Like I said in the last post, Hip-Hop will be very lively in 2010. More Proof:
Download the new Reflection Eternal Mixtape here
While you're downloading that, listen to this collab I did for Furyus in 2005 called "MLK DAY"
I'd like to think that putting this out there in the universe paved the way for Will.I.Am and Common who put out this "I Have a Dream" song for the "Freedom Writers" sountrack in 2007. It helps that Common says (in the song), "Dear Self, I wrote a letter just to better my soul... My story like yours yo, it gotta be told."
If you're still downloading the new Reflection Eternal Mixtape, check this out:
While celebrating Martin Luther King Day, I spoke with a veteran of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement regarding the role of SNCC (the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee). SNCC was extremely influential in getting non-White Americans to liberate themselves from legalized racist oppression during the 1960s.
The funny thing about talking to people who were actually active in the Civil Rights Movement (in my experience), is they usually laugh when you ask them about how it's portrayed in the latest popular media reference. For example, Martin Luther King is overwhelmingly portrayed as the accessible Civil Rights activist, while being contrasted with Malcolm X, who is portrayed as the unapproachable one.
The truth is that Martin and Malcolm were only 2 of a large number of courageous people who made countless significant non-violent sacrifices to achieve freedom for all human beings (and we should be aware that many of them lost their lives and family members even before Martin and Malcolm were murdered).
Another misconception is that SNCC (as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) was primarily concerned with Black and White people being able to play and work together. Although that seems like I fine idea, it is an extremely oversimplified version of what was taking place. Sometimes, when you oversimplify things you actually take the truth out of them.
Black and White people were certainly already working together during the 1960s. However, if you've ever seen (or been one of) two people at the same job who didn't get along, you start to understand the issue.
- Imagine one of those people could never get a promotion, or receive equal pay, no matter how hard they worked
- Imagine people were allowed, and even encouraged, to physically and verbally abuse one of those people
- Imagine one of those people was not allowed to use the working bathroom, water fountain, cafeteria, and other standard areas of the job site
Now you start to get a truer image of what it was like in the 1960s. And it wasn't just about Black and White people. Much like the case of Mumia Abu Jamal was not just about a "Black man" and a "White cop". It challenges the entire issue of whether we should even have a death penalty, which might legally execute a person wrongly accused. SNCC challenged the entire issue of discrimination and prejudice. Not just against Black people, but against all people - including discrimination by White people against other White people! By the way, there are many other types of people besides "Black" and "White" in the United States, and the Civil Rights Movement directly improved all of our lives, all-inclusively.
To say that one loves their dog is fine. However, most people do not send their dog to school, do it's homework, marry it, and so forth. Most importantly, they would not let their dog take them to court, invest their money, or leave them at will. In the same way, to say you want Black and White people to work together is fine. Yet to say that during a disagreement, everyone is entitled to legal representation; when their is an election, everyone is entitled (and permitted) to vote; when there are facilities on the job site, everyone is given free access to them; these rights go far beyond Black and White people getting along. They go straight to the core of what happens when any human being doesn't get along with another human being, in a civilized society.
I feel that one of the most amazing, unique things about SNCC was that people like Bob Moses went door to door asking disenfranchised African-Americans, how their lives could be better, without being patronizing or threatening. Being able to listen to other people's frustrations and then work together to help them reach their goals was the true essence of SNCC, in my opinion. That is much harder to do, and more significant than "White and Black people holding hands." I salute those who did this work in the Civil Rights movement.
I believe they paved the way for the Zulu Nation, Temple of Hip-Hop, and others such as myself, to continue doing this work through Hip-Hop Culture today. We go beyond getting people of different colors to say our lyrics, write our names, play our beats, and do our dances - we do the difficult work of getting them to respect each other, and themselves, as they respect us...
You can see this About.com article for a review of some of the major activities and laws that were passed during the Civil Rights Movement.
No comments:
Post a Comment