"Stepping" — a dance form defined by clapping and stomping — has long been a staple of African American sororities. So when an all-white team took first place (and $100,000 in scholarships) at the Sprite Step Off competition, a traditionally all-black event, cries of cultural theft erupted. College fraternalism expert Lawrence C. Ross Jr. calls the surprise result "the first assault on yet another African-American cultural tradition." Others, however, welcome the win by University of Arkansas' Zeta Tau Alpha as a breakthrough for equality. In an apparent effort to cool the controversy, Sprite later announced a "scoring discrepancy" on Facebook, and declared the outcome a tie, awarding an additional $100,000 prize to the black Alpha Kappa Alpha Tau team. Watch Zeta Tau Alpha's "Matrix"-inspired performance below:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
American universities are losing ground to their foreign counterpartsThe Explainer While Harvard is still near the top, other colleges have slipped
-
How to navigate dating apps to find ‘the one’The Week Recommends Put an end to endless swiping and make real romantic connections
-
Elon Musk’s pivot from Mars to the moonIn the Spotlight SpaceX shifts focus with IPO approaching
