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White Student Confronted by Black Woman Over His Dreadlocks Speaks Out

Rachel StockmanApr 1st, 2016, 8:23 am
 

studentA white student with dreadlocks who was confronted by a young black woman at San Francisco State University (SFSU) over “cultural appropriation” is now speaking out.  A video went viral earlier this week that showed the confrontation get physical. University officials were ultimately called and are investigating.

“I looked at her and she said ‘sorry we don’t want people with your hair here’, I was like wow that is really rude, I tried to walk away from the situation,” Cory Goldstein, a 22 year old environment science major said in a newly released video that was posted to YouTube by a school newspaper.

The university said Tuesday it would look into the video, which has gone viral with over 3 million views on YouTube since being posted Monday.

“I felt that I didn’t need to explain myself, my hair, my rules, my body,” Goldstein said.

In the original video, Goldstein asks the woman: ‘You’re saying I can’t have a hair style because of your culture. Why?’

 “Because it’s my culture,” she replied. A physical confrontation ensued. (watch below)

Goldstein insists that he respects all cultures.

“The  fact that I have locks doesn’t mean that I’m trying to appropriate this culture, it means that I love and respect their culture,” he said.

Although the title of the video posted on YouTube says the woman is an employee, the school’s statement denies that either the man or the woman involved in the dispute is an employee of the school.

“I think that anyone that has tangled hair in the past that did not have access to combs, probably had dreadlocks, cavemen, I bet you had dreadlocks,” Goldstein said in the interview with the Golden Gate Express.

SFSU told ABC 7 news that they are moving forward with the investigation.  The network also reports that the student who took the video has requested charges to be filed against the woman. Goldstein doesn’t want to press any charges.

The university issued this response:


[screengrab via Golden Gate Express]

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Rachel Stockman is President of Law&Crime which includes Law&Crime Productions, Law&Crime Network and LawAndCrime.com. Under her watch, the company has grown from just a handful of people to a robust production company and network producing dozens of true crime shows a year in partnership with major networks. She also currently serves as Executive Producer of Court Cam, a hit show on A&E, and I Survived a Crime, a new crime show premiering on A&E this fall. She also oversees production of a new daily syndicated show Law&Crime Daily, which is produced in conjunction with Litton Entertainment. In addition to these shows, her network and production company produce programs for Facebook Watch, Cineflix and others. She has spent years covering courts and legal issues, and was named Atlanta Press Club's 'Rising Star' in 2014. Rachel graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and Yale Law School.

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