For my next post, I cannot pass over the prominence that the Black Lives Matter movement has taken in the media, as well as on the streets globally, in the past week. Despite coming from a Jewish background, which has ingrained in me a certain level of caution because of my identity (e.g. I won’t wear a Star of David necklace on public transport just in case), this is something I can choose to hide: I benefit in all aspects of my life because I am white. For me, as a privileged white person, the murders of George Floyd & Breonna Taylor in particular has been a catalyst that has prompted a genuine shift to questioning my own biases, as well as educating myself thoroughly and consistently. However, the fact that this shift only happened to this extent last week signposts the privilege that I have, because real people have been facing these very real issues every single day for years and years.
“You cannot enjoy the rhythm and ignore the blues.”
The quote in the title of this post comes from Amanda Seales, and was brought to my attention this week by BBC Radio Broadcaster Clara Amfo. I must not simply enjoy playing Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Alright‘ at a party having never taken on the uncomfortable task of learning about the pain that led to the lyrics. Music has been used by black artists for decades to voice their experiences, and therefore I want to use this post as a starting point to really dig into some music, to listen, understand, and unpack my own bias.
Of course it is impossible for me to do any song, album, or genre justice in this small space, so I will start by focusing in on 3 songs, 2 of which I have listened to a lot, but this time I will really dive into what they are expressing. The 3rd was released only a few days ago. Each individual has their own unique, complicated experience. This is why I feel that, in tandem with highlighting statistics, elevating individual stories can create a lasting impact, which ripples out ultimately leading to a fairer, more equal world.
Before reading my contribution to the conversation, please take at look at the following resources (and more!) from black voices first:
- The Police vs Grime Music – London’s grime scene and its relationship with the police
- Welcome to the World of George the Poet – A mix of poetry, music and conversation exploring what rap can teach us about education
- Black Lives Matter’s Deray Mckesson on the Power of Protest Music
- No. You cannot touch my hair! Mena Fombo, TEDxBristol – An exploration of the objectification of black women through Mena’s own personal story
Alright by Kendrick Lamar
This song combines a message of hope, with the backdrop of a long history of black oppression that continues in the present day (“And we hate po-po, wanna kill us dead in the streets for sure”). When released, it became an anthem chanted regularly at BLM protests. The lyrics, as well as the music video, show Kendrick being weighed down by the painful reality of police brutality (“I can see the evil, I can tell it, I know it’s illegal”).
The video, showing life in a Californian neighbourhood, is both harrowing, as well as empowering when looking to the future. In response to the claim that anti-police lyrics just make things worse, Kendrick responded “the senseless acts of killing of these young boys out there… This is reality, this is my world, this is what I talk about in my music.”
This song encompasses the severe pain faced by black communities, but Kendrick wanted to make an uplifting anthem that reminds these communities how strong they are.
Further reading about this song:
Don’t Touch My Hair by Solange feat. Sampha
This song is from Solange’s 2016 album, A Seat At The Table, and explores a common micro-aggression in which someone asks to touch a black person’s (especially black woman’s) hair, which is usually masked as a compliment. This action is intrusive, disrespectful, and denies black people agency over their own body.
Discrimination and black hair has a long history. The texture of black hair was used to justify the enslavement of Africans between 16th and 19th centuries. In 18th century Louisiana black women legally had to cover their hair. Black women today are still discriminated against because of the way their hair looks (“They don’t understand / What it means to me / Where we choose to go / Where we’ve been to know“). For example, black women in the UK have been subject to colleagues and bosses viewing their natural hair is ‘unprofessional’ for work.
By picking out this experience, Solange declares enough is enough. She will not be an object of fascination. She rejects white-centric standards of beauty and refuses to be ashamed of her own body.
Further reading around this:
- Solange on black identity
- Why is black hair so political?
- An interview with Emma Dabiri (author of ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’)
walking in the snow by Run The Jewels
Released just a week ago, the narrative in this song is all the more chilling to listen to in the context of George Floyd’s murder. Killer Mike’s discussion of police brutality that so many people only experience in a desensitised way, through watching events on the news, feels like he is describing last week’s events exactly: “And every day on the evening news, they feed you fear for free / And you so numb, you watch the cops choke out a man like me / Until my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, ‘I can’t breathe”.
This verse was recorded towards the end of 2019, and Mike is alluding to Eric Garner’s last words, who was choked by a policeman, trying to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes, nearly six years ago in New York City. This serves to show just how common this narrative is. Even if, up until recently, I have only really been aware of the cases that are highlighted in the media every so often, this systemic oppression of black people has been happening every single day. Whether it is extreme police brutality or more subtle micro-aggressions. This is a horror that is not just experienced through the TV, it is inflicting suffering daily.
In the opening verse of the song, El-P asserts “Funny fact about a cage, they’re never built for just one group / So when that cage is done with them and you still poor, it come for you / The newest lowest on the totem, well golly gee, you have been used / You helped to fuel the death machine that down the line will kill you too“. These lines stood out to me personally because they express a similar message to the famous post-war ‘First they came…’ poem that is often used in Holocaust education. It calls for collective action. Even if you are not being directly affected by certain issues right now, we all have a responsibility to make a change. We must stand up for our fellow human beings, simply because they are our fellow human beings.
Stuck On Repeat with Leah 