In the black community it has never been a secret that racism is a constant opposing force, often manifesting in the form of excessive force and underhanded tactics used by the police. Decade after decade the black community have had to deal with police brutality and racism. In this video from 1995, a few hip-hop artists and community leaders share their views on police brutality and interacting with non-people of color. With social media serving as an information pipeline, many instances of police brutality now are being brought to light on a national and global scale. Social media is also a platform for people to share their own thoughts about racial issues, mainly white cops killing black people. Although platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook has broadened this seemingly never ending conversation, an effective solution to the problem of police brutality and racism has yet to be realized.
Hip-hop has always spoken out on the excessive and oppressive presence of police in black communities, as well as the treatment of minorities versus whites. Artists like N.W.A, Public Enemy, Nas and others have provided social commentary via their music. In the video above, hip-hop artist Lauryn Hill, Jeru the Damaja and others convene in an alley to discuss problems that we still face 20 years later.
Crazy Sam serves as a mediator and initially states that he is not prejudiced against white people or any race of people. Similar to Dr. King’s teachings, he judges by your intent and acts accordingly to your character. That seems to be a fair approach to interacting with people outside of the black community, but his approach is not universal. Others have a more defensive mentality, similar to Malcolm X’s views. Jeru expresses that he keeps his guard up when it comes to the police and white people, based on their historical actions. Lauryn Hill brings up the topic of economic empowerment as a means for progression and the liberation of black people. An approach more aligned with Marcus Garvey’s philosophy.
To this very day the black community debates these different approaches to the same goal, which is to level playing field socially, politically and economically. This conversation is still relevant today because black people still have the highest unemployment rate in the nation.
The police are still killing blacks at three times more than whites or other minorities.
These issues are only a few of many facing the black community, but in order to see the progress we wish for, unity is a must. It may take a mix of all three philosophies and approaches instead of continuing the debate of which method is best.
Watch Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE8ENpivjsw
