My thesis examines how the hip-hop movement of the late 80s and 90s represents both the entrepreneurial New Negro, in coordination with Baldwin’s classification, and artistic, correlating with Locke’s perspective of the New Negro, in its methods. It served as a way for Black people to make a living in an oppressive society while simultaneously creating a profitable and marketable message that was easily able to be relayed to the Black community. It was also a method in which the Black population could voice the issues plaguing their neighborhoods and communities and the racial discrimination they faced on an every-day basis. I contrast the the socially progressive and radical agendas of hip-hop artists during this time, with the commercialized artistic expression of today's hip-hop generation. I argue that today's music is becoming a privatized commodity by corporate America, pushing specific agendas that undoubtedly reinforce and normalize many of the stigmatic racialized stereotypes and understandings of Black people. It has come to be seen as a career, a method of making a living, rather than the artistic expression of the community. In this sense, it does not encompass the New Negro ideologies that lyrical expression in the 80s and 90s did. It has, in a way, backtracked from its original intent of community representation. In order to frame my argument I use Paul Butler’s theory on the dichotomy of hip-hop music, and the division between the “political” and the “pleasurable."
For this blog, I will use some of the lyrics I have been analyzing in my paper, to show the political agenda of the 1980s and 90s.
In Revolutionary Generation, Chuck raps about the social inequalities between Black and White people in America, beginning with “Day to day America eats its young and defeats our women/ There is a gap so wide we all can swim in.” He continues on to speak on the particular injustices of Black women, the exclusion they often feel within the community, and the destructive divide this creates within the revolutionary movement. Throughout history, Chuck argues, the nation has “taught us how to dis our sisters.” Instead of treating women as if they are not a part of the movement for equality he raps that if everything came together the power would be much greater against the oppressor. “R-e-s-p-e-c-t my sisters, not my enemy/ Cause we’ll be stronger together and make this sucker say, Damn this generation” He continues, stating that what the Black community needs in the face of oppression is a new generational attitude. “The fingers pointed to us in out direction/ the blind state of mind needs correction/ word to the mother we tighten connection, to be a man you need no election/ sister to you we should not be rude, so we come together and make ‘em all say Damn this generation.”
There are many songs by Public Enemy, KRS-One and Big-L that reveal the progressive and prideful element of the New Negro attitude (that I will expand on in the thesis). Even the radical lyrics of N.W.A., often superseded by the public's and government's tendencies to brush them off as militant and counterproductive to the movement for social justice, were compelling in the sense that they revealed what life really was like growing up in the ghettos of American society.
Something I find interesting, and I would like to share with you, are the efforts made by many artists in the 1980s and 90s to address the issue of the hip-hop dichotomy I argue has consumed the generation of musicians today. It would be false to state that the presence of the "pleasurable" aspect of hip-hop as a viable career, able to give you cars, money, a way out, and a lifestyle you had never dreamed of, didn't exist. It was always present and lingering over the heads of artists. What is interesting to me is that the lyricists of the 80s and 90s made it a point to demand of Black artists that they refrain from the politics of the music industry. Succumbing to the demands of corporate America would compromise the very essence of the movement. In the song Express Yourself by N.W.A., a member of the group raps about the hypocrisy of many artists, and the importance of staying true to the meaning of hip-hop as a means of artistic expression and community representation. “Others say rhymes that fail to be original/ or they kill where the hip-hop starts/ forget about the ghetto and rap for the pop charts/ Yeah they want reality, but you won’t hear none/ they rather exaggerate, a little fiction/ but you know it ain’t about wealth, as long as you make a note to express yourself.” Even though N.W.A. was obviously making money from their musical productions, it was crucial to the movement to understand what hip-hop was about, and the importance of its service to the community.
Co-opting their views and agendas would be a conscious participation in what Orlando Patterson refers to as "social death." Artists today address the issues of corporate domination of the music industry, such as Jay-Z in “Dope Man.” “ I grew up where you hold your blacks up/ trap us/ expect us not to pick gats up/ where you drop your cracks off by the Mack trucks/ destroy our dreams of lawyers and actors/ keep us spiralin’ goin backwards.” While he is not specifically idolizing the criminal lifestyles of African Americans, he is addressing the governmental system that limits the social mobility of black people, and therefore drives them into the lifestyles they so often ascribe to. They turn to drugs as a way to survive, ironically, the drugs placed in the projects by white America, and then are demonized by society as being drug dealers and criminals. Many turn to rapping and hip-hop to get out, but like Jay-Z, then end up rapping about drugs and the lifestyle of “hustling” to achieve the dream, because that is popular demand for mainstream music. What is not addressed however, is the reinforcement of stereotypes about black criminals when these rappers choose to adhere to the mainstream demands. It provides the government and white hegemony with a sense of justification for the social positions of blacks in America. These lyrics are internalized as the truth for all black people, and therefore shape social understandings about African Americans in general.
I know I kind of touched on a couple of different sources, however I think it was important to mention the theory of a hip-hop dichotomy in order to provide the context in which I am framing my argument.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Locke, Baldwin, and the "New Negro"
Alain Locke defines the concept of the “New Negro” as a cultural and social transformation of African Americans during the Great Migration from the rural south to the industrial north. The Harlem Renaissance, as it is most commonly referred to, was the time period specifically premised on the transformations of the “inner and outer life of the Negro in America;” the “internal world of the Negro mind and spirit” (xxv). The “New Negro,” according to Locke, was a new mindset, a new way of celebration and racial pride. Most importantly, it was characterized by self-expression for self-determination. It was a revolution of the mind and soul, and for the first time it was produced by African Americans, about African Americans. The “New Negro” was a shift from production about the Black body and mind by White society and White elite, to one produced solely by the subject.
Locke exposed the mindset of the “New Negro” through his volume of artistic expression, consisting of poems, literature, artwork, and song. Through these methods, oppressed African Americans were able to release themselves for the shackles that had bound them to the bottom of the socially constructed racialized hierarchy. They were able to share their stories, their hopes, and their dreams of escaping the injustices of the south, and creating a new and prosperous life in the north. The work exemplified the creative abilities of the Black population, illustrated and gave life to the struggles of the Black experience in a racist nation, and highlighted the newly uncovered idea of racial pride and dignity.
Baldwin’s interpretation of the New Negro is one that broadens the narrow scope of the ever-popular understanding of artistic production and expression through poetry, literature, and song. Although Baldwin acknowledges the impact of Locke’s work, and the importance of artistic expression in the discovery of this new ideology and mind shift, he argues that the “New Negro” encompassed much more than the artistic expression of a select few. Baldwin’s interpretation of the “New Negro” focuses on the “mass consumer marketplace as a crucial site of intellectual life” (5). Baldwin argues that by solely referring to the “New Negro” as the producers of artistic expression and literary intellectuals, we are ignoring the history of “the folk,” who were responsible for crafting “ideas that would forever alter the course and shape of the modern world” (5). Baldwin focuses on the black marketplace in Chicago, “the Black metropolis,” as a means for black ideas and products to reach mainstream society (although there were still severe limitations) thus fostering a new Black identity that was demanding of respect.
Contrary to Locke’s interpretation, Baldwin argues that, “the overt desire for autonomous Black cultural production through economic control, and specifically through consumer strategies” was the most “salient aspect of Chicago’s “New Negro” consciousness (7). This meant that the ultimate goal was to have Black men and women working for Black employers and Black owned businesses, thus establishing the race as competitive cultural producers. He uses the example of newspaper and printing production as a means for black thought and ideologies to reach the masses, which allowed for African Americans to take part in a new awakening and a new self-consciousness that fostered desires and hopes for the future. He also discussed the role of women and beauty culture as a means to create a new and respectable identity for the Black woman. By taking part in beauty culture, they defied hegemonic standards of domestic work as the main role of Black women as well as the notion of black women being intellectually inferior, incapable, and sexually promiscuous, deeming them not worthy of respect. It allowed for the creation of a specific space for Black women to become entrepreneurial businesswomen, most noted Madam C.J. Walker, thus creating a sense of self-respect and establishment, while simultaneously creating a newly confident and self-respected/able black woman.
Although the specificities of whom personified the concept of the “New Negro” differs between Alain Locke and Davarian Baldwin, there are central elements that remain consistent within their respective perspectives. Regardless of methodology, both scholars’ concepts of the “New Negro” are based on the idea of racial empowerment, self-determination, and the adaptation of a Black voice. I believe that the two perspectives go hand in hand, and compliment each other rather well. Baldwin mentions in the beginning of his book that Locke’s perspective focuses narrowly on those who were capable of producing artistic expression, something not everyone had a particular niche for. Thus he argues, when we focus on only this aspect, many of the entrepreneurial Black men and woman are disregarded. The entrepreneurs and business savvy African Americans, in my mind, gave life to the poems, stories, and songs that many of the artists during the Harlem Renaissance were alluding to. The poems and stories produced during this time period, and compiled into the “New Negro” text by Locke, are testaments to the several different, but at the root, essentially the same struggles of all African Americans struggling against racial oppression, injustice, and inequality in the United States.
Although there may be disagreements with regards to who the “New Negro” was, it is clear what it was. It was an idea of self-respect and racial pride. The “New Negro” was a new identity, a new way of looking at the potential of the Black race to produce, enlighten, and compete equitably amongst American society. It challenged the pre-conceived notions of race and the Black body and mind. It allowed for Black individuals to recognize the potential in themselves and their community, thus fostering a powerful sense of racial pride. It was reclamation of the dignity that had been unrightfully snatched from them hundreds of years before.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Lady, Lady Ida Mae
While reading the sections on Ida Mae Brandon Gladney in The Warmth of Other Suns, I found myself mentally referring back to the poem entitled "Lady, Lady" by Anne Spencer. Ida Mae embodied the words echoed by Spencer, and her story filled in the lines between each stanza. This was especially clear when reading the excerpt on Ida Mae when she worked as a sharecropper with her husband in Chicksaw County, Mississippi in 1929. The title of the chapter, A Burdensome Labor, indicates the tone of the story that is to follow. Wilkerson illustrates the painful labor in which Mae and her husband must endure while sharecropping for Mr. Edd. Resonating with the title of the book, she states that the sun often cooked the backs of Ida and her husband while they picked cotton, from sun up to sun down. The sun naturally darkens the skin, which alludes to the line in which Spencer observes the dark color of the Lady's face, which is as "dark as night withholding a star." The woman in Spencer's poem could perhaps be one who has worked the fields for years as a cotton picker, much like Ida, and whose skin has been exposed to the radiating and scorching Mississippi heat.
The line that caught my eye the most, and which I felt so strongly referenced Spencer's poem was, "The hands got cramped from the repetitive motion of picking, the fingers fairly locked in place and callused from the pricks of the barbed, five-pointed cockleburs that cupped each precious boll." Ida's life experiences working as a sharecropper explains the "twisted, awry" hands that resemble so closely "crumpled roots." When we were doing a close reading of this specific poem in class, we spoke of the many different causes of her hands being "bleached poor white." Originally I had spoken about how I believed this could mean that her hands were white because her labor literally belonged to the white man. The fruits bore from her rigorous work belonged to her plantation owner. I still believe this to be true, and I find it rather ironic that Ida's job is a cotton picker. In this specific instance, her hands are not bleached poor white because of washing, but could perhaps be white of cotton. The cotton that caused her hands to cramp had "bleached" her hands white; again her labor did not belong to her, her hands did not belong to her.
The labor was so rigorous, that often times Ida would faint in the middle of the fields. Ida and her husband were required to do exactly the same amount of work in the fields, speaking to the line in Spencer's poem when she states, "you had borne so long the yoke of men." I found it interesting however, that Wilkerson questions if Ida really was incapable of picking cotton at a quick pace, or if in fact she was silently resisting the oppression of the sharecropping system, and the larger system of inequality that has plagued the Black race in the United States. In fact, early in the book Wilkerson states that Ida was good at doing things men did, and she very much enjoyed it. This isolated form of resistance was something that was not uncommon; as Wilkerson shares, "For now the people resisted in silent, everyday rebellions...each one fought in isolation and unbeknownst to the others." This statement truly attests to the courage that many Black sharecroppers had in the face of such brutal repression.
The final stanza of the poem, which speaks about the Lady's heart, also spoke of Ida's story. Spencer states that the Lady's heart, regardless of her external stoic image, were altared by "the tongues of flame the ancients knew." This to me, means that inside of her was a passion and a fire for justice, and that the work she has done thus far, will not be in vain. The silent resistance of Ida as well as countless slaves and sharecroppers throughout history, will soon be noticed and heard. This became clear when Wilkerson states that the silent rebellions so many participated in would "build up to a storm at midcentury," clearly alluding to the Civil Rights Movement that was to follow.
Ida Mae is a testament to The New Negro, and the spirit and ideology that embodies the term. She and her husband realized that the brutality endured by sharecropping was not just, and therefore decided that they were going to defy the system. They began to see themselves as deserving of a better life, and decided to flee Mississippi, and go North. This new understanding of self and pride was something that Wilkerson said, was evident in Ida from a very early age. She states that when Ida Mae detested her birth name, and demanded others to refer to her as "Ida Mae," "it was an early indication that she could think for herself when she chose to." Fleeing Mississippi for a better life was the acting out that Spencer's poem refers to in the final stanza. The passionate flames engulfed Ida's soul, and she made the decision to act on her feelings.
The line that caught my eye the most, and which I felt so strongly referenced Spencer's poem was, "The hands got cramped from the repetitive motion of picking, the fingers fairly locked in place and callused from the pricks of the barbed, five-pointed cockleburs that cupped each precious boll." Ida's life experiences working as a sharecropper explains the "twisted, awry" hands that resemble so closely "crumpled roots." When we were doing a close reading of this specific poem in class, we spoke of the many different causes of her hands being "bleached poor white." Originally I had spoken about how I believed this could mean that her hands were white because her labor literally belonged to the white man. The fruits bore from her rigorous work belonged to her plantation owner. I still believe this to be true, and I find it rather ironic that Ida's job is a cotton picker. In this specific instance, her hands are not bleached poor white because of washing, but could perhaps be white of cotton. The cotton that caused her hands to cramp had "bleached" her hands white; again her labor did not belong to her, her hands did not belong to her.
The labor was so rigorous, that often times Ida would faint in the middle of the fields. Ida and her husband were required to do exactly the same amount of work in the fields, speaking to the line in Spencer's poem when she states, "you had borne so long the yoke of men." I found it interesting however, that Wilkerson questions if Ida really was incapable of picking cotton at a quick pace, or if in fact she was silently resisting the oppression of the sharecropping system, and the larger system of inequality that has plagued the Black race in the United States. In fact, early in the book Wilkerson states that Ida was good at doing things men did, and she very much enjoyed it. This isolated form of resistance was something that was not uncommon; as Wilkerson shares, "For now the people resisted in silent, everyday rebellions...each one fought in isolation and unbeknownst to the others." This statement truly attests to the courage that many Black sharecroppers had in the face of such brutal repression.
The final stanza of the poem, which speaks about the Lady's heart, also spoke of Ida's story. Spencer states that the Lady's heart, regardless of her external stoic image, were altared by "the tongues of flame the ancients knew." This to me, means that inside of her was a passion and a fire for justice, and that the work she has done thus far, will not be in vain. The silent resistance of Ida as well as countless slaves and sharecroppers throughout history, will soon be noticed and heard. This became clear when Wilkerson states that the silent rebellions so many participated in would "build up to a storm at midcentury," clearly alluding to the Civil Rights Movement that was to follow.
Ida Mae is a testament to The New Negro, and the spirit and ideology that embodies the term. She and her husband realized that the brutality endured by sharecropping was not just, and therefore decided that they were going to defy the system. They began to see themselves as deserving of a better life, and decided to flee Mississippi, and go North. This new understanding of self and pride was something that Wilkerson said, was evident in Ida from a very early age. She states that when Ida Mae detested her birth name, and demanded others to refer to her as "Ida Mae," "it was an early indication that she could think for herself when she chose to." Fleeing Mississippi for a better life was the acting out that Spencer's poem refers to in the final stanza. The passionate flames engulfed Ida's soul, and she made the decision to act on her feelings.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
my self...thus far
I came into college as a Political Science major, with the dreams of becoming the most magnificent prosecuting attorney in California. I do not even really know why I wanted to be an attorney; I guess I thought that was the job that made the most people go "wow." The first Poli Sci class I took caused me to nearly give up on college altogether. I cried until there were no tears left...called my mom, and then cried some more. I didn't give up though, and it was the greatest decision I ever made. I declared Sociology as my major Sophomore year, but because of the massive budget cuts that followed, I could not get into any courses. In order to maintain a full schedule, I started taking Black Studies courses. I took Black Studies 1 and 4 with Professor Banks, and I noticed so many around me struggling and complaining about the work load. I did not understand what anyone was complaining about; Black Studies 1 opened a door to a part of me I never knew I had. I was doing well, and I loved it.
I was always a compassion kid growing up, but I wouldn't say I was an "activist," or concerned with any kind of social issues that didn't revolve around myself. Black Studies 1 was basic, an introduction to the literature, concepts, and history I never knew existed. The Black History I was taught in elementary and high school during the month of February was minimal, at best. I learned of non-violent protests and marches, and the all glorious 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments that ended racial inequalities in the United States FOREVER. I learned that Honest Abe freed the slaves and all men are created equal! To be honest, I always thought Rosa Parks was just tired that day on the bus. No one ever taught me anything different; the struggles so many African Americans have fought and overcome were never mentioned. I knew Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream, I just didn't know what it was.
There is one quote I can still hear if I close my eyes and think back. Professor Banks stood in front of the class and was talking about racism, and being actively and passively racist. She said, "ignoring racist comments is just as bad as saying them...you are contributing to inequality just as much as the person saying the joke. You must ACTIVELY RESIST RACISM AT ANY GIVEN OPPORTUNITY." I honestly knew at that moment, that was my mission in life. I have been actively battling inequality ever since. My dreams shifted from wanting to be an attorney, to wanting to be a Professor. I want to be Professor Banks and Professor Johnson to someone; I want to inspire people to do good, to challenge racism and inequities, and to give knowledge to those who desire it.
It seems almost cliche that the class that changed my life was Introduction to Black Studies. I have taken over 50 units of Black Studies classes, focusing on everything from the prison system to the black body to the black experience in southern California. I have even swayed my head and tapped my feet with the great Earl Stewart. And yes, all of the upper division classes I have taken have been amazing; I have read the most inspiring, articulate and amazing literature. But the upper division classes merely kept pushing me toward my goal. My flame was already ignited. Black Studies 1 changed my life. It made me understand that the world is so much bigger than me, and everyone deserves to know the things I know now. Some people often look at me funny when I tell them I am a Black Studies major. They ask me, "why?" To some it may seem strange; I do not identify as Black, so why would I want to learn about it? To be honest, I have never felt more comfortable than I do in this department. I was accepted by open arms and I know this is where I belong.
I see the books my roommates read being a Bio major or a Psych major, and I feel sorry for them. I feel sorry that they do not read works of the amazing scholars and activists I do. I feel sorry that all they are going to get out of college is a degree, while I am getting the history of a people. The history of struggle and beauty that is so often trying to be silenced. My library keeps growing, and I find myself looking back on old notes, just to freshen my mind. Each piece of knowledge I learn, the more I feel that I do not yet know.
I can't wait to graduate and continue on to get my PhD, so I can teach this information to a new generation. With all of the things going on in this world, the horrors, wars, inequalities, and tragedies, I often feel helpless. It is then that I think about what others have gone through and sacrificed for all of us today. Black Studies gives me hope. I believe that if everyone can take a few classes in Black Studies, every person will become more compassionate. If it wasn't for this major, this department, and the wonderful peers and professors I have met here, I do not know where I would be. My heart fills with passion and fervency every lecture I attend, and that is the one way I know I am getting my parents' moneys worth. I am receiving so much more than a degree, and I am so thankful.
Black Studies has made me realize that my life is but one, and it is up to me to continue to tell the stories, struggles, and triumphs of those before me.
I was always a compassion kid growing up, but I wouldn't say I was an "activist," or concerned with any kind of social issues that didn't revolve around myself. Black Studies 1 was basic, an introduction to the literature, concepts, and history I never knew existed. The Black History I was taught in elementary and high school during the month of February was minimal, at best. I learned of non-violent protests and marches, and the all glorious 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments that ended racial inequalities in the United States FOREVER. I learned that Honest Abe freed the slaves and all men are created equal! To be honest, I always thought Rosa Parks was just tired that day on the bus. No one ever taught me anything different; the struggles so many African Americans have fought and overcome were never mentioned. I knew Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream, I just didn't know what it was.
There is one quote I can still hear if I close my eyes and think back. Professor Banks stood in front of the class and was talking about racism, and being actively and passively racist. She said, "ignoring racist comments is just as bad as saying them...you are contributing to inequality just as much as the person saying the joke. You must ACTIVELY RESIST RACISM AT ANY GIVEN OPPORTUNITY." I honestly knew at that moment, that was my mission in life. I have been actively battling inequality ever since. My dreams shifted from wanting to be an attorney, to wanting to be a Professor. I want to be Professor Banks and Professor Johnson to someone; I want to inspire people to do good, to challenge racism and inequities, and to give knowledge to those who desire it.
It seems almost cliche that the class that changed my life was Introduction to Black Studies. I have taken over 50 units of Black Studies classes, focusing on everything from the prison system to the black body to the black experience in southern California. I have even swayed my head and tapped my feet with the great Earl Stewart. And yes, all of the upper division classes I have taken have been amazing; I have read the most inspiring, articulate and amazing literature. But the upper division classes merely kept pushing me toward my goal. My flame was already ignited. Black Studies 1 changed my life. It made me understand that the world is so much bigger than me, and everyone deserves to know the things I know now. Some people often look at me funny when I tell them I am a Black Studies major. They ask me, "why?" To some it may seem strange; I do not identify as Black, so why would I want to learn about it? To be honest, I have never felt more comfortable than I do in this department. I was accepted by open arms and I know this is where I belong.
I see the books my roommates read being a Bio major or a Psych major, and I feel sorry for them. I feel sorry that they do not read works of the amazing scholars and activists I do. I feel sorry that all they are going to get out of college is a degree, while I am getting the history of a people. The history of struggle and beauty that is so often trying to be silenced. My library keeps growing, and I find myself looking back on old notes, just to freshen my mind. Each piece of knowledge I learn, the more I feel that I do not yet know.
I can't wait to graduate and continue on to get my PhD, so I can teach this information to a new generation. With all of the things going on in this world, the horrors, wars, inequalities, and tragedies, I often feel helpless. It is then that I think about what others have gone through and sacrificed for all of us today. Black Studies gives me hope. I believe that if everyone can take a few classes in Black Studies, every person will become more compassionate. If it wasn't for this major, this department, and the wonderful peers and professors I have met here, I do not know where I would be. My heart fills with passion and fervency every lecture I attend, and that is the one way I know I am getting my parents' moneys worth. I am receiving so much more than a degree, and I am so thankful.
Black Studies has made me realize that my life is but one, and it is up to me to continue to tell the stories, struggles, and triumphs of those before me.
Every day I live by the words of Frederick Douglas, and I feel that they so accurately resonate with the meaning of Black Studies as a field of study.
The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.
(in fact, it is my next tattoo)
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