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This quote does an effective job at sharing with the audience the constant state of fear and shame black people had to live with in society. This quote resonated with African Americans reading this, in addition this quote was written to help white people understand what it felt like to be
He says that the White think that African Americans want to be them and have their skin color and riches. But he portrays that they think wrong. He says in his appeal that the African Americans do not want to be their color because they know that they could not do the same harm as the whites did as of beating as they slowly die in the inside. He says that they have so much anger towards the white that the first thing that they would do is murder each and every one of them for the suffering that they bought on to their families of their kind. He would like to see them suffer the same way before they would ever become a white person.
Chancelor Bennett, better known as Chance the Rapper, has made a sudden appearance in the world of rap since 2012 when he released his first album “10 Day”. Since then, Chance the Rapper has gained popularity with his albums “Acid Rap” in 2013, and most recently “Coloring Book” in 2016. Chance the Rapper is known for his quirky and free-flowing raps about things that are important to him, like his native city of Chicago, freedom, or even his faith. His creative process to make genius raps sometimes take weird directions and fully understanding how this artist makes music is very amazing.
In this essay, Hip Hop Stole My Black Boy by Kiese Laymon, is a story about two boys whose dreams was to become a hip hop artist. Even though their parents did not like the idea. Laymon, says that "But as hip hop moved from the boroughs to Compton in late 80's and early 90's, daring west coast soldiers, west coast sensibilities and west of us rappers seemed more in line with our reality" (Laymon 226). I think he was referring to the two boys, because they did not like the idea of living their home town and go to another city at first, but when they move from one city to another they did enjoy it after all. The word "Cipher" was mentioned several times in this essay.
When speaking of the unjust happening, he expresses, “We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: ‘For Whites Only’”. (pg 2) King brings to light the extent of racism they experience and uses children to touch people in a different way. This treatment towards African Americans goes beyond what is shown. Additionally, when speaking of life as a black individual, King states, “We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highway.” (pg2)
Years before we started our constitution with “we the people…;” years before we distinguished society to be separated into colors -- black, white or somewhere in between; years before we pledged together to be “...one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all…,” we lived under the British rule. However, with the sacrifices of many men who made history come to life, we gained our freedom. Soon our America turned into my America -- my as in the “white” America. The cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance approached later on in the early twentieth century, where vibrancies of new perceptions emerged in the minds of many African Americans. However, this white America proved to be an obstacle, taking away the freedom and excitement that the African Americans felt after years of oppression.
This album speaks to the freedom struggle that African Americans faced at that time. By using his music, Duke Ellington is able to narrate the struggles, triumphs, and emergence of individual identity in early African American culture.
In the United States what has been a huge topic is the exposure of racism. Hip-hop artist and rappers have become the voice of many communities by expressing the everyday struggle people of color overcome at some point in their lives. Kendrick Lamar an artist from Compton has been the voice of the black community and of the youth. Kendrick has been known to touch on issues such as murder, financial issues, and racism. In his latest album “DAMN.”
Rooted in our Past History is a subject some people love, but yet some also hate. Regardless of it all history is an integral part of our lives today, because we either learn from it or unfortunately, just end up repeating the same mistakes of the past. History is reflected all around us, it is even reflected in songs and music of today. Music as we all know tells a story and in the song “Changes” by Tupac Shakur, though written in recent time, expresses the oppression of African Americans and the discrimination against them.
(Armstrong, 1929). Armstrong shares a relatable life and puts into perspective there's really what it is like to be an African American growing up in the United States. He sings about the discrimination and almost unprovided fullness about being an African American. This highlights the importance of “The New Negro’, giving African Americans a sense of pride and acceptance for who they are, regardless of the discrimination that is shown by ignorant people who judge those based on their skin color. Louis Armstrong's words are a source of storytelling, speaking from African Americans as a collective.
Frederick Douglass’s “What the Black Man Wants” captures the need for change in post Civil War America. The document presses the importance for change, with the mindset of the black man being, ‘if not now then never’. Parallel to this document is the letter of Jourdon Anderson, writing to his old master. Similar to Douglas, Mr. Anderson speaks of the same change and establishes his worth as freed man to his previous slave owner. These writings both teach and remind us about the evils of slavery and the continued need for equality, change, and reform.
This book gives a great list of achievements in African American music and art over a period of almost 400 years. This book is divided into eight chapter exploring every genre of the African American music. It goes from the time period of songs created during the time of slavery up until they reach the 90’s music which deals with new media. This was my most helpful from of resource. The
To be Black in America comes with a rich tradition of overcoming the impossible to achieve dreams through the richness of our cultural roots. However, that leads to the second half of the title, "Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It", where Charlamagne exclaims, "this for the dreamers, for the optimists; this book is about embracing who and what you are regardless of race gender, sexuality, and class. God gave you the privilege of this thing called life so regardless of what this society tells you that you can’t do and what you don’t have to understand you lack nothing God gave you everything you need to succeed.” From the days as a child in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, to achieving massive success with The Breakfast Club and numerous on-air opportunities, Charlamagne Tha God has excelled in seizing the moment. Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It, not only chronicles his path to success, but the book serves as a gift of empowerment to people of all races, creeds, and sexuality.
Since the origins of African-American culture, white Americans have used and exploited black people, all while appropriating black culture. Kendrick Lamar exemplifies the polarization existing between cultures when he writes, “You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture/ You’re fuckin’ evil I want you to recognize that I’m a proud monkey” (27-28). “My culture” illustrates the disparity existing between blacks and whites, demonstrating a clear “them” and “us” relationship existing in the United States. This divide causes African-Americans to feel used and underappreciated, all the while, their culture is repetitively stolen and adopted by the white community.
The Impact of Hip-Hop Ever since its birth in the 1970s in West Bronx, Hip Hop has been known as “Gangsta” music and most commonly associated with black culture. Since its creation it has become a fast growing genre of music and has growing fame all over the world. The popularity of it has increased to all races, age and gender. However the growing popularity of hip hop has come with several controversies among scholars. Some scholars argue that the growing popularity of the genre is very helpful to low income families who can use this as their outlet into going to Universities, on the other side some believe associating the genre to black culture is bad for the culture as a whole and they should not be associated together.
