Demitra Salteris

Lawson COMM360

May 13, 2014

Successful “Thugs”

For centuries, we human beings have lived within communities, in which we have near

always portrayed superiority differences between different peoples, especially in regards to race

and ethnicity. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 claimed that “All persons shall be entitled to the full

and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, and privileges, advantages, and

accommodations of any place of public accommodation, without discrimination or segregation

on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.” Unfortunately, many individuals,

myself included, can agree that the promises of the abovementioned act have not held true for all.

Despite the Civil Rights Movement and many other movements and efforts to change the ways

of society, this prejudice and racism still exists today in the United States. Although there is

some dispute about how ubiquitous and influential racism is in the United States, it is clearly

evident that it still impacts the rights, opportunities, and treatment of minorities. More

specifically, the United States’ history of discrimination combined with modern racism is still

strongly impacting the treatment of African-Americans today. According to a PBS article by

George M. Frederickson, “Racism exists when one ethnic group or historical collectivity

dominates, excludes, or seeks to eliminate another on the basis of differences that it believes are

hereditary and unalterable.” Hindered in terms of entitlement and respect, African-Americans

have largely been victims of the aforementioned definition for several eras. Even the individuals

whom were/are successful and educated are perceived as inferior in some ways, and are

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prevented from receiving the full respect and entitlements that they deserve for their success. On

top of that, I believe African-Americans are not only disabled from achieving the full perks of

success, but they are also pin-holed by society to only fill certain positions of success and fame. I

believe this attempt to prevent African-Americans from fulfilling wide varieties of successful

careers and lifestyles is because success often means power. Even though it may not be as openly

expressed nowadays, I think many white Americans still do not want African-Americans to have

power because they want to remain the superior ones. Overall, due to prejudice, African-

Americans are stereotyped and referred to with negative connotations, even when they do not

match them. Hence, in this paper I will analyze and interpret several pieces of rhetorical text,

predominantly black rhetoric, to illuminate how hatred, discrimination, and an unwillingness to

accept and respect those who differ, still relevantly impacts perceptions and hinders achievement

of comprehensive success. I will show how it is discrimination in society that is still the leading

cause of a truly successful and powerful African-American being considered an anomaly.

If one were to take a look at the 2014 Forbes list of the World’s most powerful people, it

would quickly become apparent that they are almost all non-blacks. There are only two black

people out of the list of seventy-two people total, for supposedly the world’s most powerful

people. One of those two black people is President Barack Obama (in spot #2) and then Aliko

Dangote, CEO of the Dangote Group and Africa’s richest man (in spot #64), is the second black

person on the list. To be more specific though, since Dangote is not American, President Barack

Obama is the only actual African-American individual listed in the most powerful people list.

Some may debate that this is this just a coincidence. On the other hand though, others believe

that it is all because the history of discrimination is so deeply engrained in our system that we are

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still putting up barriers for African-Americans. After much deliberation and clear evidence, that I

will continue to speak of later, I must say I definitely believe that it is due to the latter.

Sure, society has had a rise in famous African-American figures, but if one were to ask a

group of Americans to name some successful African-American men, then besides President

Obama, the most widely-known ones would definitely consist of mainly athletes or those in the

entertainment industry, i.e. comedians, actors, music moguls, etc. This clearly demonstrates what

I mentioned earlier about African-Americans seeming to be pin-holed so that they may only

fulfill certain positions of success that do not have too high authority and influence over history.

Athletes and entertainers exhibit much less authority and power compared to other high positions

of success, such as politicians, lawyers, and surgeons, in my opinion. Additionally, African-

Americans are accepted into these certain positions that I mentioned, to provide for whatever

intents and purposes society has, and usually nothing more. In essence, these famous African-

American figures and celebrities, especially men in particular, may have achieved greatness in

pay and popularity but not necessarily as much respect overall compared to other successful,

non-black figures. One extremely recent and pertinent example involves the case of now-former

owner of the Clippers NBA team, Donald Sterling, telling his mistress that he does not want her

bringing any black people to his games, and does not want her fraternizing with them on any

social media, like Instagram. This shows an instance of African-American individuals being

accepted only in the positions that some members of society want them in, because he does not

want black people around him for any other purpose besides playing for his team and making

him money.

In the conversation between Donald Sterling and his girlfriend, one part in particular

stood out so vehemently to me. In this part of the recording, Sterling basically claims he is not

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racist; that is just the way the world is, so he follows it. Yet, he goes on to mention how in Israel

they treat black people like dogs, and that the white Jews are a hundred and fifty percent better

than black Jews; clearly showing that he is bigoted because his perception of blacks is that they

are substandard. His girlfriend, who ironically happens to be half black, also asks him in the

conversation why he has to treat black people like dogs too, and if he thinks that it is right.

Sterling responded with a bold statement of, “It isn’t a question – we don’t evaluate what’s right

and wrong, we live in a society. We live in a culture. We have to live within that culture….I

don’t want to change the culture because I can’t. It’s too big…I don’t want change.” The public

sharing of this preposterous conversation caused quite an uproar, but this man’s extreme racism

and hatred never would have been brought to light if someone had not spied and secretly

recorded the conversation. Also, I think the worst part is that Sterling kept claiming that he is not

a racist. Ultimately, the whole ordeal that occurred with Sterling highlights how there truly are

Caucasian people that are highly prejudiced and instilled with negative perceptions of African-

Americans, in current times. So, the true question is, how many more non-black successful

figures and people with authority in society think and act in the same manner as Sterling?

Because if enough important people have the same ideology, then it is extremely obvious that

they are the ones who are trying to maintain African-Americans at an inferior status, sometimes

without everyone else in society even being aware of them doing so.

By ensuring that systems concerning social status in regards to ethnicity stay in place,

then it is ensuring that not everyone is provided with the opportunity to rise above and become

successful, especially if they attempt to rise from ‘nothing.’ High levels of poverty and

unemployment appear to be prominent among many African-American communities, arguably

due to the strong prominence of racism still existing. Yet, there are a vast number of African-

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American individuals which lead ‘normal’ lifestyles and are also viewed as unequal to non-

blacks. In reference to an article from California State University of Sacramento, there are two

types of racism: 1) “Moral racism- The belief that a race of people is morally inferior, and as

such members of that race are deserving of less respect and concern.” 2) “Genetic Racism- The

belief that a race of people is genetically inferior, and as such members of that race are (on the

average) less intelligent, and generally less capable.” These two subsets of racism so clearly

provide a reasoning behind why even African-Americans who have succeeded, achieved equal

pay and popularity, still do not necessarily receive all the same respect.

A very public example of a successful black individual that felt disrespected due to what

he perceived as racism was in 2006, when Kanye West at a Concert for Hurricane [Katrina]

Relief made the jaw-dropping statement: “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” The

lack of response to Hurricane Katrina made Kanye feel as though the only reason could be

because the affected area is filled with mostly black people and since the news was portraying

black people with negative connotations. Thus, due to disrespectful implications towards mostly

blacks, he felt that the commander in chief, aka the President, did not care about helping black

people nor how they were negatively affected by the disaster. Kanye started off the presentation

by completely ignoring the script and claiming, “I hate the way they portray us in the media. You

see a black family, it says, 'They're looting.' You see a white family, it says, 'They're looking for

food.' And, you know, it's been five days because most of the people are black…and just to

imagine if I was down there, and those are my people down there. So anybody out there that

wants to do anything that we can help—with the way America is set up to help the poor, the

black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing everything

they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another

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way—and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us!” Known for being very

straightforward, Kanye made it adamant that the public knew what was going on in the disaster

zones, and how the black families there were being mostly depicted as thieves and such, even

though everyone was acting in the same ways to survive. On top of his statements in regards to

the hurricane relief, he also squeezed in his opinions of how America is not as invested in

providing urgent aid and care for those are less well-off, specifically poor and black people.

From what I interpreted, I think Kanye is trying to illustrate how societal discrimination is still

prominently affecting the opportunities and livelihoods of black people. Even though Kanye was

not directly affected by the hurricane, he still felt very upset and disrespected by media’s

statements surrounding the disaster because even though the statements were not towards him

specifically, he still knew that they were aimed towards people who were basically just like him.

Another reason that Kanye felt disrespected is because he put himself in the shoes of ‘his fellow

people’ and felt as though if he was down in New Orleans during the time of the ordeal that he

would have been treated and portrayed in the same light as those there because he is black.

Lamentably, although Kanye’s statements were considered very controversial, they did nothing

for the issue at hand. Presumably, I would assume this is because people did not take him very

seriously due to his lack of credibility, the fact that he did not sound very composed in his

speech, and predominantly because of what is known for.

As a rapper, Kanye West has several tracks in which he speaks profanely at times, and in

many songs he refers to aspects and terminology like gold diggers, slaves, swagga, drugs,

n*ggas, etc., that are supposedly more understood or related to in black communities. Some

tracks are songs that are heartfelt or deep, and focus on struggles and hardships that he and

people like him have experienced in life. Nonetheless, he is looked down upon by many because

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of the negative connotations drawn from his lyrics from people who do not understand the

culture and terminology. Even though Kanye is rich, famous, and successful, he is still at times,

undesirably personified through the notions that people draw from his lyrics. Also, the

vernacular that he uses at times can be interpreted by some as informal or uneducated due to

slight variations of Standard English, in addition to slang terms.

An even more dramatic example of a successful black person who has been affected by

racism and stereotypical assumptions involves the misinterpretation and offensive labeling of

NFL Seahawks cornerback, Richard Sherman. This past year, Richard Sherman was widely

characterized as a “thug” in the media, immediately after the airing of an interview after last

year’s NFC championship game, in which he totally eluded the asked question and began yelling

aggressively and appearing pumped up as if he was ready to fight. He also did not use all

Standard English terminology, which can come off as being uneducated to some. For example, in

this interview he referred to an opponent player as a “sorry receiver” instead of an unskilled

receiver, or when he says “gon’ get” instead of ‘going to get.’ What many do not know though is

that this man (Sherman) who was considered a “thug,” actually graduated from renowned

Stanford University with a 4.0 grade point average. In addition, he also has 40 million dollars

guaranteed to him, on top of the money he already has made playing, for signing his four-year

extension with the Seahawks. Clearly, Sherman is much better educated and has tremendously

more money than a vast majority of society, so one would expect him to be applauded and

respected for his accomplishments, instead of being disrespected and pigeonholed as if he is just

some simple black person from the streets. Thus, Sherman serves as an example of how some

black people are referred to as merely “brothers” or “thugs,” and viewed as lesser, even though

they may be well-educated, well-off moneywise, in addition to being well-mannered. There is

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also irony in non-blacks calling out black people for their “improper” use of English because

many of the terms that they use when referring to black people have different denotations than

what they think they stand for. I will expand on these misinterpretations below, as well as how

being stuck in one mind set due to an unwillingness to accept differences impacts the reputation

and perceptions towards anyone whom thinks and speaks in ways that are unlike what they were

taught is right.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the term “thug” surprisingly does not even come

from American culture, and actually originates from centuries ago in India. Thug or “thag” in

Hindi means something completely different than the connotation it is presumed to mean.

Britannica states that the original definition of a thug was “a member of a well-organized

confederacy of professional assassins who traveled in gangs throughout India for several hundred

years.” It is also described as being very similar to Satanism, except it is even more violent.

Thus, it is clear that the individuals that non-blacks were trying to degrade black people by

calling them something that they thought meant something else completely, and in fact does not

relate to African-Americans at all, if used in the original sense. So, the African-Americans that

are referred to as thugs, like Sherman was, are being referred to as something that they are not.

The connotation that non-blacks seem to believe matches with the term “thug,” seems to be a

person who is violent, uneducated, “ghetto”, a degenerate, or a thief, etc. that does not care to

conform to societal standards. The term’s usage being adopted into rap and hip-hop music then

combined with messages related to black culture that were viewed as not conforming to societal

morals and standards by non-blacks. The aforementioned combined with prejudice, likely

inspired the anglicized, more modernly presumed connotation. I say the modern connotation is

derived from prejudice because the term is meant to come off as degrading, and some believe

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that, “recently the white conservative movement in the U.S.A. has adopted it as a substantive

replacement for the vulgar and toxic term "nigger" which is no longer safe for use in most media

channels (democraticunderground.com).” The modern introduction of the term through rap and

hip-hop obviously did not denote the same. As Tupac defined it, “a thug is someone who is

going through struggles, has gone through struggles, and continues to live day by day with

nothing for them. That person is a thug, and the life they are living is the thug life.”

Unfortunately, many individuals spun this expression around to be negative due to an inability to

relate, in addition to its connection to other aspects of poor, troubled black neighborhoods such

as exposure to violence, drugs, crime, etc.

The non-permeable minds of some individuals will never be able to grasp the

connotations of certain speech that does not match the style of language and rhetoric that they

were raised within. If people are kept inside these barriers and do not attempt to make efforts in

understanding and accepting others’ ideologies and terminology, then it will never be fully

possible to interpret what the other people truly mean. Modernly, this is exactly what happens

with a lot of African-American speech communities. These slight variations of the English

vernacular by large populations of African-Americans caused another break in society since

many other Americans could not grasp the terminology and vernacular. This breakoff resulted in

the creation of a newer linguistic category, referred to by linguists as either ‘Black English’,

‘African-American Vernacular English (AAVE)’, or the more negative connotation that was

coined around the 1960’s called “Nonstandard Negro English.” I have learned throughout the

years that, very often when individuals are unsure of or do not agree with something, then they

end up bashing it. Thus, the aforementioned phenomena of bashing what you do not like or agree

with, happened in regards to African-American speech, causing many negative criticisms.

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Hence, that is why many non-blacks try to use these circumstances surrounding vernacular

disagreement as another way to downplay the success of black individuals. The coining of such

terms as “Nonstandard Negro English,” coincided with terms of other distasteful, negative

connotations towards African-Americans, which was naturally, very disliked by a vast majority

of African-American individuals. This linguistic discrepancy was just another way that society

could discriminate against African-Americans. So, in 1973 a group of black scholars took it into

their hands and created a new term known as Ebonics. According to an article by John R.

Rickford from The Linguistic Society of America, Ebonics is “a blend of the words ebony

‘black’ and phonics ‘sounds’,” and simply means ‘black speech.’ Examples include random

slang words like “ashy” to refer to the whitish-gray appearance of black skin when dry, and then

there are also grammatical variations like some pronunciation changes caused by the dropping of

b, d, g from the beginning of auxiliary verbs, resulting in statements like “ah ‘on know” instead

of the formal “I don’t know.” Speaking in this vernacular is often regarded as a sign of a lack of

sophistication and education, due to many not being familiar with its connection to the African

culture and the Black Diaspora of places like Jamaica, Nigeria, and more places whose roots

stem from Africa. There are other cases however, where very literate and well-known figures,

have used Ebonics instead for dramatic or realistic effect, including famous authors like Zora

Neal Hurston and Toni Morrison, as well as many Black preachers and entertainers, especially

rappers.

According to Michael Eric Dyson, “rap expresses the ongoing preoccupation with

literacy and orality that has characterized African-American communities since the inception of

legally coerced illiteracy during slavery (pg. 408)…It expresses the desire of young black people

to reclaim their history, reactivate forms of black radicalism, and contest the powers of despair

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and economic depression that presently besiege the black community (pg. 410).” Although these

intentions may be obvious to those who are part of the black community, they once again can be

interpreted differently due to an inability to understand and relate. I believe that many

individuals which are impervious to such lifestyles and culture just perceive black communities

that live in such ways as people who are incapable of being someone who is successful and

respected. Thus, discrimination, an inability to understand, and an unwillingness to accept that

just because black people speak a certain way and experience certain ordeals which do not meet

society’s supposed moral standards; causes others to not be able to see past the unappealing

details to the deeper meanings and intentions of becoming something better in the world.

Referring back to Tupac, he was a major figure which utilized Ebonics in his lyrics while

describing the socioeconomic struggles of black communities that existed, and that he personally

rose up from. When a lot of people hear the lyrics or statements of rappers speaking about

violence, crime, and poverty, they are crudely misinterpreted. They think that these are the only

ways of life that these people strive to live and pursue, but that is not so. There is a so much

deeper meaning. It is about rising from the bottom, and working as hard as you possibly can to

make it up from there. Certain people may live differently than others, surrounded by poor living

situations and more precarious obstacles, but that does not mean that they are not good people

and does not mean that they are any less worthy or capable of being a successful individual

"That boy ain't a gangsta, fo'sho'. Look at how he walks, he's a thug. life. That's the saddest face

I've seen in all my life as a teen," is one lyrical example including Ebonics, in which he is

referring to the hardships of coming from a poor, black community and the struggles of living

with next to nothing. Many individuals who were unable to understand Tupac’s meaning, wrote

it off as him promoting being a person from the streets that hustles or acts like a “thug.”

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However, like I said is because they did not understand what Tupac was trying to portray, and

exactly what he denoted “thug life” as. Tupac’s definition of thug life was broken down into a

statement “Thug life- the hate you gave little infants f*cks everyone.”

Essentially, with certain individuals practicing such horrible prejudice and hatred in their

everyday lives they are just passing it onto future generations. They are setting it up so that they

are an example of how humans should supposedly treat one another, but clearly it is not the right

way to harm others based on their ethnic background. When hateful people raise their children

within the same hatred then it often becomes the only environment they know of. The youth are

the ones who are our future; the ones who will make great changes to society. So, if the ones

controlling our future are engrained with such outrageous bigotry towards one another, won’t

they not be able to come together to keep society thriving? Thus, it seems to me that if the future

is filled with hate-driven individuals then like Tupac said everyone be will f*cked, because then

everyone is ultimately being gipped of enhancement opportunities for society. If the problem of

hatred hinders the advancements of society too greatly, then it could ultimately crumble.

Additionally, the containment of poor, black people, due to fear of gaining supremacy is

another reason for the shortage of inspirational and successful black figures because since very

few are provided with equal opportunities for rising to success. In reference to an article written

by Edward Williams, he also made the claim of how with such few examples of high levels of

success among black men, it makes it difficult for young, black men to find a path to mold their

own lives by. Also according to Williams’ article,

“Over the last 200 years of American history, there has been one African-American

male President, one African-American male Attorney General, one African-American

male Secretary of State, and two African-American male Supreme Court Justices. There is

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currently one African-American male governor, there have only been four in American History.

Five (0.83%) of the Fortune 500 CEOs are African-American men. Approximately 1% of all law

firm partners are African-American men. There has been one African-American male Surgeon

General in American history. And fewer than six percent of all high-ranking military officers are

African-American.”

These ridiculously low figures in reference to black men who hold positions of high

success, demonstrate part of the crisis that discrimination causes. With a lack of sufficient

successful and intelligent black people being openly presented to society, it consequently means

that there is a lack of role models for those still struggling to aspire after. I can think of a few

instances from my own experiences of living in the United States during Obama’s presidency, in

which individuals made crude remarks about him. When listening to the radio one day, I even

heard a conversation in which a little African-American boy said to a white woman how he

wanted to be the next black president. She retorted with something along the lines of ‘oh no, we

already had one of those, we don’t need another one. With the rarity of these accomplished black

male figures it sends a message to other young, black men that it is very rare for individuals like

them to succeed and be provided with the opportunity to make it to such high positions of

success. Additionally, it makes it apparent that for African-Americans there is no set path to

attempt to follow, making their attempts at achieving such high success seem even more

complicated. In consequence, I believe there will likely be an even greater decline of African-

Americans rising up from the bottom.

We know that different races, including African-Americans, all have the same inherent

abilities, thus the high statistics of poverty, unemployment, and crime, can be most rationally

explained by the persistence of bigoted authorities in society to maintain the “status quo,” with

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white supremacy. Attempts by some to promote equality are not always fully carried out

however. Senator Robert F. Kennedy once stated, “We have always believed it possible for men

and women who start at the bottom to rise as far as their talent and energy allow. Neither race

nor place of birth should affect their chances." Although this statement in particular is widely

referring to immigration, I believe it serves dually in reference to racism and prejudice, and is

essentially summarizing the claim that I made above pertaining to African-Americans having the

same intrinsic abilities as every other race does. I wholeheartedly agree with the statement in

that, neither race nor place of birth should impact one’s chances to rise from the bottom.

However, based on United States history alone, the notion that Americans have always believed

in such can be proven false. I say this because several different types of individuals throughout

time have been prevented from rising up in success, including all different ethnic minorities and

women. Additionally, I think it is important to highlight the fact that Kennedy says should,

because it shows that he believes that people ought to not be having that happen, but not

necessarily that it is enforced or is something that is for sure happening. Chiefly, just because the

famous political figure made the claim, does not mean that the masses will all believe in and

follow what he said. Kennedy’s quote was very inspirational, but that was about it for the most

part.

Like Senator Robert F. Kennedy claimed, our attitudes towards the situation reflects our

faith in the American ideal; of it being the ‘land of opportunity,’ and equality for all. However, I

am going to go a step further in the analysis of this quote, and say that if our attitudes towards

the topic are positive then yes it will help motivate others to take advantage of America’s

opportunities. Yet, if too great a number of attitudes towards minorities are negative then it

reflects that we do not care about the American ideal of all peoples being entitled to the same

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liberties. A reflection of the latter regrettably seems to be more present in society, involving

deleterious attitudes in regards to African-Americans not being deserving or worthy of being

provided with equal entitlements, opportunities, respect, and most controversially, status.

It almost seems that no matter how much time passes, there will still be prejudice and

discrimination in the world. The persistent impact of prejudice and racism has become so

engrained that it seems we may never be able to shake it. Sadly, due to the usually more

aggressive drive behind individuals filled with hatred and prejudice it denounces many of the

breakthroughs attempted to be made towards achieving complete equality. In fact, almost every

famous figure that attempted to strongly change the prejudiced ways of society and the

breakdown of it in terms of social status, from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King Jr. and

Malcolm X to John F. Kennedy, all were very tragically stopped in their attempts by being killed

by bigoted individuals that felt that they could not bear, and refused to allow, a change in the

social system and supposed order of supremacy.

There are many people in positions of high power in society, which still believe in white

supremacy and the inclusion of a social system broken down by race that should not have the

capability to be altered by any member of the general public. These people’s actions are hard to

counteract if one does not have the same amount of power and authority, especially financially,

but the only way to prevent further slinking back to our country’s discriminatory roots, is to keep

fighting against their ways. I think I can confidently say that practically every individual in the

world that has received some sort of education has heard about the famous figures mentioned

above, for their publicized attempts to change society from its current racially broken down

system. However, there are so many more sources that one can acquire knowledge about this

racial issue and the obstacles preventing its solution. Thus, I think education and collaboration

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are key tools in providing those who want change, greater ability to fight back against racism.

James Baldwin once stated,

“The paradox of education is precisely this – that as one begins to become conscious one

begins to examine the society in which he is being educated. The purpose of education, finally, is

to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say

to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or

not. To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions, is the way he

achieves his own identity. But no society is really anxious to have that kind of person around.

What societies really, ideally, want is a citizenry which will simply obey the rules of society. If a

society succeeds in this, that society is about to perish. The obligation of anyone who thinks of

himself as responsible is to examine society and try to change it and to fight it –at no matter what

risk.”

Summarizing what Baldwin stated, essentially some higher powers of society do not want

people to be extremely educated in everything, or to question how society is run, thus they try

disabling people from receiving the opportunity to do so, especially with African-Americans.

Based on my analyses, it seems to me that the higher powers which are creating these obstacles

believe that if they continue to do so, then individuals will not be powerful or educated enough to

try to question their ways publicly and that they will not be able to get together enough people to

turn against them. The high powers of society only want these individuals around to abide by

their rules and to maintain the roles that they are ‘designated.’ Essentially the higher powers of

society that wish to maintain the discriminatory mainframe are blocking all forms of betterment

and achievement, in the hopes that it will also leave those individuals with not enough resources

and knowledge to fight back against them. Not only that, but also if more African-Americans are

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provided with education and guidance on how they can be successful, then they can help

progress their race’s influence even more so.

From my understanding of the research that I conducted there are not only the typical

pressures of success, but there is even more pressure on African-American males due to the fact

of them still being considered an anomaly. If more African-Americans receive higher educations,

then they can hopefully achieve more greatness in society’s highly successful positions, and

subsequently pass along their knowledge and recommendations to other African-Americans of

both now and the future. If enough African-Americans achieve high success, then they can also

collaborate together to try to increase their ranking in the social system, ultimately in hopes of

achieving a proliferation of highly respected, and successful African-American figures.

In reference to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. he most notably stated that, “all progress is

precarious and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.” I

understand that the notion of combatting something as big and powerful as racism can seem

incredibly overwhelming, if not impossible. But if enough people joined together to fight it at the

same time then who knows what could happen. I truly think there just has not been a large

enough collaboration of successfully educated and knowledgeable individuals to fight against the

issue of discrimination. From Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement, I think he perfectly

captures the notion of how yes, there are some risks in going against the system and trying to

progress the proliferation of educated, and successfully ranking African-Americans. However,

there is always going to be someone who has a problem with accepting differences, and society

is always going to have some sort of problem to solve, so I think they should not be deterred.

Sometimes we have to do the things that we are told we cannot do to ultimately achieve the

results that we want. In this case, although there may be worries of systematic backlash, I think

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African-Americans must still push to rise above and make solutions to society’s discriminatory

problems, because otherwise there will never be change.

Referring back to James Baldwin’s statement of how “The obligation of anyone who

thinks of himself as responsible is to examine society and try to change it and to fight it –at no

matter what risk,” touches exactly on the notion that I am trying to convey. If people, particularly

African-Americans, want to see change, then they are going to have to go above and beyond to

fight the issue, no matter the cost. Despite successful black people still being considered an

anomaly, they are incredibly more educated and successful than they were decades ago. So, they

should take advantage of this and join together to combat discrimination because there is close to

no chance that circumstances could revert back to how poorly African-Americans were treated

before, so why not take the chance of advancing equality even more.

Conclusively, I strongly believe that an alliance of enough strong-minded, educated black

individuals can form paths of success that they can utilize to, in the words of Public Enemy,

“fight the power.” The concepts of prejudice and racism have been around for a long time, so

they unfortunately are going to take a long time to uproot from society as well. Nevertheless, the

constraints of racism in regards to the advancements and true success of African-Americans have

lightened some recently. As long as African-Americans keep doing whatever they possibly can

to make a change in society, they can continue to rise in success, maintaining strong hopes for

becoming powerful enough figures to make an ultimate change in how they are hindered by

society.

19

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