★ Anonymous Liberation Army N.C.☆ Dr. Kimberly Brown: When 2 Chainz is Part of Your Black History Tribute, You Know Your People are Lost Your Black World / by Tabatha96R / 2 hours ago by Dr. Kimberley Brown Only a people with a dreadfully poor understanding of their past would make a mockery of it. No one else on the face of this earth does it… which begs the question: what so unfortunate has happened to us, which no other group has experienced, that would cause some of us to lose our minds, make ourselves and our forbearers the b**t of crass jokes, and showcase such a psychosis to the world? Last February introduced me to the popular “First Black Man” history memes. They are images posted by social media account holders that depict an African American historical or historical-looking figure with an attached phrase intended to be humorous. They range from mildly ignorant, “Lemont Jones: The First Black man to borrow $10 till Friday,” to vile, “Bartholomew J. Stephens: First person to have his left hand on the steering wheel and right hand on that p*ssy.” It’s obvious here that these memes and their dissemination are likely the productions of young people given that a large mass of social media users are adolescents and post-adolescents and “Left hand on the steering wheel and right hand on that p*ssy” is a line from rapper 2 Chainz’s***t song, No Lie. Still, what’s more apparent is a terribly sad insufficiency in not only what youth know, but also how their notions of Black History Month itself are trivialized and reduced to “the first Black man” petty facts. What’s happening, then, is not just a commentary on the condition of young African Americans, but rather all of America. From where did this “petty facts” approach to Black history emerge? Corporations looking to target Black consumers, and Black parents who, for various reasons, have not been able to thoroughly teach history to their children. (I’ve listened to personal accounts from many African American parents who admit to shying away from sharing certain parts of our past to avoid their children carrying burdens of memory. Another article for another day.) Now, granted, most maintain a thin knowledge of the Black past, particularly in the general agreement that struggle has occurred. However, details and context elude us and therefore leave many with slavery, a dreamer, and tired seamstress as the sum total of our record; and even to those three we do a monumental disservice by marginalizing and misrepresenting their stories. If we give ourselves or our children anything at all, it is merely a nugget, a line, this petty fact, that carries little to no power to inspire or significantly alter anyone’s worldview. Read More At Kulture Kritic
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 19:24:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015