What is your opinion of the title sometimes appropriated to President Obama as not really being the first Black president because he’s not 100% African American? Does being of mixed race deny someone access into their social, racial networks? How does it make you feel that some people still view our President as lesser than or not a “real Black president”?
Equality among the races has always been an issue in the world, let alone America. One artist that is a symbolic icon to the ideology of equality among races is the late and great Michael Jackson. A song that I want to evaluate is his 1991 Dangerous Album hit single, ” Black or White”. The song was written by Bill Bottrell with a consistent theme of promoting racial unity. The lyrics of the song in conjunction with the visual aspects of the video are a in strong support of racial equality and unity. Taking a look at the lyrics, from MJ’s singing to L.T.B’s 16 bars, the words are weave equality with a simple musical needle & thread. Michael is correct though, it does not matter if his baby is black or white or any other possible race that exists within this country. Sure, it is important to consider that racism and exceptionalism are experienced through every country and race, but at the end of the day, we are all humans; came into this world alone, and will die alone. After death, no superiority remains with one’s dead corpse.
Another artist that addresses need for equality among Americans are the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Their song, “power of equality” describes how equality is such a filling feeling. Now this song is unfamilair to me but after listening to this amazing song, this verse stands out the most for me: “
The power of equality
Is not yet what it ought to be (chorus)
It fills me up like a hollow tree
The power of equality
Right or wrong
My song is strong
You don’t like it
Get along
Say what I want
Do what I can
Death to the message
Of the Ku Klux Klan
I don’t buy supremacy
Media chief
You menance me
The people you say
Cause all the crime
Wake up motherfucker
And smell the slime
Blackest anger
Whitest fear
Can you hear me
Am I clear
My name is peace
This is my hour
Can I get
Just a little bit of power
The power that the group is discussing is within the power of equality and the time for peace among the nations is now. The radical times of racism that created fear and prejudices within certain members of society need to come to an end.
Just as Marvin Gaye’s stated, “You know we’ve got to find a way/ To bring some lovin’ here today.” The new remastered video includes various musical artists of racially ambiguous backgrounds are all visually and physically rapped up in the prejudices of the world. Words and descriptions of individuals such as “black, military, conservative, democrat, Asian, poet,christian,rock, blue collar, upper class, gay, old, prejudice, addict and revolutionary” describe a characteristic that each individual may possess, but we must not be blind to these titles. It is time to open up our eyes, ears, and mouth and embrace equality among everyone with open arms.
the photo that inspired Allan's "Strange Fruit"
Strange Fruit by Lewis Allan
(Performed by Billie Holiday)
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Strange Fruit examines the racial inequality in America. What is your response to the work/song? Do you think that the poem/song is still an important reference when it comes to racial inequality in America? We want to hear from you!
Lewis Allan
THEME FOR ENGLISH B
By Langston Hughes
The instructor said,
Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you—
Then, it will be true.
I wonder if it’s that simple?
I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.
I went to school there, then Durham, then here
to this college on the hill above Harlem.
I am the only colored student in my class.
The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem
through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,
Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,
the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator
up to my room, sit down, and write this page:
It’s not easy to know what is true for you or me
at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I’m what
I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you:
hear you, hear me—we two—you, me, talk on this page.
(I hear New York too.) Me—who?
Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.
I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.
I like a pipe for a Christmas present,
or records—Bessie, bop, or Bach.
I guess being colored doesn’t make me NOT like
the same things other folks like who are other races.
So will my page be colored that I write?
Being me, it will not be white.
But it will be
a part of you, instructor.
You are white—
yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.
That’s American.
Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me.
Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
But we are, that’s true!
As I learn from you,
I guess you learn from me—
although you’re older—and white—
and somewhat more free.
This is my page for English B.
1951
The Langston Hughes poem above explores many of the aspects of equality in America that we discuss on equality4america. Share some of your thoughts on the poem. What does it say, particularly, about the inequalities faced in another area in many American’s lives: the classroom? Share a story, your thoughts and/or opinions. We want to hear form you!
Our blog’s focus is to attempt to increase our nations awareness of the inequalities that still exists in modern society and to discuss how we, as a community, can help America become a more equal nation. The same obstacles facing our country tens or even hundreds of years ago still resonate and haunt our communities today. Though America and its citizens would like to view the great nation as a beacon of light in the darkness that is other nations’ realities, our nation’s approach to maintain it’s crowned position as “the big bad wolf” in the international community is extremely flawed and hypocritical. Often I hear those around me say, “I’m glad to be American because people in other countries have it a lot worse” or a similar statement expressing their sentiments on being fortunate enough to be an American and not be burdened with the other, seemingly more serious equality issues some nations face on top of the already heavy load that life places on us all.
This way of looking at equality has shifted attention away from the ills still plaguing our society today and projected them abroad. To compare our society’s issues with the discriminatory state of other nations’ is to distract us from the poor state of our nation’s society in terms of equality. In looking at the principle of equality as a whole in America, I would like to discuss one particular aspect of one of our nation’s fundamentals: gender. Somewhat overlooked when considering equality as a whole, gender is still an aspect of equality that, in America, still requires our immediate attention and action. Though the level of inequality expressed among males and females may not seem to still be a primary concern in today’s society, the inequality in today’s America still resembles that of our nation’s time before the establishment of laws like the nineteenth amendment.
Before I begin, I would like to state that I don’t think that America can be perfect. In my opinion, it is simply not within human power to establish the utopia we are currently, and unsuccessfully, attempting to create. But I do think that if America would like to project an image of perfection, it should try its best to change those taboos, opinions, laws and other restrictions that prohibit our national community from becoming more peaceful.
Inequality among males and females has long been an issue present in American society. But, from unequal wages to stereotypical and domestically inferior roles, most often it would seem that women are confronted daily with these inequalities in different areas of their lives. Although males seemingly benefit more from the “naturally” established order among the sexes, females can benefit as well. For example, when it comes to the law, it seems, in our society, women escape crimes that the law would not excuse for males simply because they do not have the “emotional” complexes that women are perceived to have, thus excusing them from receiving more forgiving sentences. Also, most Americans would agree that women are often considered to be the victims of crimes, not men, thus making them seem helpless or unable to control how they are portrayed among both sexes. For example, the US Department of Justice reports that last year, females only surpassed males in victimizations of violent crimes in the category of sex or rape crimes. Though this information reveals that males experience more violent crimes than women, why are females still viewed as the more desperate or vulnerable sex in America? This view results in women being categorized as something that statistics suggest they may not necessarily be apart of. It’s these sorts of misconceptions that only add fuel to the rapidly spreading fire of inequality in America. Though it would be unreasonable to expect for the entire perception of one nation to change in a year, it is not unreasonable, however, to call attention to this somewhat surprising progression among genders and question why it has yet to be incorporated into the discussion of both sexes.
This view results in women being categorized as something that statistics suggest they may not necessarily be apart of. It’s these sorts of misconceptions that only add fuel to the rapidly spreading fire of inequality in America. This instance of inequality among genders in the judicial system is one of few of aspects of inequality still common in and affecting our society today. The conversation of gender equality in America could continue on for years, but our purpose here at equality4america is to begin to discuss these hidden, somewhat uncomfortable issues still present in today’s America.
Some black women have been told by family members or friends that they have “two strikes against them in life”: they’re black and they’re women. Have you ever been told or heard this? If you are a Black woman, do you find this to be true? Insulting? We want to hear from you!
Phenomenal Woman
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Maya Angelou’s beloved work, Phenomenal Woman, talks about gender inequality more closely. What is your opinion of the poem? Is it empowering? What sort of comments do you think it makes on the state and status of women, particularly in America?
