Divesity & Identity

I really enjoyed this article because it discussed some key issues that illustrate the actual social relationships between White and Black people. This kind of relationship has a historical background that is hard to forget and, therefore, is has an impact on the dynamics between the two groups. We are talking about a former relationship of slavery in which Black people weren't consider people with full rights. Thus, people who have inherited this ideas still talk about two different worlds, the White's and the Black's that are strictly separated by social rules and human prejudices.
Even though in nowadays world we don't talk about racial differences, or at least we don't do it explicitly, they are strongly present in a lot of aspect of our different societies. There is a frame that clearly defines how far we are allowed to think and tolerate, this doesn't allow us to destroy this former relationships but we tend to hold them and defend them.
As human beings we feel a need to define what we are, where do we come from and where do we want to go, especially if our position in society or even the right to be considered as part of it, is strongly questioned. What I want to say is that grouped identity is a very efficient tool that can be hold against those who wish to put us in a lower level. By saying, I am a Latin American, I am holding a political position and in a country like the United States or even Spain, that position may imply conflict. To relate this with the article, it can be said that by wanting to define what black dance is we will obviously touch some sensitive areas, some scars from the past, that haven't quite been heal yet.
The author's proposal is to through this claims for identity and a open discussion to question our beliefs, we should be able to understand the diversity of identities as a positive thing that will make our society more inclusive and just.
To sum up, I will like to enphasise on the idea that in order to hold a discussion that will truly bring people from different cultures together, it is necessary to free ourselves from our own frames or traditional ways of thinking, as cultural understanding will only be possible if we absorbe the others point of view as it is rather than comparing it to our own. When talking about dance or any other performing art, this becomes essential as art deals with the most inner feelings of human beings, and thus is an area that we tend to defend the most.