"AND I'M BLACK, Y'ALL!"

My syllabus explores the history of the black revolution, through the sound of music. It is the soundtrack I want to believe the many black men and black women had played in their background as they walked through the valley of death, fear, despair, and hate to knock down the white gates that blocked their freedom. The freedom to be. To be a doctor, lawyer, real estate agent, to be anything.

I believe this song by Piff Marti & Canis Major called Black Hair perfectly represents the Body & aesthetics discussion in class, as the song black hair talks about the pressures that society puts on black women to conform. It's a song that talks of embracing black women's hair in whatever state SHE chooses to wear it.

Hey Ya! is a highly-rated song known as a magnum opus because of its oxymoron undertone. The song talks about people who stay in marriages/relationships longer than they have to because of societal and family pressures but hearing the upbeat happy song and seeing the people dancing in the music video in colorful clothing; you would've never have thought that's what the song is about. It's sneaky and conniving which is why this song fits the best. the "New Jim Crow" is an oxymoron in itself as the new Jim Crow is the same stuff but with a wall in front of it. The mass incarceration of the black man was not anything new it was the cycle repeating itself. starti ng from the plantation then once that became "illegal" they turned to the jails.

Time's a Wastin is about a man who lives in a world with constant reminders that it doesn't love him and will be even harsher if he doesn't have a life plan. the fact of blackness discussion; the title alone, is fitting for this issue because we talked about racism and colonialism, which is what this song is about. Black people aren't allowed to just "be" themselves. You must do something that is acceptable to white society in every regard; work, clothes, hair, language, etc.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. BLM, started by black people, of course, is a beacon for other black people who have faced racism, discrimination, and biases. They've helped the black community in too many ways to count. A Superman to the people, if you will. I like to think of this as their theme song.

President Obama. A gleaming, shining, beacon of light that says to black people; this is the change you've been fighting for. The poster man for hope and success for all black people around which is what this song amplifies. "The spark that makes the idea bright" - Asheru

Sports in the black community are often known as the "only way out." This song not only talks about how to make money but also how to make generational wealth. Flexing on Instagram but not having your own place is not a flex. Jay Z talks about thinking bigger. Uplifting the community to higher standards than just being "hood rich". Thinking about owning the store or the land that it sits on as opposed to working for the store.

In his speech, Martin Luther King Jr. fought for the idea that things would turn out okay if we just kept marching. That is why I think this song by Sam Cooke is perfect, as it talks about a change that's gonna come if we keep fighting.

In class, we discussed Black Power revolution and the people who led it, one of them being the influential Malcolm X. He encouraged black people to fight back by "message the grassroots" meaning take control of your future which is what Erykah Badu's song ''Soldier" emphasizes with lines like "don't stop till you change dey mind" and "we gon' keep marchin' on till we hear that freedom song".

In class, we discussed black art and how the image of black people has always been distorted and racist, always making us the butt of the joke. Europeans always seeing black people as less than and something to be tamed. The song No Love by Erykah Badu is about a woman who is questioning a man she loves how he can make love to her when he doesn't even truly love her for her. I feel this song represents the bigger picture in racism as how can we truly make steps to come together when europeans aren't working together because they "love us" but because they're trying to get something from us/using us. for example; not "freeing us" because they feel it is wrong, but because they want more money.

As black people, we often talk about the miseducation that happens in schools. We don't get taught African American history in school; ironic. But while I do believe that the American school systems not teaching young black children their history, I'm also on the side of creating our schools so we won't have to worry about that happening to us. Begging for people to treat us right in their "territory" is ludicrous. The song HiiiPower talks about getting it on our own which i think emobides the topic of my points in MisEducation.