Challenge
Cultural Appropriation: can a white writer ever create minority characters?
When is it okay for a white writer to create a black character? For instance, I'm white, but writing an urban fantasy featuring a bi-racial (black mother, absent white father) jazz musician who's down-on-his-luck... because he's a heroin addict like many jazz musicians. It's set in 1978, and (like me back in the late 70s/ early 80s) he's a huge P-Funk fan so he slips P-Funk-isms into his thoughts, like calling the antagonist, a white drug dealer he owes money to, as "Sir Nose d'Voidofunk."
My question is, would folks see that as cultural appropriation?
I'm interested because I'm a huge social justice progressive and yet often feel stymied by political correctness. My intent is to embrace Jimmy (who I really, really like despite his flaws). In fact, of all the characters in my urban fantasy world, Jimmy's the one most like myself (though I've never tried heroin and am a middling jazz guitarist at best).
Thanks in advance.
PS. Everyone wins. But in payment, I'll read your most recent work and comment. Please tag me in your comments.
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Racism
Racism isn't writing about a white character when you are not, or writing about a Hispanic character when you are not. The race of your character depends on you. For a long time, I only write/drew white characters, because I was scared that people would be offended. But then I realized that people will get offended no matter what you do. And after that, I didn't care. If you want to make a character a race that isn't your own, by all means, do it. You might have to do research to get all the cultural nuances correct, but you can do it. Go do you.