. The op-ed wrote, “Rastafarianism is black. It is exclusive…” Does that mean there was an element of cultural appropriation in Marley’s music?

Unquestionably, Chris is not “culturally” Rastafarian.  He has, however, spent lots of time in Jamaica, and has cultivated multiple friends on the island.   He’s led four separate service trips in poor areas, and visited other times solely to hang out with his local Jamaican friends.  Chris explained to me that he loves the way the Rastafarians “preached love and unity,” and that it’s his goal to infuse his music with those same qualities.  Notably though, Chris does not limit his musical exploration solely to Jamaican music. Chris mines many other cultures to expand his musical outlook, including those from Brazilian, African and European cultures.

Elizabeth also wrote, “Felly doesn’t seem especially interested in interacting with actual black people… likely it’s because black people aren’t cool.”  I’m not at all clear on how based on the viewing of one music video she reached this stark conclusion, but the assertion is completely at odds with the person I got to know this weekend.  In the face of unexpected controversy, Chris showed himself to be open, outgoing, sincere and accepting. The whole weekend Chris interacted with a diverse group of students here and started conversations with everyone trying to understand their perspectives. Yet he’s being labeled a racist.  As an aside, Elizabeth might be interested to know that two of the musicians who appear on Felly’s most recent album were African-American, including one who grew up in Jamaica and just happens to be one of his closest friends.

One of the first sentences of the op-ed wrote, “Felly, those who were responsible for bringing him here and those planning to attend his concert are unaware of the systematic racism black people face, and how even seemingly innocuous or insignificant actions, like going to a concert, reinforce discrimination.”  As the person responsible for bringing Felly to campus, I take issue.  I’ve never met Elizabeth, so I don’t know from whom she’s getting her information about my awareness, or lack thereof, of the systematic racism black people face.  But I do know that I enjoy music and when I proposed to bring Felly here, it was specifically because I relished the idea of bringing a musician to Middlebury who could bring together a wide array of people for a shared experience. A human experience.

The editorial also noted that “considering Middlebury College’s own history with appropriation, it’s no surprise that Felly was chosen as our visiting artist”. Our Spring concert last year was T-Pain. Middlebury College was also the first college in America to graduate an African-American student.

Of course, I believe cultural appropriation is an issue, and needs to be addressed.  This, concert, and Felly, did not deserve to be mired in controversy. Like Dwayne Scott (D. Scott, opener for Felly) said in front of the enthusiastic audience, “I want to address a recent article that has summoned a lot of mixed feelings and caused my own background singers to cancel performing with me. We, as artists, are just trying to share and express our art with y’all. Don’t make things controversial that don’t need to be controversial. I don’t have an issue with Felly. We’re backstage kicking it. So when he comes out on stage, support his art and make the most noise possible. Show love y’all.”

After a terrific weekend and performance, Chris wanted me to deliver a message to Elizabeth: “I have this same love for you regardless of the negative words you have thrown at me. I’m sorry you feel this way, but I hope you can see my side. I’ll keep fighting for unity while you try to do the same through your methods. I take pride in the fact that I’ve been able to bring in hundreds of people (Black, White, Asian, etc.) to my shows to come together for the simple love of music.”

I admire Chris as a young artist following his dream, and I admire Elizabeth for her willingness to express her views in an open forum.  Discourse is healthy, and in a college environment, particularly necessary. But we must all accept that as a community, we will never be able to come to a complete agreement on any issue, and instead resolve to respect each other as individuals. It’s my fervent hope that artists of all stripes can and will continue to draw on cultural traditions not their own, as they broaden their own horizons, as well as ours. Let’s knock down the walls and come together, not build them and grow farther apart.