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A Black student started a majorette team at the predominantly white college she attends and everyone doesn’t think this is good news.
On Twitter, the student, @princesslang0 shared an eight-second clip of The Cardinal Divas of the University of Southern California. She expressed her excitement about the team she started having their first performance.
”Oh nothing… i created a majorette team at a PWI and performed at our first game,” she wrote. “Truly though i’m so blessed and can’t thank God enough. Thank you to my parents and to everyone who supported me along this LONG journey. and my girls FYE💫The Cardinal Divas of SC are UP NEXT.”
After sharing her accomplishment, she was hit with backlash for starting a Black team at a predominantly white institution (PWI). Some people felt that if she wanted to be a Black majorette, then she should have enrolled at a historically Black college or university.
“It’s giving I want HBCU culture but desire PWI validation!,” one person tweeted. “If an HBCU isn’t good enough for you stop trying to replicate HBCU culture at white schools! Y’all do this all the time and it’s very tiring at this point! Not J-Sette Rejects at the white school.”
Another person said bringing aspects of HBCU culture to a PWI gives them a chance to take what’s ours.
“This is an HBCU-style dance team created at a PWI,” they wrote. “The problem with trying to create HBCU culture at PWIs is HBCUs don’t benefit from it or get credit for it. And…like everything else, the white majority there will eventually take it and claim it was ALWAYS theirs.”
While there were many naysayers, some saw no issue with her creating what can be considered a safe space for Black women at a PWI.
“It’s wild that y’all are upset that black people wanna do black stuff regardless of where they ended up at school. N***** in the suburbs gotta stop f****** with hip hop too I suppose? Y’all don’t think it’s weird y’all wanna police other black peoples actions?”
Someone else gave a brief history lesson and explained that The Cardinals are actually a drill team, not majorettes.
“While individuals are using the terminology ‘Majorettes’ to describe this dance-style, that is actually incorrect; the proper connotative word is ‘J-Setting or ‘J-Settes’ or ‘Drill Teams’, which is a derivative of the Jackson State University ‘J-Settes’ from whence its named,” they tweeted.
Take a look at more of this conversation below.
