Analysis Of The Poem ' The Blacker The Berry ' By Kendrick Lamar

W.E.B. Du Bois has contributed greatly to contemporary sociological thinking because he began a conversation of what it means to be “other” in this American Society. In his conversation of what it means to be other he constructed and included three major concepts that continue to resonate till this day. His concepts include “the color-line”, “the veil”, and the “double consciousness” (Appelrouth and Edles, 269). Together, these concepts not only described past experiences of blacks in American society (e.g., slavery) but also continue to remind us that the relation of whites and people of color remains complex. In Du Bois’s own words, “the Nation has not yet found peace from its sins” (273).

American Writer James McBride, who wrote the essay "Hip Hop Planet", spent most of his life disliking the culture of hip hop, but after some research and personal experience, he had a change of heart. The purpose of his essay is to shine a positive light on hip hop culture and move his audience-- people who think it is all bad-- to have a change of heart like him, and to achieve his purpose, he uses rhetorical strategies including appeals, specific diction, and meticulous sentence structure.

As the title of the paper suggests, I chose Kendrick Lamar’s song “Blacker the Berry” off the To Pimp A Butterfly album. When selecting a song, I actually took to Twitter to ask my followers what song I should write about. I personally do not listen to Kendrick Lamar so I decided to ask people who enjoy his music to recommend songs that an analysis should be written over. Several people mentioned “Blacker The Berry”. Although I did not hear the many rhymes and metaphors at first, after reading the lyrics along with listening to the song I was quick to realize how creative, witty and almost unintentional the rapping’s of Kendrick Lamar are. Another reason I decided on this song is because he raps about current violence of high profile crimes

Racism has always been a big topic in society, even during Jesus Christ time. I believe racism comes from independent thinking and views and how this view from family, friends and society forms us each day. Racism has to do a lot with social status, money, power, looks, sex and much more. Coming from a third world country I can really see the major differences of racism how they vary by culture and education. My experience in the United States as a young boy has formed my racism definition and view of society in general. One of the biggest influences in my life is my father name Evaristo Navarro in terms of racism, he came from an era where marrying a

     I believe racism to be as apparent today if not more profound then in the past. A large portion of society believes that no man is still to this day denied any unalienable rights. I do not believe this statement to be true. We have adopted affirmative action programs and enforced strict equal opportunity employment laws to hinder discrimination. Although I believe it is still a very prevalent issue in today’s society. Despite laws, investigations and results show that twenty percent of African Americans interviewing for jobs were turned down due to the color of their skin (Omi and Winant 67-68). Indeed racism may be very subtle in most cases; it is not a thing of the past but rather a very serious problem in society that evolves

The history of the United States in regard to racism and discrimination is no secret. Children are taught about segregation, slavery, and the Civil Rights Movement like the events were purely in the past. In part the events were in the past; however, the results of said events are not. As Americans, we live in a nation with a rough history and, in order to keep growing together, we cannot forget what has happened. Granted, racism is not extinct, but it is most definitely not the norm it was 50 years ago. Many people are not aware of how much racism still exists in our schools, workforces, and anywhere else where social lives are occurring. According to Derrick Bell’s book, Faces at the Bottom of the Well, Bell uses fiction stories to show that racism still exist but has a different form. In American society, racism is still evident today in racial symbols, covert racism and affirmative action.

Racism has been a huge social issue for as long as I can remember. Not only does racism exists between whites and African Americans it exists between all different races all over the world. Although racism has changed a lot it still exists in many places all over the world. You would think that after so many years that people would learn that everyone is equal but some races still seem to think that they are superior to other races.

It has become common to live in an environment where people think white people are superior to people of color, or that there is only privilege for whites. Other factors that are causes to racism are, peer pressure, upbringing, stereotypes, personal experiences, and unfamiliarity. Many of these examples occur when we live a system that is constructed in a way that supports these beliefs. As far as institutional and individual racism, there is demographic data that explains the division society along the lines of white and people of color (Pearson, 53). In todays society we see many people being discriminated due to these factors, leading to poverty, poverty programs, and income maintenance (Pearson, 88). It is vey common in our society to be structured to follow institutional racism. Without personally having power or being culturally aware that they have power or that they are in a situation of privilege. The result in today society based on racism in America, most Americans naturally

Although racism has changed over time these past 50 years, racism in many ways still exists. Everybody has their own opinion and those opinions are influenced by the public and the media. In some way,

She says’’stuff that, me as a person could never even fathom’’. She says’’ I can’t even think of these words that people are saying about me. She said my mom is a beautiful black woman and her dad is a amazing white man. They said tamera sister tia’s a true black woman because she married a black man.

Humans have come a long way in terms of racism. We want to live in an era where discrimination and racism was a very common thing. The big question I will however pose is, is it not still a big and common thing? Racism a great amount of violence. Romberg the holocaust? The group that wiped out nearly 6 million people? All of this chaos created by one single racist mind. Racism is not always about violence. Racism is discriminating against someone because of either their religion, skin color, or their features. But out of all this hatred, came some inspiration, from Martin Luther King jr., Barack Obama to Collin Kaepernick.

These people are correct in a sense; loud and public acts of racism are no longer prevalent in the US as they were in the past. However, today racism is stealthy and unspoken, and often deftly covered up with fabricated cover stories to legitimize the discrimination. This new breed of racism is perhaps even more difficult to fight against than its more egregious past self; its subtlety allows its perpetuators to claim ignorance of any discrimination, and its lack of media attention lulls Americans into complacence and acceptance of the current system. Further disturbing is the prevalence of “covert racism”, also commonly called “subconscious racism”. Many white Americans may actively stereotype and discriminate against blacks without even being aware of their actions and thought processes (BlackYouthProject). This phenomenon is a sad consequence of being raised a subtly racist society which perpetuates discrimination, even if never openly. Many subconscious racists may also be unwittingly subscribing to “symbolic racism”. In J.H. Moore’s book Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, Henry Sears characterizes symbolic racism as the endorsement of four specific beliefs:

Racism has occurred for many years and in many different societies. Some people choose to remain oblivious to it all while others choose to take a stand either for it or against it. Racism is a big

Hill’s first solo album “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill” is a perfect example of how Lauryn uses her musical ability to express her feelings on the problems of society. “Black female rage has never sounded as good as it does on Hill’s debut solo release”(Samuels, Allison “Ms. Hill Gives a Lesson). Lauryn gives listeners the inside look at a black woman who feels used and abused. The solo album was both written and produced by Hill herself, she expresses some of the tensions and pain she had previously suffered in her life with intentions to open the eyes of fans to problems of society that aren't focused on as much as they should be for example, men who iniquitously treat the women in their lives and the impact money can have in any situation. Hill opens her heart with divine outcome, every track on the album overflows with passion and intensity. Lauryn conveys a multitude of exemplary lessons through her lyrics that just about anyone could take into mind. One of many of those lessons include treating others the way you would want to be treated, a universal law stressed all throughout the album. It makes one self-examine the cause and effect of life choices. She helps to teach listeners to be themselves and to dig deep and to sustain one’s spiritual and emotional well-being. Additionally, Hill instructs fans to never sell their souls in this modern era that is so filled with materialism, sexism

“The Blacker the Berry” by Kendrick Lamar was released February 9th, 2015. This incredibly racially motivated song has created controversy throughout America because it tackles racism, hypocrisy, and hatred head on. Although Stephen Best argues that the past defines the present without question, and Hartman believes that many important African American stories have been silenced due to lack of evidence, Kendrick Lamar’s song “The Blacker the Berry” complicates and adds to their arguments by introducing a certain level of hypocrisy that forces the listener to understand a much more complicated moral position than is generally allowed, perhaps an inevitable one.