Analysis Of J. Cole's Protest Song, Be Free

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In 2014 this protest song “Be Free” by J. Cole speaks about the racial issues we deal with on a daily basis in todays society. This song is a response to the police shooting of an unarmed African American teenager, Michael Brown, in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri and a tribute to other innocent young black men and woman such as Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Ezell Ford, John Crawford, Antonio Martin killed because of the stereotype of black people being a “threat”. Slavery in America first started in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 to aid in the production of tobacco, European settlers in the new world used them as a cheaper more plentiful labor source than European servants, because of this slavery was adopted throughout the American colonies. These slaves where made to be completely dependant on their ‘Masters’ and were not allowed to learn how to read or write, were brutally punished, raped, tortured and had no rights whatsoever. This did not end till 1865, but even then African Americans still struggled to be equals such as racist organizations such as the KKK that triumphed in the south by 1877 and the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. …show more content…

“Can you tell me why/Every time I step outside I see my people die” [verse 2] J. Cole is referring to the absurd amount of times a young unarmed black man is killed because of racial profiling. “All we wanna do is take the chains off/All we wanna do is break the chains off/ All we wanna do is be free” [hook] in this lyric he talks about wanting to be rid from injustice and stereotypes and only then will they be

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