A Seven Part Series from decARcerate
Hip Hop and Policing
Todd J. Clark
We Gon’ Be Alright
Negro spirituals were a motivating and unifying force in inspiring black slaves to fight against the evils of slavery. Derived from African melodies and Christian hymns, negro spirituals provided slaves with an oral mechanism for highlighting the struggle, brutality, sorrow and pain of slavery. Instead of merely highlighting the negative circumstance of slavery, negro spirituals focused on perpetuating a message of survival and that faith in God would overcome their circumstances. At their core, negro spirituals reaffirmed the resiliency of black people and through faith, that they would be “alright.”
Approximately, two hundred years later, the times have changed, but the importance of a similar message in the black community is the same. It was once the white slave masters that obviated the need for negro spirituals, today, a similar message is needed to remind blacks that we shall also prevail against police brutality and a criminal justice system that disproportionately incarcerates and arrests blacks. Hip hop music now occupies the same space that negro spirituals once held and the importance of hip hop music has been obviated through the energy it has generated in fueling the Black Lives Matter (“BLM”) Movement and its efforts to reform America’s criminal justice system.
We Gon’ Be Alright!
Much like the old negro spirituals, Kendrick Lamar’s song entitled “Alright,” from his critically acclaimed album, “To Pimp A Butterfly,” has served as a catalyzing force in continuing to reaffirm that better days are ahead and more importantly, that police brutality must end.
“Four hundred years ago, as slaves, we prayed and sung joyful songs to keep our heads level-headed with what was going on . . . .” “Four hundred years later, we still need that music to heal. And I think that 'Alright' is definitely one of those records that makes you feel good no matter what the times are.”
According to Miles Marshall Lewis, author of the book Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power and Poetry of Kendrick Lamar, Kendrick Lamar was inspired to write "Alright" during a trip he took to South Africa after visiting Robben Island, the location where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. According to Kendrick, his visit to Africa reminded him about the history of chattel slavery in America. While Kendrick never anticipated the impact that “Alright” would have in motivating a movement for black equality, he knew that the impetus for the song was rooted in a history of resilience. A history that reaffirms that blacks will be “alright” through their fight and faith.
Alls my life I has to fight, n*gga
Alls my life I
Hard times like, yah!
Bad trips like, yah!
Nazareth, I'm fucked up
Homie, you fucked up
But if God got us then we gon' be alright
According to most activists, the power of the song Alright was first appreciated during the summer of 2015, when black activists and organizers from across the country gathered on the campus of Cleveland State University for a three day conference called the “Movement for Black Lives” to discuss best practices and to develop a future plan to combat a criminal justice system that unfairly punishes blacks. During one of the conference breaks, someone played “Alright” and the entire auditorium erupted chanting “We Gon’ Be Alright!” It was at the moment that “Alright” assumed its status as an anthem for the BLM Movement.
But at the same time “Alright” was inspiring a peaceful movement for criminal justice reform, republican legislators were mobilizing against the movement through two concerted efforts. First, these legislators operated to enact legislation to stifle the movement by criminalizing protest activity. According to the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law, at the apex of this past summer’s BLM Movement, eight states passed laws cracking down on protest activity while at least 21 other states have similar bills pending. In light of these efforts, the Black Lives Matter movement will be “Alright” and will continue to inspire change and promote equality.
This is so because the song “Alright” as well as the BLM Movement are not about creating anarchy, but instead ensuring an equal application of the law. Carrie Boyd, policy counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund echoed this sentiment and expressed concern about these bills and the high probability that they will be applied and enforced discriminately. “We know from existing data on arrests and convictions, [that] folks in the Black community, in particular, are over-incarcerated and overcharged.” In specifically referencing one such bill that was passed in Florida she stated that “This bill, in our minds, is deliberately broad to cast a wide net and, frankly, to round up folks.”
The second effort against the BLM movement occurred as a blatant attack on teaching critical race theory (“CRT”). After realizing the success and impact of the BLM movement as a means of forcing institutional change and accountability, Republican leaders acted swiftly to tamp it down. Specifically, republican legislators in at least 28 states proposed legislation that would ban teaching CRT in educational settings. Interestingly, many of the legislators that support such legislation have no idea what CRT means or encompasses. For example, Alabama State Representative, Chris Pringle, ignorantly and incorrectly told Alabama Media Group columnist Kyle Whitmire that CRT “teaches that certain children are inherently bad people because of the color of their skin, period.” This is NOT what CRT teaches. Instead, CRT challenges people to think critically about why racial stratification exists in America and forces a practical discussion about the reality that white privilege continues to provide a set of invisible benefits to white people that everyone else can observe yet, the beneficiaries of this privilege cannot.
As further evidence of his ignorance, Pringle also claimed that people who didn’t “buy into” critical race theory are being sent to government “reeducation camps.” When Whitmire asked for evidence, Pringle cited an unspecified report he read and remarked that it did not “say who it was, it just says a government that held these — these training sessions” then claimed he couldn’t find the link. We also see the same attack at the federal level. More recently, senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) introduced “The Protect Equality and Civics Education Act,” which seeks to ban federal funding for teaching CRT.
In support of the legislation, Senator Rubio specifically remarked that “The story of our nation is under attack as the radical left continues to attempt to rewrite American history and categorize our citizens into an oppressor and oppressed class.”
While CRT has been around for decades, and for the majority of its history was largely dismissed by white scholars and politicians, its role in successfully inspiring the ethos of the BLM Movement at reminding its leaders that discrimination is deeply rooted in America has placed it under attack. Racism is no longer as overt as it was in the past and as a result, we need to think deeper and more critically about its continued impact. CRT provides the necessary framework to help deconstruct it.
At its core, legislation against CRT, especially given the current success of the BLM movement, is a direct effort to deprive people of the ability to see that many aspects of America’s racist past still remain in both our criminal justice and economic systems.
The frustration from some republican representatives is that CRT posits that many of their success are due to white privilege and not their own work ethic. The fact that CRT has now moved main stream is proof that its message is viable, accurate, true and more importantly, that “We Gon’ Be Alright!”
Wouldn’t you know
We been hurt, been down before
N*gga, when our pride was low
Lookin’ at the world like, "Where do we go?"
N*gga, and we hate po-po
Wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho’
N*gga, I'm at the preacher’s door
My knees gettin’ weak, and my gun might blow
But we gon’ be alright
In light of these efforts, "We Gon' Be Alright" BECAUSE:
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There are a cadre of professors, like the contributors to this Bag of Snakes forum, who have been inspired by the BLM movement and CRT to continue to fight.
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There are students and activists that will continue to mobilize the message of change.
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There are enough people that are tired of the privilege that exists in America.
And more importantly, there is a faith in GOD that "We Gon' Be ALRIGHT!!!
Killer Mike
Lil Baby
KRS-One
N.W.A.
Anderson .Paak
Meek Mill
