In light of their
dark past, African-Americans, the offspring of the slaves, are honored the
entire month of February to celebrate their Black Heritage. Black History month
traditionally, is considered a time to resurrect the revolution, crank up the
old Underground Railroad and march for freedom down memory lane, remembering
ancestral martyrs who shed blood so that the legacy could be long lasting.
However, lack of
attendance and participants to Black History Month events concludes that Black
History is irrelevant to the interest of its very own children. “They don’t
think it’s relevant. Maybe the history is not being passed down at home, or they
didn’t learn about it in high school, or maybe were not doing a good job at
teaching it, I don’ t know what it is, but I’m not willing to give up. It’s
necessary to remember our history,” Pradell Frank, chairman of the Black
Heritage month committee at Miami Dade College Wolfson campus.
http://hw-mobile.worldstarhiphop.com/u/vid/2014/01/10/Sequencefiinakwygdueydtwgdwuey6tgydedewdewdew1_mobile.mp4?ri=512000&rs=850
A race which has
once undergone educational restrictions (Brown vs.
Board of Education), now face educational resistance at MDC and abroad. “I do
not like going to those events because black people don’t know how to act”
anonymous MDC black female student says.
Has the revolution resigned? Did Civil rights stop movement? Is Black History alive or is it hibernating in Hip-Hop?
http://hw-mobile.worldstarhiphop.com/u/vid/2014/01/10/Sequencefiinakwygdueydtwgdwuey6tgydedewdewdew1_mobile.mp4?ri=512000&rs=850Has the revolution resigned? Did Civil rights stop movement? Is Black History alive or is it hibernating in Hip-Hop?
A calendar was published on the MDC website detailing the itinerary of activities scheduled at the various campuses. Spoken Word Poetry, Jazz, Blues and Gospel concerts, discussions and films were a few of the many opportunities available for engagement. Problem is performers and panelists often go before an audience absent of African-Americans.
“I was disappointed more than anything. Seven out
of seventeen audience members were Black and I was the only Black male,” David
“King” Cain Radio Personality at Excitementradio.com and host of the Jazz and
Poetry Café held Feb. 13, 2014 at MDC Medical Campus says.
Similar scenes of
scanty turnouts were observed at MDC Wolfson campus Spoken Word café February.
5, 2014. Devon Dassaw, New World School of the Performing Arts Theatre Alumni,
struggled to inspire a handful of spectators to step onstage and “speak from
the heart.” A silent response of reluctance and blank stares led Dassaw to
randomly select 3 out of the 7 audience members, forcibly putting them onstage
by sticking the microphone in their hands and ushering them onto the platform.
Accusations
circulate in several directions searching for someone to blame for these poor
attended events. Some suppose there is insufficiency within the Black History
committee while others suppose it’s the students’ lack of interest in history
versus Hip-Hop culture. “It seemed to be a lack of promotion and
disorganization as if it was a last minute attempt to throw something
together,” Cain says.
Frank explains
that budget planning begins as early as October in preparation for February’s
festivities. The African American mindset is accused of being so blinded that
they are not able to relate with their ethnic prefix which gives hint of their
place of descent. “That’s not me, my
parents didn’t sit in the back of the bus neither did I so why do I have to
learn about it?” Franks view of the Afro-American mindset in regards to their
Black History. “If you’re going to consider yourself an educated person, you
have to know where you come from,” Frank says.
Although some
events were more attended than others, Frank believes that the trick to drawing
a crowd was highly contributed to encouraging professors to invite their
students to the events for a grade. The Wolfson Gospel Ensemble was promoted in
this manner and as a result, 175 people were in attendance on February. 25,
2014 at MDC Wolfson campus.
Frank also
believes that giving the people what they want is the best way to draw them
out. In comparison to the educational content events, the music and concert
events were much, more, well attended. Speculation regarding the IQ of
African-American youth and their lack of knowledge of Blacks in History versus
Blacks in Hip-Hop, leaves one wondering what impact does Hip-Hop have on black
history?
Rap music has roots that trace back to the
civil rights movement when artists such as 2Pac, Public Enemy, Russell Simmons
and Afrika Bambaataa (to name a few), used Rap Music to broadcast messages of
social injustice within the African-American community. Frank, a Hip-Hop fan
since the late 80’s, says “Hip-Hop is a part of black culture, it is a part of
the African-American experience; it used to be revolutionary music.”
Becky Blanchard
reports in her article The Social Significance of Rap &Hip-Hop Culture,
that ‘Rappers are viewed as the voice of African-American youth, whose lives
are dismissed and misrepresented by the mainstream media.’ Blanchard further explains that
commodification of Hip-Hop music has steered its listeners away from its
heritage of politically charged conscious awakenings and has sold it back in
the form of violence, black on black crime in particular.
“We
[African-Americans] were a product of what hate produced. We were taught to
hate ourselves, so a lot of [intraracial conflict] is breemed off of
ignorance,” Rapper Chuck D says.
Hip-Hop music dictates the decisions of its listeners (African-American youth in particular) instructing how to dress, how to make money, who to vote for, and many other things. Organizing for Action reported that the seven-time Grammy award winning recording artist Jay-Z and Multi-Platinum recording artist Wyclef Jean performed at the “Last Chance for Change,” a voter registration rally and concert at Miami’s Bayfront park and Amphitheater to encourage young people to get involved in making history by electing Barack Obama.
More recently, Jay-Z signed a deal with Barneys (a high end fashion retailer) NYC to display his collection and as a result a black college student Trayon Christian was jailed under suspicion of fraud after making a legitimate purchase; shopping while Black.
“In the past we used to have Showtime at Wolfson an open mic format whereby students were self- motivated to step onstage and share their talents (mostly Rappers),” Frank. Frank vows to use Hip-Hop as a means to draw crowds in the future, but not just for entertainment, but for edutainment. Combining educational content with music and talent, Frank invites students to join forces with the Black History Committee and bring ideas that will keep the attention of the students and increase attendance to Black History events in the future.
“A history unlearned, is a future doomed to repeat itself,” Philip Lane Basic Reporting Professor Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus says.
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