This College Humor video introduces the relatively new concept of Columbusing. The activity, which is generally attributed to white people, is shown in a sketch where a white and a black friend agree to meet at a bar which the white friend has ‘columbused.’
The black friend’s protests that the bar has been there for decades means nothing! The bar wasn’t officially discovered – or ‘columbused’ until the white friend set foot in it, and then turned his white friends onto it.
Definition of Columbusing, as defined by the Urban Dictionary:
When white people claim they have invented/discovered something that has been around for years, decades, even centuries. Used in a sentence, ‘Miley Cyrus is totally Columbusing with this twerking poop.’
The black friend asks reasonable questions, such as; Is it possible to Columbus something from the white culture?
You may already know the answer to this one. Whites are too good at taking credit for things. Sushi…Was never popular in the U.S. until whites made it trendy. Oh, and don’t even get me started on music! Rock n’ Roll is the child of black blues, R&B and gospel. Who knew until white artists and/or celebrities played it on white radio stations…Or columbused it. Same story with Jazz. If some white entrepreneur hadn’t Columbused black music, white America would still be awash in Pat Boone and Polka favorites. There may still be hope for the peacoat!