Hip Hop & Racial Politics 2012

Black People and Niggas.

We have heavily discussed the use of the word nigga by black people, but primarily under the framework of hip hop, and gangsta' rap. We have not discussed the relation the word has to historical, or even modern ideas of blackness and the development of black identities. Malik at one point mentioned that "not everyone that is black is a nigga". This statement which is a true, at least to me was never discussed. Although gangsta' rap popularized the use of the word nigga, and used the word as a positive sign and method of communication for those associated with gangsta' rap, not all black people agree with its use or its connotation. Specifically speaking, there are older generation African Americans, and even modern-day African Americans that want to be black, but they do not want to be associated with niggas.
This is a clip from the show The Boondocks. The Boondocks is an American animated series based off of the comic strip created by Aaron McGruder. The show begins with the Freeman family having recently moved from the South Side of Chicago, Illinois to the peaceful and mostly white suburb that is known as Woodcrest. The dynamics Woodcrest provides for much of the comedic moments that take place in the show. Prior to becoming an animated series The Boondocks was already viewed as controversial. This is because the creators of the show and comic strip offer views on issues of race, politics, historical figures, and other issues that are not necessarily widely accepted or popular. The biggest issue that causes the show to create controversy is its casual and frequent use of the word “nigga”. This clip illustrates the black-nigga dynamic that exists between African Americans. Especially older generation African Americans that lived through the Civil Rights Era and are not satisfied with hip-hip and rap whatsoever. 

 

 In this specific episode the writers of the show rewrite history and tell an alternative story of the “attempted” assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. On April 4, 1968 King is shot and wounded, instead of dying, he falls into a coma in which he remains for 32 years, waking up significantly aged in a hospital bed on October 27, 2000. The episode reaches its climax when King arrives at a church to speak to a crowd of people about forming a new political party, however due to miscommunication and poor advertisement the crowd thinks that they are at the church to party with MLK. King is stunned by the behavior of the crowd and erupts in anger about what he sees. He delivers a speech to the audience lecturing him on his disappointments.

I watch Boondocks all of the time and think that the show is extremely well written and uses humor well to talk about issues that are hard to talk about, or may never be talked about. The show primarily focuses like I said on the Freeman family, and uses the family to talk about real world issues. For example there are episodes about Rkelly, Racial profiling, privilege, gangsta' rap, Snitching, BET-this show covers a wide range of topics. When you watch the video consider everything King says, and the reactions on everyone's faces.

Questions:
*Why is it hard to convince older generation African Americans about the significance and value of hip hop? (True story they hate hip hop, at least modern)
*  What if MLK had never died? How would that have changed history?
*Why is there a divide amongst black people that want to be black but don't want to be niggas. ? Is this somewhat similar to white people that do not want to be associated with poor white trash?