Rap imagery, Trayvon Martin and why Bill O’Reilly is half right
OPINION - It is a catastrophe that violent rap imagery has become the dominant portrait of African-American masculinity, and that prominent black people are partly responsible for this stereotype...
Martin supporters behind the thug image
People such as Jay Z, who is an inspiring person to many in the black community, may have shown up at a Trayvon Martin rally.
David Simon, the white creator of The Wire, may have written a blog post about not being able to look at an, “African-American parent in the eye for thinking about what they must tell their sons about what can happen to them on the streets of their country.”
Diddy, another revered black man, may have changed his Twitter avatar to a black square, and tweeted many heartfelt messages and a video sharing his deep disappointment in Zimmerman being found not guilty.
Many other prominent rappers and high profile figures from the entertainment industry have also shared deep sympathy with the Martin family in the wake of the verdict, particularly over social media — too many names to name here.
But I believe such gestures, although sincere, are too little too late. After these men – and some women — have made fortunes out of promoting the very image of black male criminality that probably led to Trayvon being profiled, and what I feel contributed to George Zimmerman being acquitted, they need to do more to compensate for these losses.
Urban entertainment: A factor in tragedy?
When Harry Belafonte called-out Jay Z for not using his influence more responsibly, Jay Z answered that his very presence is charity. But in my view, it’s not charity. It’s more like poison — promoting the idea that you can deal drugs, rap about violence and still rise to own record labels, sports management firms, clothing companies and much more. Yes, Jay Z has made a major change in his life. But promoting his older lifestyle in well-loved rap lyrics has also had an undesirable effect.
Although Jay Z has moved on in recent albums to rhyming about his life as a wealthy man, those who have followed in his drug-slinging footsteps when that was his focus were more likely to wind up with criminal convictions and no job, while the women and children in their lives suffered as a result.
Similarly, Simon has made a fortune off of his hit TV show, The Wire. At the same time, the show depicted young black males engaging in drug dealing and gang violence on the streets of Baltimore, creating highly disturbing images of black men doing the most inhumane of things, images that became seared in the minds of viewers.
These characters were the type of “punks” that Zimmerman wanted to capture on the night that he killed Trayvon. This was the overlay I think Zimmerman projected onto the teen.
Zimmerman has maintained that Trayvon Martin attacked him, and that he killed the teen in self-defense.
Taking responsibility for the “thug” aftermath
Culture creators such as Simon are hardly alone. The music business cash cow that rap has become, embodied by artists such as 50 Cent, T.I., Young Jeezy and more, has proliferated such a broad tapestry of “dangerous black male” images that the more nuanced reality of young black male life has been drowned out.
Sure, some of these artists have shifted with the times towards producing more dance floor friendly tunes, but the years during which their music infiltrated the air waves, when their music videos replayed the same criminally-focused activities repeatedly, have made an indelible stamp on the American psyche – particularly among those who have little contact with blacks.
These artists and music executives may not have intended to program mainstream America to see young black men this way, but at some point, we must all acknowledge the result.
Simon and others may hide behind the excuse that their entertainment reflects the real. I would agree that The Wire certainly portrays very “human” characters, and that what Jay Z has rapped about may take place. Many of our most popular rap artists have certainly lived that “thug life,” as did many of the executives and managers in the music business that have promoted these world views. But is this our black males’ only reality?
The multifarious stories of black men
Are twin black boys Marcos and Malcolm Allen who are valedictorians and headed to Stanford University on basketball scholarships not real? Is Stephen Stafford, a black boy who began at Morehouse College at the age of thirteen, not real?
Are the millions of African-Americans who are abiding by the law and working diligently to pursue careers in fields as varied as medicine, law and education not real? They are real and they deserve to be celebrated.
It’s great that so many powerful men and women in entertainment are trying to support the cause of ensuring that Trayvon Martin’s memory lives on, and inspires change. But if they really cared, they would also generously invest in those who want to tell diverse stories about young black men like these through music, television and film.
Jay Z has already helped to produce interesting black projects such as Fela!, a musical about the legendary Afrobeat musician.
T.I. has recently spoken about revamping his image and life as a family man on his hit reality series, The Family Hustle. While many in the black community are calling him a 21st century Bill Cosby in his new evolution, T.I. has said that his record label is against it. “Labels love hardcore T.I. That keeps the cash register ringing,” he told XXL magazine. But it is a change the former “thug” rapper is sticking with.
These are great starts. We need to see more similar projects in the future.
Black people are not a monolith
There is a lot more work to do if these creators want to undo the cultural backdrop that typifies the young black man as a violent danger to society — an image that many have helped create, thereby enriching themselves.
No, they are not responsible for how people consumed those images, but there is the responsibility for having provided the fodder for what has turned out to be a dangerous stereotype – a stereotype dangerous to young black men.
Black people are not a monolith. It is a catastrophe that violent rap imagery has become a dominant portrait of African-American masculinity. As we work to dismantle systemic racism, we should also work to dismantle this negative media imagery by sponsoring and supporting alternative images.
If our brightest minds can create the thug image to generate wealth, they can also use that wealth to spread images of positive black male reality.
Ama Yawson is a co-founder of Loveessence.com, a romantic networking site for black women and men of all races.
