But You're Not THAT Black

Even though the Black struggle is an issue that needs to be addressed by everyone, not everyone experiences it. Some black people don't even experience black struggle. Black kids that grow up in white suburbia can act as a subculture on its own. There are specific awkward situations that black kids that grew up in the suburbs understand. This includes people being confused about how articulate, or intelligent you are, being caught in the limbo between races, and being expected to represent the black community because you are the only one. A Buzzfeed post describes 17 of these awkward situations:

17 Struggles All Suburban Black Kids Know Too Well

Hip-hop has recently evolved to relate to black kids from the suburbs. Artist such as Chance the Rapper, Tyler the Creator, and Earl Sweatshirt often rap about their life growing up in white suburbia. Chance the Rapper raps, "But I'd fight if a n**ga said that I talk white. And both my parents was black. But they saw it fit that I talk right" expressing the phenomenon of articulate black youth. These artists are at the center of what has become its own genre of music that relates to an overlooked demographic.

Bonfire by Childish Gambino
Chum by Earl Sweatshirt
Everybody's Something

Wanting to be Us Without Being Us

Cultural Appropriation. A relatively new term that is being used more and more lately. Why? Cultural appropriation is an issue that plagues American society, specifically in the case of beauty. America's beauty standard, for a very long time has been very Euro Centric. Black characteristics and feature are ridicules and criticized because they don't resemble the European features that are deemed "beautiful". From the wide hips and big butts, to plump lips and pigmented skin, black characteristics have been the subject of countless racist jokes by culturally insensitive and ignorant people.
   




Cultural violators include mainstream music artists like Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, and Miley Cyrus, who is said to be the worst of all because of black women in her videos as if they are props, and an instance when she called Snoop Dog her "mammie", a derogatory word for slaves who were wet nurses.



How does this Cultural Appropriation, or should I say cultural insensitivity, make black people feel? How confusing is it to be told black people are the most unattractive people in American society, but the same feature that are not seen as beautiful on them are worn by white people and seen as "trendy" or "edgy"? Is black beauty on a whole different spectrum than white beauty? What does the statement "You are pretty for a black girl" do to black girls? 

The song selections for this blog post are songs that were written to remind black people of their worth, that black features are beautiful, because through all of the negative messages black people receive about their appearance, it is uplifting to be reminded that "BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL!!"

The Blacker the Berry by Kenrick Lamar

I Am Not My Hair by India.Arie

Cloud 9

I Love My Hair by Sesame Street

Reparations

Many black Americans feel repayment is due from the white population. The classic argument to this claim is usually along the line of  "Why should I be blamed for slavery just because I am white?" or "Not every what person is like their ancestors." or outright saying, "I don't own slaves." But the real question is if White America does not want to endure the repercussions of slavery, should Black America not be immune to the oppressive residue that slavery has left in our society. Traces of slavery is seen in police brutality, racial profiling, lack of representation in the media, and even blatant hatred.

Artists reminisce on the wrongs that the white population has done to the black counterparts. Bob Marley lists the sources of oppression in "Redemption Song", and how he will rise above them. The song was written around the time of Marley's cancer diagnosis. Its acoustic ballad tone promotes peaceful protest and hope.
Redemption Song

On the other hand "List of Demands" by Saul Williams can be interpreted as a call to take action and take back what the white population has taken from the blacks. The aggressive rock beat and commanding lyrics can be said to have a "Black Panther" Mentality. Williams' words and behavior in the media correlates with his negative feelings toward the government.
List of Demands
                               

A Hopeful Future

In the recent years it seems that history is repeating itself. The events of the Black Lives Matter movement resemble the occurrences of the Black Power Movement in the 70s. Even the music that surrounds the two movement send identical messages.

"A Change is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke served as the anthem for the Civil Rights Movement. Its hopeful tome gave Americans the motivation to keep moving forward despite the unequal treatment at the time. The song's meaning still resonates today. When Barack Obama won the US presidency in 2008, he alluded to Sam Cooke's lyrics declaring, "it's been a long time coming, but tonight, change has come to America", being that Obama was America's first black president.

A Change is Gonna Come

Kendrick Lamar has come to the Hip-hop/Rap forefront with his aggressive lyrics atacking police brutality and racial tensions in America. His song "Alright" on the other hand has the same tone of hope that Sam Cooke's lyrics brought

to the people participating in the Civil Rights Movement. Lamar's song coincides with today's Black Lives Matter Movement.

Alright