Read about Black cultural pride and the debate around cultural appropriation, then practise the language of describing and commenting so you can express your own opinion clearly at B2/C1 level.
Read the text carefully, then answer the comprehension questions using the dropdown menus.
Being proud to be Black means celebrating a rich and varied culture — its music, fashion, hairstyles, language and history — while also confronting how that culture is treated by the wider world. In recent years, the debate around cultural appropriation has become impossible to ignore. Cultural appropriation happens when members of a dominant culture adopt elements of a minority culture, often without understanding their significance or crediting where they came from.
Hairstyles are a striking example. For decades, Black women and men were told that braids, cornrows and afros looked "unprofessional", and many workplaces and schools enforced strict rules against them. Yet when the same hairstyles appear on non-Black celebrities, they are frequently praised as "edgy" or "new". Critics argue this double standard strips a style of its cultural meaning while denying Black people the very acceptance they were once refused.
Musicians, athletes and writers have increasingly spoken out, arguing that appreciation and appropriation are not the same thing. Appreciation, they say, involves learning about a culture's history, giving credit and supporting the community it comes from; appropriation simply borrows the surface without any of that respect.
For many young Black people today, pride is not just about looking back at history — it is about insisting that their culture be recognised, respected and fairly rewarded in the present.
1 The text says that being proud to be Black also means how that culture is treated by the wider world.
2 Cultural appropriation happens when someone borrows cultural elements without understanding their significance or where they came from.
3 For decades, Black hairstyles such as braids and afros were often called in workplaces and schools.
4 When the same hairstyles appear on non-Black celebrities, one word often used to praise them is .
5 Critics say this double standard denies Black people the acceptance they were once .
6 According to the text, true appreciation involves learning a culture's history, giving credit and the community it comes from.
Choose the phrase that correctly completes each sentence about cultural pride and cultural appropriation.
1 , cultural pride and cultural appropriation are two sides of the same debate.
2 It could be argued borrowing a culture's style without crediting it is a form of disrespect.
3 Cultural appropriation is, , far more common in the fashion industry than most consumers realise.
4 , most respondents in the survey felt that appreciation should always include giving credit.
5 As far as I am , no culture should be treated as a costume.
6 There is no denying Black culture has shaped global music, fashion and language.
7 argue that cultural exchange only becomes appropriation when power and respect are unequal.
8 It seems me that fashion trends often erase the culture they come from.
Choose the word that best completes each sentence about culture, identity and fairness.
1 When a style or tradition is shared and celebrated between equals, it is usually called cultural .
2 Judging people unfairly for a hairstyle at school or work, while praising the same style elsewhere, reflects a standard.
3 Black musicians and designers often call for fair — meaning proper credit and payment for their work.
4 A simplified and often inaccurate belief about a whole group of people is called a .
5 Borrowing parts of a culture out of genuine interest and respect is closer to cultural than appropriation.
6 Supporting a group whose culture is misused, even when you are not part of that group, is a form of .
7 The customs, art and history that a community inherits from earlier generations make up its cultural .
8 Systemic refers to unfair treatment built into institutions rather than caused by one person's actions.
Write a short opinion text (6–8 sentences) on either cultural pride or cultural appropriation. Use at least three describing & commenting phrases from the word bank below to make your stance clear.
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