by Arnav Sampigethaya in collaboration with Eesha Gorti
I remember I was 5 years old when I first learned about racism. I was in a library in California with my father. He asked me about my day, and I told him that I had fun with a new friend named King Tyson Jr. My dad asked if he had seen him before and I described him as ‘that black boy’. My dad told me never to identify someone by the colour of their skin. He asked me if I would like it if someone described me as ‘that brown boy’ and even now 11 years later that sentiment is etched into my mind.
On May 25, 2020, a 46-year-old man of African American descent was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota by a Caucasian police officer named Derek Chauvin. Three other officers, J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao also aided and abetted the crime. The fact that footage was released made this a very prominent case in the public eye. Floyd’s pleas of “I can’t breathe”, which he repeated a devastating 16 times. There is no doubt that Chauvin is 100% guilty of murder.
I am going to try and address A LOT of things in this article and it’s going to be a heavy read. There are a lot of ways of looking at this case and racism in general. It is wrong. There is no argument about that. The way we perceive it might be flawed. I will use the labels of ‘Black’, ‘White’, ‘Asian’ and ‘Person of Colour’ in this article not through contempt but as these are socially accepted definitions and are used by these people groups to refer to themselves.
An opinion I have read in many places online is that they should upgrade the charges for George Floyd’s murder from second-degree to first-degree. A lot of people say these things without understanding the implications of what they mean. I’m going to define the different degrees of murder in Minnesota and explain why third-degree is probably the best option.
First Degree Murder - Any intentional murder that is willful and premeditated with malice aforethought. Felony murder, a charge that may be filed against a defendant who is involved in a dangerous crime where a death results from the crime, is typically first-degree
Second Degree Murder - Any intentional murder with malice aforethought but is not premeditated or planned in advance.
Third Degree Murder - Whoever, without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life, is guilty of murder in the third degree [1].
It may seem like second degree is the correct one in this case because of the simple fact that Chauvin appears to have an intent to kill. However, that’s the keyword, ‘appears’. That’s really shaky legal ground to make a prosecution and that could lead to an early acquittal which means a 100% guilty person could go free because they were charged for the wrong crime. Third-degree is much easier to prove and will still ensure 25 years of non-bailable jail time to the monster. If he gets charged with second-degree murder, that’s great but the upgrade to second-degree smells extremely fishy to me [2].
However, the legal aspects are not really why I’m writing this article. I think popular culture has been an important showcase of what the situation in America is. I have done extensive research on important pieces of pop culture made by the African American community, and their impacts and messages and why they are so important in today’s culture. Art in the form of protest often turns out to be the most effective and profound.
To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar
Protest music has existed for decades now. Before the emergence of hip-hop, the dominant genre of music was rock and the 2000s under Bush saw plenty of ‘protest music’ which failed to say anything meaningful or profound [3]. The most notable of these are Green Day’s album American Idiot [4].
Kendrick Lamar revolutionized politically commentary in music when he released good kid, m.A.A.d city in 2012. Most artists would’ve peaked with such an artistically vibrant and unique album that still managed to leave an impact. But not Kendrick.
In 2015, Kendrick Lamar released what is considered to be the greatest rap album of all time by many, ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ [5]. In 1 hour and 20 minutes, Kendrick covers so many heavy topics and his own personal journey. In order to pull from the black culture, he uses a lot of elements, from hip-hop’s American predecessors Jazz. Using legends like George Clinton, he ewokes a powerful connection between past and present. He used Xhosa and Zulu artists and African tribal sounds throughout the album as well to show the African culture.
The album opens with the song Wesley’s Theory, which takes a deep dive into consumerism in the United States and how even though the African-American population is at 14% in America they have annual purchase rate of $1.2 trillion. It also introduces the theme of ‘pimping’ a butterfly in reference to artists who are up and coming, being stereotyped and converted into the ‘rap’ image that Hollywood and the entertainment industry idolizes.
Next, in the ‘For Free’ interlude, he explores how America exploits the African-American population not letting them grow and pushing them into obtuse cultural stereotypes. How white America embraces their culture and not their people. Following this, we transition into King Kunta. Named after Kunta Kinte, a fictional 18th century slave who is the main character of the culturally important novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley. Kendrick raps about how even though he feels like the King of the rap game, white America still makes him feel like a slave like Kunta Kinte (who is most famous for having his right foot cut off for trying to escape his plantation). He feels like America keeps trying to cut his leg off as he rises in popularity in influence. Hence the oxymoron of King Kunta.
In Institutionalized, Kendrick talks about how all Black people are institutionalized in a way by racism, classism and the dollar. How this culture doesn’t allow them to leave the metaphorical ‘hood’ and how they live their entire lives inside this bubble due to society’s treatment of them. The next important song in the album comes in the form of Alright. Alright became the cultural anthem of the Black Lives Matter protest movement. It provides an optimistic tone to this plethora of issues (police brutality, racism, classism and the treatment of Black people) with the chorus as sung by Pharell Williams (of Happy fame) with words “We gon’ be alright!”. This resonated with all black people around the country.
We then go to How Much a Dollar Cost, which explores the religious connotations in a bible-esque story transposed into a modern setting as a homeless man asks Kendrick for a dollar at a gas station, and Kendrick who feels like people should earn their money refuses him, the homeless man turns out to be god. Kendrick reminisces about how the American culture has made himself selfish. President Barack Obama named this as his favourite song of 2015.
We reach a culturally significant moment in the song ‘i’ as Kendrick has an argument with one of his audience members within the song. It’s a compelling and moving argument and you understand Kendrick’s sentiment. The entire album culminates in a thrilling final song in the form of ‘mortal man’ in which Kendrick talks about loyalty. He then transitions to an interview with his idol, the late Tupac Shakur (considered to be one of the greatest rappers of all time). He ends the album with a poem that exemplifies all the ideas he has expressed throughout the album.
“The caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it
Its only job is to eat or consume everything around it
In order to protect itself from this mad city
While consuming its environment
The caterpillar begins to notice ways to survive
One thing it noticed is how much the world shuns him
But praises the butterfly
The butterfly represents the talent, the thoughtfulness
And the beauty within the caterpillar
But having a harsh outlook on life
The caterpillar sees the butterfly as weak
And figures out a way to pimp it to his own benefits
Already surrounded by this mad city
The caterpillar goes to work on the cocoon
Which institutionalizes him
He can no longer see past his own thoughts
He’s trapped
When trapped inside these walls certain ideas take root, such as
Going home, and bringing back new concepts to this mad city
The result?
Wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant
Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations
That the caterpillar never considered, ending the internal struggle
Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different
They are one and the same" [6]
This Is America – Childish Gambino
On May 6th, 2018, actor/comedian/singer/songwriter/director Donald Glover, under the stage name, Childish Gambino released the music video for the song, ‘This is America’ [7]. This is an extremely layered video, with deep references to many cultural issues. It was helmed by Hiro Murai, a frequent collaborator of Glover’s and uses powerful cinematography to tell its story. It opens with references to partying and fun, but the video quickly elevates with the first shooting. We see the gun being handled with greater care than the dead body of the victim. A reference to the rampant gun violence in America and how the debate always goes to the topic of the guns and not the people affected by them.
Glover’s dancing throughout the video is a reference to Jim Crow, who was a caricature of black people made by white America in the 1800s. We see that the youth are dancing along as the world erupts in chaos. This shows the American culture of turning a blind eye to the problems and dancing to the fiddle to society. As Glover and co dance, we see terrifying events take place in the background. We see children taking videos of everything without speaking out. We see the four horsemen of the apocalypse, a man being run over, and just chaos in general. The beat and temp of the song heighten yet again with the second shooting, which is of some churchgoers. This is a reference to the racially motivated, Charleston church shooting. The churchgoers are singing about money which parallelly shows how money has become a religion and how religion has been commercialized. America’s consumerism is criticized in a scene showing Glover dancing on top a bunch of cars, America’s refusal to progress is also shown as the cars are all vintage models. The video ends with Glover running for his life from everyone.
The Story of OJ – Jay-Z
One of the legends of the rap game, Jay-Z tackles race in the song, ‘The Story of OJ’ [8] The lyrics are powerful with the hard-hitting chorus of –
“Light n****, dark n****, faux n****, real n****
Rich n****, poor n****, house n****, field n****
Still n****”
He suggests that no matter what you are, you will always be defined by your skin color in racist America. Coupled with a powerful music video depicting early 30s style animations of black people with exaggerated features to sell the gravity of the problem. It’s a powerful song with a simple theme.
It shows Jay-Z take the person of Jaybo, a play on the character of ‘Sambo’ from early cartoons. Sambo was a cultural stereotype and helps the white characters in his film. The music video takes a trip through all the different stereotypes that African-Americans are put through in a controversial-yet-convincing manner. It explores how significant people of color in the past, like the titular OJ Simpson tried to disassociate from the race rather than embrace it and try to bring the people around him up. It also explores the themes of credit and how often the black community will waste their money on materialistic things instead of saving up or investing to secure the means for their children. On top of this, he also discusses how gang crime is rampant amongst the community and how his own people give their lives up over neighbourhoods and affiliations which are superficial and meaningless.
13th – Ava DuVernay
“History is not just stuff that happens by accident. We are the products of the history that our ancestors chose- if we’re white. If we are black we are the products of the history that our ancestors most likely did not choose.”
Ava DuVernay’s documentary, 13th [9], gives a raw, honest insight on Race Relations and Incarceration. The title refers to the 13th amendment of the United States’ constitution, which provides-
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
This amendment is the one that is said to have freed the slaves, ironically, it freed them in an economy that had presented itself as a ‘kill or be killed’ system, and a society which had conveniently morphed African-Americans to look like the former. They had cast them into a mould where a black man was considered a threat to white women. Their portrayal in media was inhumane and animalistic - like someone who needed to be tamed. This was also done through the use of ‘blackface’.Blackface is a form of theatrical make-up, done predominantly on white people, to express and convey the racial stereotypes associated with the black community. DuVernay captures this oppressive culture through criticising ‘The Birth Of a Nation’ that was released with very prominent racism expressed in the form of what was then considered to be satire.
A well-maintained timeline (from 1865, the year the 13th Amendment was passed to 2016, the year there was a huge trend in the Black Lives Matter movement), is followed through the course of the interviews. It is exhausting to watch as they cover 150 years worth of history in a runtime of 1 hour and 40 minutes.
One of the most notable changes in this period was in the time of Bill Clinton and Al Gore who were said to think differently than the older Democrats. This was the time when the murder of Polly Klaas led to the implementation of the ‘Three Strikes and You’re Out’ law which stated that if a person was to be convicted for their third felony they would be mandated to prison for the rest of their lives.
Along with this carried out the enforcement of ‘Mandatory Minimums’ that basically prohibited judges from taking the circumstances around a crime into consideration, and made them impose mandatory sentencing. This is where the key of justice was grabbed from judges and handed over to prosecutors; 95% of all prosecutors are white. Following this, a Truth In Sentencing law was passed that kept convicts imprisoned for 85% of their sentence, it nullified the chance of getting out with parole. Sharanda Jones was convicted, with her only crime being transporting cocaine, yet, due to the Truth In Sentencing law, the judge was required to sentence her for life. The 1994 Federal Crime Bill passed by Clinton had the same effect as the marketing strategy of using Willie Horton to get George H. W. Bush elected - a massive expansion of the prison system. This sequence of events is what led to the militarization of the police forces in the USA, seen today.
This documentary hits all of its viewers with shocking and unfiltered statistics, as well as its very well-informed interviewees such as Bryan Stevenson, Van Jones and activist Angela Davis.
Angela Davis was portrayed by the FBI as a dangerous, armed criminal and put her on their 10 most wanted fugitives list. They intended on sending her to, as she put it, “the death chamber” in order to make a point - they would not tolerate the systemic racism in their jurisdiction to be questioned.
As put by Van Jones, “The system tried to put the sister on trial and she said no, we’re puttin’ you on trial”. She fought and beat the prosecution, walking out of there, as a free woman.
Often through the course of the documentary, there is a cut that showcases the word “Criminal” in a white font against a black background, subtly hinting at how society sees people of colour as exactly that, regardless of their identity.
Similar was the case of a then 17-year-old Kalief Browder, who was charged with a really petty crime of supposedly having stolen someone’s backpack. It was later proven, that he did not, in fact even commit the crime. Kalief was taken down to the precinct in The Bronx where they told him he could post bail of $10,000, which his family could not afford.
“We have a criminal justice system that treats you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent. Wealth, not culpability, shapes outcomes.”
Kalief was offered a plea where he could go to trial and receive a sentence of up to 15 years, and not being convicted by admitting that he had committed the crime. Browder felt wronged and did not take the plea. He spent three years in jail, which caused his mental health to deteriorate. Kalief suffered physical abuse at the hand of his cellmates and the guards, he attempted to take his own life several times. Two years after being released from jail, Kalief committed suicide.
The 13th fearlessly questions its audience as to whether they think black people were ever truly “free” in the country. It showcases how times now are definitely better than the times of slavery. But that’s the point. That’s no standard to hold liberty against. It emphasizes the importance of change coming not from politicians, but from people’s hearts and minds.
Despite the film being a heavy watch and an essential reality check, DuVernay ends it on a hopeful note by showing clips of youth and adults truly happy and enjoying themselves.
We hope you learnt something new from our article. Please check out and support all the black creators we’ve mentioned in the article. We felt we couldn’t do justice to this topic and perspective in one article, so we’re writing a second part for the next issue. Stay tuned!
Works Cited
[1] Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota, “609.195 MURDER IN THE THIRD DEGREE,” 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.195/pdf.
[2] B. Shapiro, “Are The Correct Charges Being Applied In The George Floyd Case? Shapiro Gives His Thoughts,” 5 June 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUVhUkW6Dhs.
[3] L. Ellis, “Protest Music of the Bush Era,” 13 June 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehbgAGlrVKE.
[4] G. Day, Composer, American Idiot. [Sound Recording]. Studio 880, Oakland, California; Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood. 2004.
[5] K. Lamar, Composer, To Pimp a Butterfly. [Sound Recording]. 2015.
[6] K. Lamar, “Kendrick Lamar - Mortal Man Lyrics,” 15 March 2015. [Online]. Available: https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-mortal-man-lyrics.
[7] D. Glover and H. Murai, Directors, Childish Gambino - This Is America (Official Video). [Film]. 2018.
[8] J. Z, Composer, The Story of O.J. [Sound Recording]. 2020.
[9] A. DuVernay, Director, 13th. [Film]. USA: Netflix, 2016.
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