I "Still" Have a Dream Finished

I “Still” Have a Dream

What is the purpose of life, suppose the question if you could change your upbringing and how you were raised would "you take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." ―Morpheus, to Neo, in The Matrix. I believe America could be the Matrix and the red pill is a world that has eliminated all forms of racism. I will be covering the term product of environment and how it can create racism. How rapper’s and musician’s express life events using music, and how it can be misinterpreted. I will analysis how Hillary Clintons wrong use of Kairos in her “super-predator” speech has emulated a dark shadow over the African American culture. I am asking the question does environment shape one’s culture. With the impulse of ‘The War on Drugs’ African American males are becoming subjected to prison and unfair jail time. Since black males are always getting arrested this means they must be criminals, wrong! It’s called product of environment

I believe in order to understand the creation of racism and super-predators, we must understand our history.  Slavery was introduced in 1619, to help support the production of crops in the new nation. Crops containing items such as tobacco or cotton. Africans were used to help build the entire economic foundation for today’s America. Although, slavery was participated throughout all thirteen colonies ideas about slavery began questioned with the expansion of northern and western colonies. Slaves were individuals who could be bought or owned under a slave master, these slaves were seen at as items not persons. Differences arose between northern and southern states whether the abolishment of slavery should be indorsed. This debate between the states separated the nations apart to create the American Civil War. With the victory of the Union they were able to free millions of slaves making them free men, but still with no civil rights. Slavery has had a huge influence in the making of American history. It is important that the remembrance of slavery still has an effect even in the 20^th century. Slavery will always have an importance due to product of environment.

Ok so now that we know slavery was bad, it is ironic that times would begin to become ever harsher for are now free slaves. ‘Living Black’ is a published novel about a white college professor that proclaimed himself as an “expert on gangs” his name was Mark S. Fleisher. And there was Burpee, Burpee was an ex-convict recently released from prison in Chicago. You may be asking what can a middle age white college professor and an older African American male ex-convict drug dealer have in common, well I’m glad you asked. Professor Fleisher is a cultural anthropologist, or a person that studies human behavior in attempt to reveal unwritten cultural rules that may mold a specific culture. Burpee was a convict that wanted to persuade the youth about the dangerous of gangs and violence. Professor Fleisher aimed to understand the rough streets of Chicago and understand how growing up in harsh environments can create criminals “it was a youth gang suppression, intervention, and prevention demonstration project sponsored by the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention was to be imple-mented.6 Target sites were matched to comparison sites, like a statistical eHarmony community matchup” (Fleshier 8) or product of environment.

Professor Flesiher and Burpees bond began to tighten and their bond became inseparable. Burpee intended to invite Fleisher to his family and show the harsh environment he was raised in that created this “criminal”. Burpee gave him a gracious tour of his home the family he was raised in. horrible living conditions and small living corridors, Professor Fleisher couldn’t believe so many people were raised in this horrible condition. Although, for Burpee this was home this is all he knew about life; the life that was giving to him. Burpee introduced Fleisher “dis here da white man, white man wid da money ”(Fleisher 66) as Fleisher was only able to get good interviews with the access of ‘cash-interviews’. Throughout the interviews he learned that while Burpee was in prison his daughters basically had to learn life from the streets. With a mother that was a disappearing and reappearing act without the magic “These teenaged girls told me they had health classes at school. They learned birth control methods, the danger of sexually transmitted diseases, methods of STD prevention, and self-care during pregnancy. Yet the mean age of first pregnancy was sixteen” (Fleisher 67). The Washingtons were another example of product of environment.

The last interview I will cover from “living black” is over how death is handled in the inner cities. Nike was a young teenager and friends to one of the Washingtons daughter. Nikes story is interesting because it showed how death in Chicago was normal and how a horrible thing can connect everybody in the inner cities. Nike hated her mother and stated that she was beaten with foreign objects being knock unconscious multiple times. Only a few months later it appaired that Nike was convicted, and sentenced to prison. Two years later Nike was released and the interview continued. Nike and her mother’s differences arose every time Professor Fleisher arrived for another interview. In Nikes mothers eye, Fleisher was a stranger that shouldn’t be introduced to their culture. Nikes mother hated Fleisher and made it apparent, but this was Nike’s apartment and it was her choice. Nike’s mother was a heavy smoker and became tremendously ill with lung disease and passed away. During her mother’s hospitalized visit Nike ordered Fleisher to drive and see her mother every night. Although Nikes mother was horrible and uncaring “Nike confronted her mother’s death alone. Her baby daddy, home from prison only a few months, attended the funeral. Folks at the Pines contributed cash to cover expenses. Nike mourned quietly. Local folks didn’t commiserate over death. No one offered a shoulder to cry on. Sudden infant death syndrome took several babies. Young mothers talked about circumstances of their babies’ death. Tears, hugs of consolation, were absent.”( Fliesher 70). For death in the inner cities and was inevitable, death was going to catch up one way or another. Death was a soft-spoken horseman who grabbed wounded warriors and lifted them the heavenly gates. No matter how harsh the individual was from a gangbanging member, or an irrational mother, it did not matter the ethics of the person. I believe growing up in low poverty can create stronger bonds. Unlike our previous presidents African Americans or the only to understand their culture. Yet another example of product of environment.

At this point the phrase product of environment should be imbedded in your mind. I wanted to you to read these interviews because just like Professor Fleisher we all have our own prejudice ideas about others races and even are own races. We can learn from ‘living black’ that “people like Burpee and the Washingtons and their Chicago neighbors (Nike) earn incomes, start families, develop friendships, and manage their households abiding by their culture’s vision of normal lives, that the quality of life in Chicago depends more on rich social interactions and support networks than on income, that outsiders like you can learn to look past your culture-bound worldview—your judgment of the way other folks like those in Chicago live their lives—that Chicago folks are quite able to re-solve their own dilemmas without outside intervention, and most importantly, that you can learn to respect cultural differences.”(Fleisher 49). You may think that Nike had a horrible life, but her environment created it. Nike did not wine and whimper about her situation this is her life. You may think before reading the interview that the Washingtons were placed in an unlucky situation, wrong! The Washingtons were born into a product of environment this is the life they were given “teen moms aren’t desired, school dropouts aren’t ridiculed, and parolees and ex-cons aren’t scorned” (Fleisher 4). I would not expect for Hillary Clinton and others to truly understand another race needs without living in their situation. Product of environment created the inner cities and determined who would reside in it. You may believe these are trouble teens with out proper care, but I see miss guided individuals that have been stripped of their social class way before they were born. Product of environment.

Unlike the view point of Hillary I will be using two songs that abolish the myth of ‘super-predators’. With these two songs I want to show how ‘the war on drugs’ and the three strikes policy permanently hurt the social economic of the African American race. G Herbo is a Chicago gangster rapper who effortlessly and beautifully describes his rough child hood in the uncaring streets of Chicago.  A song that greatly caught my attention was the song “Malcolm”, Malcolm dramatically paints a picture of living in the slums and the challenges that face a young African male in America. 

‘Look, once upon a time around the Southside

A young black man grew up in a house

Had a pops he never knew, with a mom that's strung out

His granny careless just about, say he'll never make it out

Of the hood and had a handful of aunties that can vouch

His big brother off in college, Malcolm took another route

From gang banging, 'caine slanging, moms threw him out the house

Stuck on probation, on and off since thirteen, been in and out

Soon as he turned seventeen, shit got super wild

Still a juvenile, he just totin' Rugers now

He shootin' now, streets got him, Malcolm ruthless now

Mom still gettin' higher than a motherfucker

Malcolm used to cry at night, shit a motherfucker

Ask hisself why every time he lie at night

Sometimes he even pray to God and wish he die at night

He grown now, had to get it on his own and

He know nobody gon' be there when he alone and

So fuck it, he just gon' continue doing wrong then’

"Malcolm" is a story of a Chicago kid who finds himself falling into the street life and before he knows it, facing the consequences “Malcolm took another route From gang banging, caine slanging, moms threw him out the house stuck on probation” without the correct parental control, Malcolm loses control to the persuasive streets of Chicago. Without the correct guidance how is an individual supposed to grow into an adult? Should I say it again, product of environment. It's not a cautionary tale but a detailed look into a broken system. In the song's closing, Herbo imagines how things would have gone differently had Malcolm's circumstances been more ideal “Malcolm could've stayed in school and got a job though but this was all that Malcolm knew, he from Chicago”. There is an ethical problem in Chicago, and the majority of people seem to not understand. Just like the Washingtons G Herbo was born and raised in the horrible streets of Chicago, he understands the differences between a criminal and a mislead teenager. Referring back to Hillary Clintons super-predator speech she explains that “We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel”. Hillary does not have the understanding or have compassion to comprehend the harsh environment in the inner cities of Chicago.  G Herbo describes this man’s heroes as drug dealers and murders, without the proper understanding who is to tell him Malcolm who are respectable role models. I love this song because G Herbo does not judge Malcolm, but simply understand his struggle. Before judging an individual on their actions, we must first understand the why.

‘The saddest thing about life it keep revolving

Same story, different niggas, same apartments

Same gutter, same group of people starving

Malcolm could've stayed in school and got a job though

But this was all that Malcolm knew, he from Chicago’

Tupac Shakur or formally known as 2pac song ‘changes’ has become one of his most widespread songs. In the first few lines he manages to describe thoughts of suicide, wanting to steal because he’s hungry, how when cops kill a black person the cop is considered a “hero” and hints of how drugs and guns thrive among black youth culture because the government is allowing it to happen. He then shows a dash of hope within lyrics like, “I got love for my brother but we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other we gotta start makin’ changes learn to see me as a brother ‘stead of two distant strangers.” He then goes on to describe racism and how it affects black people, as well as rapping, “and although it seems heaven sent we ain’t ready to see a black president.” Lastly, he talks about how there’s a war “in the streets,” “in the middle east” and a “war on drugs,” yet there’s no war on poverty; because of the color of his skin, he has no other choice but to be the stereotypical gangster, always having to watch his back in case someone he wronged in the past decides to get revenge. Essentially, he wants things to change, but he knows they probably won’t, and “that’s just the way it is.”

I'm tired of bein' poor and, even worse, I'm black

My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch

Cops give a damn about a negro

Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero

"Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares?

One less hungry mouth on the welfare!"

First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal to brothers

Give 'em guns, step back, watch 'em kill each other

"It's time to fight back," that's what Huey said

Two shots in the dark, now Huey's dead

I see no changes, all I see is racist faces

Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races

We under, I wonder what it takes to make this

One better place, let's erase the wasted

Take the evil out the people, they'll be actin' right

‘Cause both black and white are smokin' crack tonight

And the only time we chill is when we kill each other

It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other

Another huge rhetical tool I will use is over a Netflix original movie called 13th. 13th is a novel prize winner for several categories. 13th is a 2016 American documentary that explored the intersection of race in American. Why is race such a huge contribution in the way American life is conducted? Justice, mass incarcerations and wrongful punishments have increased the need for more prisoners. 13th is cleverly titled after the thirteenth amendment to the united states of America.  The thirteenth amendment is purely responsible for the freedom of slaves. In the 13^th amendment there is a phrase that has been exploited that any person convicted of crime would be punished. With the exploration of the 13^th amendment African American were turned from indorsed slaves into punishable criminals. 13th takes the viewer though a time laps of history and achievements in Americas history. Breaking down the why the ‘war of drugs’ was created and why words like ‘super-predators’ were acceptable.

DuVernay’s documentary brings some extremely discouraging facts into the argument. Are African Americans criminals? Using the numerical factors of our prison numbers DuVernay persuades the viewer to deeper understand race in America. Stating that the United States may only have five percent of the world’s population, but carries twenty-five percent or one fourth of the world’s prisoners is clearly a problem. This movie clearly explains that the war on crime was actually a war on black parliaments. With mass incarceration, we now have more African Americans under criminal supervision than all the slaves back in 1850’s. There are reports of Nixon’s administrations putting out states such as, “We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black people. But by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt their communities.” (Kevin Gonnon, 13^th). Racism is deeply rooted in the American system. African Americans were never brought to America to be citizens “But if you dismiss black complaints of mistreatment by police as being completely rooted in our modern context, then you’re missing then point completely. There has never been a period in our history where the law and order branch of the state has not operated against the freedoms, the liberties, the options, the choices that have been available to the black community, generally speaking. And to ignore that racial heritage, to ignore that historical context, means that you can’t have an informed debate about the current state of blacks and police relationship today, ‘cause this didn’t just appear out of nothing. This is the product of a centuries-long historical process. And to not reckon with that is to shut off solutions.” (Kevin Gonnon, 13^th).  It is sad to think about but honestly, I believe African Americans will never be treated equally with our White counterparts. With the phrase like ‘super-predators’ still being detrimental to African Americans and a president like Donald Trump we still have a lot of room to make up.  There are great corporations like the Black Lives Matter campaign but with the introduction of All Lives Matter, “to me this is just a protest to a protest” (Keum, 13). We as Americans can not and will not understand the other culture until will find object that connect us as one.

My own personal instances played a huge role in choosing my hoax. I am not a criminal by any means but, because I have been incarcerated I may been seen as that. When I felt it was harder for a young African American boy growing up than my White classmates I knew it was a problem. I want to show you how all of my examples and analysis actually correspond with my own life. I will not lie and try to persuade you my life was extremely hard like the individuals living in Chicago, but the differences I felt when growing up in Macon, Ga. In my high school it was clearly separated and normally dissimilar races did not collide. I felt like the teachers acted different toward us. The White students always made great connections with the teacher and seemed to have friendships. I felt like race didn’t play a part in academics but the overall connection the teachers made with the students. Race also played a part on sports teams. I was never the person to suck up to the coaches, but numerus times I seen other players come up to the coaches with their parents and discuses playing time. I may have my own insecurities about race but I believe everybody has their own insecurities. As human beings we do not have the ability to physical know everything, but with open ideas and arms we can all understand one another.

Perspectives of life are learned from our history, you cannot disciple another culture without truly understand their own. The preamble states “We the people, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America” (Kevin Gonnon, 13^th).  We the people includes everybody not the rich nor the poor. Our founding fathers understood that in order to create a successful atmosphere, we must create justice and domestic tranquility. Now in the year 2017 African Americans have the same equal rights as every race, we must do better as one to become a true united nation. We as the American people have to join forces, to fight racism and create equality; to create a better America.

Works Cited

            DuVernay, Ava. 13th From Slave to Criminal with one Amendment. Barish, Howard. Netflix Original. October 7, 2016

Flemmen, Magne and Mike Savage. "The Politics of Nationalism and White Racism in the UK." British Journal of Sociology, vol. 68, no. Suppl 1, Nov. 2017, pp. S233-S264. EBSCOhost, proxy.kennesaw.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2017-50599-011&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Fleisher, Mark S. Living Black : Social Life in an African American Neighborhood. University of Wisconsin Press, 2015. UPCC Book Collections on Project MUSE. EBSCOhost

Heinrichs, Jay. Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us about the Art of Persuasion. Three Rivers Press, 2017.

Keum, Brian TaeHyuk and Matthew J. Miller. "Racism in Digital Era: Development and Initial Validation of the Perceived Online Racism Scale (PORS V1.0)." Journal of Counseling Psychology, vol. 64, no. 3, Apr. 2017, pp. 310-324. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1037/cou0000205.

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