The article, “'I'm Not Racist' is the Brutal Race Conversation Nobody Wants to Have ,” discusses how the song “I’m Not Racist,” by Joyner Lucas , opens up a conversation about race, and how that conversation is uncomfortable, especially in today’s social and political climate. The song itself demonstrates how there is a disconnection between whites and blacks, and how even though they might not have the same views or even come to an agreement, there is room for understanding. The song begins with a white man, in a MAGA hat, spewing racial stereotypes and racial slurs targeting black people. These include how black people do not have any goals, that they are lazy, that they are criminals, or how if they were to look more presentable, then the …show more content…
police would not be killing them; he also shows his disdain for the Black Lives Matter Movement, and even denounces Eminem for his rap at the BET Hip Hop Awards. The second half of the song is a rebuttal from a black man, where he dispels the stereotypes the white man has. He talks about the systemic racism in the U.S, the lack of opportunities granted to blacks, like not getting callbacks from jobs, he points out how they are judged based on the color of their skin and their blackness. He also talks about cultural appropriation, white privilege, and how the cycle of racism and discrimination continues through what children are taught. The article, “Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Implications for Clinical Practice,” by Sue et al., discusses how microaggressions are a part of modern day racism.
Microaggressions are exchanges in everyday life that are either intentionally or unintentionally create a hostile, derogatory message directed at people of color, through micro-assaults, micro-insults, or micro-invalidation. Examples of these microaggressions are the denial of individual racism, the myth of meritocracy, and assumption of criminal status. Microaggressions are part of the reasons why racial discrimination persists …show more content…
today. Both the article and the song allude to the fact that stereotypes can be damaging, and could have long-term ramifications; the use of stereotypes is harmful, it perpetuates racial discrimination and systemic racism.
It is important to note that throughout the song both men say, “I’m not racist,” but then proceed to throw insults at the other person. Microaggressions are embedded throughout the song; the use of racial slurs, or the use of the common phrase, “I’m not racist… My sister’s boyfriend is black.” Rather than have a conversation, throughout the white man’s verse, he tries to diminish and belittle the problem of racism today, placing all the blame on black’s behavior; they should not act like this, they should not dress like that, they should stop being criminals, as if that is where the root of racism lies in. Racist ideology is based on the systemic oppression of marginalized groups. When it was time for the black man’s rebuttal, he calls out racial prejudices, white privilege, and the problem that white people put the blame on everyone else but themselves for any problem. Although both men had very different views from one another, they both at least understand where the other is coming from. Having songs and articles discussing racial issues is very important because rather than having blatant racism, like in the past, other forms of racism are beginning to be more and more common in today’s society. The only way we, as a society, can move past our differences is
to have an open conversation about these issues, even if they are uncomfortable to talk about. Not everyone has to agree with one another, it would be naïve to think so, however, there is room to acknowledge that racism still exists, that racial inequality still exists, so we should try to break that cycle.
The verses each deliver a message of equality and the chorus is repeated with the intention of the audience considering their input towards reconciliation. The chorus is repeated 3 times, which is usually done to reinforce the central idea within a song. There are two separate verses, one that starts with the words “black fella white fella” and the other, which starts with “all the people of different races”. This format is repeated to help emphasise the idea that equality is important, regardless of your skin colour. The text structure is ordered in a way that tells a story about equal opportunity, and the way it is formatted is important in communicating this
Claudia Rankine’s Citizen explores the daily life situations between blacks and whites and reveals that how little offensive denigrating conversations in the form of micro-aggressions conveyed to the black people intentionally by the whites and how these racial comments fuels the frustrations and anger among the blacks. She gathered the various incidents, where
In this article the author shares his experiences on racism throughout his life. As the author goes in to detail about his first encounter of racism from what he called a “well- taught baby racist” he presents an ugly setting. As children, we tend to imitate what we see and hear around us, evaluating the safe and unsafe places, people, and things. We determine and define our identities based on interactions with others. Dr. Jackson goes on to describe a time when he was in grade school which majority of the students were Caucasian seemed to be highly infatuated with the texture and tone of his skin as well as his hair.
“I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group,” Peggy McIntosh wrote in her article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Too often this country lets ignorance be a substitute for racism. Many believe that if it is not blatant racism, then what they are doing is okay. Both the video and the article show that by reversing the terms, there is proof that racism is still very existent in this world. By looking into A Class Divided and White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack along with their ability to broaden the cultural competence, once can see how race is still very prominent in our culture.
The idea of racism has evolved and has become less prevalent throughout the last century. Schools and public areas are unsegregated, voting rights, racial slurs being considered as unacceptable behavior etc. American sociologist and race theorist, Howard Winant states that’s “The ensuing approaches increased recognition of racial injustice and inequality, but did not overcome the discriminatory processes” (Winant,2000)Although the United states has come a long way to try to end racism, one cannot ignore the fact that it still exists. It is something that may seem invisible in society, but everybody knows that it still thrives and that it’s racial attitudes affect the way our society functions. One of these invisible forms of racism is called microagression. Microagression is the theory that certain interactions between different races can be interpreted as small acts of verbal aggression. Racial micro aggression has caused many behavior and identity problems between races in today’s society. In the article, "Microagressions in everyday life", Dr. Derald Wing Sue states that “Microaggressions are similar to carbon monoxide - “invisible, but potentially lethal” - continuous exposure to these type of interactions “can be a sort of death by a thousand cuts to the victim” It is a common experience that many people of different racial groups deal within their every day lives. They are harmful to society, creating a hostile environment, dividing people apart, creating inequalities, and decreasing productivity in the work and school environment.
My knowledge of microaggressions prior to research was limited. Before discussing the topic in class, I had never even heard the term microaggression. As of now, all I know is what I learned in class; that microaggressions are snide, racist comments that are made repeatedly. Due to my limited knowledge, I decided this would be an interesting topic to explore and read about. Through all of my research, my goal is to learn more about the effects and different types of people that experience microaggressions.
Microaggressions are committed constantly, among numerous people without them realizing it. I must say I am completely guilty of also playing part in this act. These acts are done constantly and no one understands the affects it has on people. Miller and Garran (2008) states, “Racial microaggressions are similar to aversive racism. They are “subtle, stunning, often automatic,” verbal and nonverbal putdowns and social assaults that wound people of color unbeknownst to the perpetrator” (p.97). This is what produces pain and anger inside countless of people. Many individuals need professional help in order to surpass the neglect they have been summited to.
Racism has always been a heated topic, and it is well-known that many students of colour still face racism in the form of bullying. However, Derald Wing Sue argues that there is a type of minute racism present in our daily lives. This implicit racism lies in everyday interactions called microaggressions. He defines the concept of microaggressions as “brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to people of colour because they belong to a racial minority group” (1). These are everyday messages that are subtle and often unintentional.
In the two essays, “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space” by Brent Staples and “I’m Not Racist But…” by Neil Bissoondath, there are both differences and similarities. The two authors differ in their opinion on the causes of racism and life experiences involving racism, but are similar in regards to the use of stereotypes in the world
Microaggressions are everyday verbal, visual, or environmental hostilities, slights, insults, and invalidations or mistreatment that occur due to an individual’s race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc. i.e. a citizen of the citizen. The concept of racial microaggressions has been around since the 1970s, but much of the current research is rooted in the work of two professors, Jack Dovidio, Ph.D. (Yale University) and Samuel Gaertner, Ph.D. (University of Delaware), and their explanations of aversive racism. Their research has its foundation in the idea that many well-intentioned Whites consciously believe in and profess equality, but unconsciously act in a racist manner, particularly in ambiguous situations (CITE). In keeping with that foundation, racial microaggressions can be defined as the brief and everyday slights, insults, indignities and denigrating messages sent to people of color by well-intentioned White people who are unaware of the hidden messages being communicated (CITE).
When the piece was originally written for the Hot Chocolates, it was considered to be “America’s first `racial protest song`… [and] certainly Razaf’s lyric stripped bare essences of racial discontent that had very rarely if ever been addressed by any African American musically” (Singer 219). The music was created to express the hardships of the black community and the intra-racial discrimination, evident by the line: Browns and yellers all have fellers, gentlemen prefer them right. This illustrates that within the black community, those of fairer complexion were preferred. In Armstrong’s performance, the piece was removed from its original context of a Broadway show and placed as a stand-alone piece. In doing this, the emotion created by the Broadway performance and the stage scene were lost and “Black and Blue” became just another bluesy piece. Further, his “recitativo vocal style underscore[d] the song’s plaintive quality, while his exuberant embellished trumpet solos at the beginning and the end … counteract[ed] despair” (Meckna 38). However, Armstrong dropped the verse about intra-racial prejudice and made the chorus a “threnody for blacks of every shade” (Teachout 139). In doing this, he altered the music from being just about intra-racial issues to a global of scale of the battle between black and whites and the prejudices.
From the beginning of the song Kanye West sets the tone through his lyrics. “Yo, we at war, We at war with terrorism, racism, but most of all we at war with ourselves.” This first states that we as society or we as African Americans, are taught at a young age that we will have to face racism, might even be viewed as terrorist. However, we don’t take this and “act accordingly”, we are at war with
The idea that there should be a distinction between white and black culture is inherently racist. Because of the idea that this distinction is necessary, racial tension in the United States has been on a constant rise. In Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, Lamar explores racial tension in modern American culture by creating a loose narrative that follows Lamar’s life in Compton and beyond. In Kendrick Lamar’s song “For Free? An Interlude,” Lamar incorporates dark comedy and vulgar elements to satirize gender roles within the black community thereby exposing the negative impacts of these stereotypes as well as serving as an extended metaphor for the relationship between white America and black culture.
The video of the song “I’m Sorry” starts off with showing the friend handing himself because he wants to kill himself because he is getting bullied. Later in the video shows that the person who is trying to kill himself already did and the lyrics is the goodbye note and the friend is just imagining the things. Even later in the video shows the friend crying and being mad at the person who commited suicide and telling how suicide affects other people other than you. The music video of “I’m Not Racist” starts off with a white guy wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat saying really offensive things but later in the video it shows how the white guy who points out the wrong in the stereotypes of black people then goes on saying how “there is two sides to every story and i wanna know yours.” Then later the black person speaks on how they feel about the stereotypes making
Though she doesn’t say it out loud, Laura’s thought that her father was tactless for bringing up their deceased neighbor (despite her refusal to refer to him as such) is an act of violence in the form a of microaggressive thought. The concept of microaggression is a relatively new one (It was only coined in 1970 and has only recently come into common use), but the act itself is centuries if not millenniums old. A microaggression is a subtle, indirect, unintentional, or otherwise covert form of discrimination or bias.