Letter To My Son Rhetorical Analysis

Break the Chains Off
The United States of America is a nation internationally known as a land of opportunity, freedom, and justice for all. Unfortunately, this assumption fails to be accurate. African American citizens are continually disadvantaged and disenfranchised in the United States while their white counterparts maintain a higher social and economic standing. Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and music artists Kendrick Lamar and Jermaine Cole shed light on this problematic situation using a variety of media methods. Coates in his article “Letter to My Son”, Kendrick Lamar in his music video “Alright”, and Jermaine Cole in his live performance “Be Free”, argue that the U.S. has oppressed African Americans with its flawed capitalist culture and

corrupt law enforcement. Their intent is to inform and coerce their young sympathetic audience to action. These artists challenge the notions of opportunity, freedom, and justice by exposing these problems and attributing them to American culture dating back to the country’s beginning.
Coates, Lamar, and Cole all argue the claim of capitalist oppression and flawed law enforcement to a similar audience. While it may seem that their audience differs at times, they are all targeting young American adults who sympathize with the plight of African Americans in the United States.

This comprises of a very large population with voting power that may not be currently protesting the establishment. Coates, Lamar, and Cole intend to inform this audience of the hardships blacks face in society in order to convince them to unite and pressure the establishment to reform the system to free blacks from oppression and allow them to attain equality. Coates frames his article as a letter to his son, but there are messages that he is trying to get out to a young adult audience mostly by employing use of pathos to influence his audience’s sense of compassion. Near the beginning, Coates recalls a time when his son stayed up all night “waiting for the announcement of the indictment” (Coates, “Letter to My Son”) of the officer who killed Michael Brown. One can understand just how important this case was for his son as Coates describes how his son ran to his room and cried after hearing that the officer would not be charged. This recollection offers insight into the importance of this case for his son. It grasps at the emotions of the audience who then also remember their reaction to the death of Michael Brown. Emotion is also a crucial

component in Lamar’s “Alright”. While most of his lyrics are geared towards suffering blacks, his visuals speak to a more privileged young adult audience. The footage paints an unsettling image of what it means to be black in America. Lamar employs irony in the video through the act of being shot by a policeman after stating that he and his fellow black men will be alright. This is a statement that argues that changes must be made in society for blacks to fully experience a life of social equality and safety from law enforcement. Similarly, near the end of Cole’s “Be Free” performance, he sings “don’t just stand around” (3:42-3:46) which implies that he wants his audience to act on behalf of the black community. The raw emotion is displayed in Cole’s words and facial, creating a performance that gives a genuine and intense impression on his audience. Coates, Lamar, and Cole are appealing to this young adult audience because these individuals are more inclined to be open to growth and will also be the future leaders of American society.
Music artists J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar as well as American Author Ta-Nehisi Coates defend their belief that the materialistic values generated from a flawed capitalist culture create a sense of greed and insensitivity to blacks experiencing economic depression. Coates equates America to a galaxy “stretched from the pandemonium of West Baltimore to the happy hunting grounds of Mr. Belvedere” (Coates, “Letter to My Son”). He continues by stating a desire to “unshackle my body” (Coates, “Letter to My Son”) and escape to this suburban paradise, away from his daily struggles in Baltimore. Coates is exposing how racism transcended into U.S. capitalist society, creating an economic disparity between whites and blacks. His reference to the sitcom “Mr. Belvedere” provides an example of a successful white family living in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, a stark contrast to the financial struggles and prejudice that he endured. Coates describes his need to escape to this worriless suburban community all the while being weighed down by his societal “shackles” and lack of freedom. Similarly, J. Cole speaks to himself and other privileged individuals when he states, “You ought to be ashamed when brothers back home be dreading when the seasons change” (3:04-3:07). Cole is criticizing his reliance on materialism, a quality that both he and privileged whites in American society share. Prior to this line, Cole admits his hypocrisy by mentioning a watch that he paid too much for, a reference to his highly materialistic debut song called “Mr. Nice Watch.” Cole explains how this nation, in which both blacks and whites live, is structured to promote personal self-interest before others. He mentions the “brothers back home” that can’t afford air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter and a common desire to “break the chains off” and be free from the economic injustice. By mentioning this, Cole makes it clear that people don’t have the necessities that many other Americans take for granted. This acknowledgement aids the audience to discover the racially motivated prejudices that keep blacks from gaining prosperity. Likewise, Kendrick Lamar, in his video “Alright”, raps lines including “motherfucker you can live at the mall” (4:34-4:36) and “digging in my pocket, ain’t a profit big enough to feed you” (4:42-4:45). In speaking these verses, Lamar is criticizing the consumer shopping culture as well as his own susceptibility to greed and materialism which he equates with feeding the devil. Lamar continues to deprecate himself by addressing his monetarily guided decisions and contribution to the societal problem of money addiction. He mentions giving in to what he calls temptations of Lucifer. Much like J. Cole, Lamar admits his own hypocrisy. Overall, Coates speaks of his economic struggle while the music artists differ in their admittance of contributing to this issue. While Lamar and Cole admit to being wealthy outliers in the African American population, all three, however, have the same message. They concur that this capitalist culture is hurting the country, especially blacks who are disenfranchised.
Another point that Coates, Cole, and Lamar make is that this country’s law enforcement and criminal justice system is broken and corrupt in a way that further degrades African Americans.

Coates reminds his son of the time that they discovered that the “killers of Michael Brown would go free” (Coates, “Letter to My Son). This is referring to the police brutality case where officers shot and killed an unarmed black 18-year-old named Michael Brown. This supports his claim of a broken system by describing how injustice prevailed without punishment or repercussions for the police officer involved. Coates continues to list many names including Eric Garner, Renisha McBride, John Crawford and Tamir Rice to argue the brutality and violence targeted at the black community from the police department as well as the lack of accountability or justice in these incidents. Coates expresses a sense of hopelessness that the current system will never change and all one can do is try to escape the black community. Cole, in his performance “Be Free”, sings, “Can you tell me why every time I step outside I see my people die” (1:23-1:30). This is a response to the police shootings of unarmed black people. Cole appeals to pathos or the emotions of his audience by singing this line forcefully and with sadness. He is genuinely saddened by the current and historic situation with violence towards blacks. Cole strikes a similar idea as Coates as he sings, “All we wanna do is break the chains

off”(1:02-1:10). Cole’s chains and Coates’ shackles allude to the slavery of blacks and the continuation of these actions to the present day with prison chains and handcuffs. Cole brings up the notion of Obama’s promise to change the system and fix the injustice, but achieved nothing because of the unwillingness of politicians in the Senate and House to correct the system to an equal state. Cole calls for people to stand up against these injustices while Coates merely exhibits his attitude of hopelessness and negativity. Lamar, on the other hand, alternates between a hopeful and depressed tone in light of the grave circumstances surrounding blacks and police. Lamar raps “and we hate po-po, wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho’” (4:00-4:04). Lamar’s video shows multiple black individuals being shot unlawfully by white policemen. He appeals to his own credibility by speaking of the plights of blacks in the first person through his own experiences in Compton. The song expresses hatred towards law enforcement because of the perpetual pattern of police shootings plaguing the black community. Shortly after, Lamar raps his hook “we gon’ be alright” (4:08-4:20) repeatedly to strengthen the resolve of his people. Imagery of him celebrating and flying over Los Angeles promotes a sense of hope and positivity as Lamar mentions his trust in God to help him persevere through his troubled life. As Lamar is shot by a white policeman at the end of the video, he uses this irony to capture the hearts of his audience. Lamar targets young privileged adults through symbolism that translates to a message that blacks aren’t alright yet but he has hope that they will be. Coates, Cole, and Lamar all share the same need to expose the problems in law enforcement and court proceedings. While they may have different ways of telling their stories, they all are desperate to make this tragic American issue known.
Coates, Lamar, and Cole effectively inform their audience on the economic struggles and police brutality that blacks endure. Their purpose is achieved through their appeal to their young audience’s emotions which convinces them to act on behalf of the black community to create change. Lamar employs a hasty generalization to convince his audience by stating how the police want to “kill us dead in the street fo sho’” (4:08-4:20). Lamar is providing a stereotype for policeman by implying that the entire police force is out to kill blacks. This is simply an overblown statement based on the actions of a small percentage of the departments. These texts offer an enlightenment on the plight of blacks. Coates, Lamar, and Cole are definitely capable of gaining support from young privileged Americans who are open to supporting the need to establish a change in the political, economic, and social system.