“One of the problems with the idea that America needs a 'Conversation On Race' is that it presumes that 'America' has something intelligent to say about race. All you need do is look at how American history is taught in this country to realize that that is basically impossible. ”
—Ta-Nehisi Coates
“The assumption that there is no real difference among black people is exactly what racism is. Our differences, our right to our individuality, is what makes us human. The point of racism is to rob black people of that right. It would be no different than me assuming that Rachel Weisz must necessarily have something to say about black-Jewish relations, or me assuming that Paisley must know something about barbecue because he's Southern. It is no different than the only black kid in class being asked to explain "race" to white people, or asking the same question of the sole black dude in your office. The entire fight is to get white people to respect the fact that Mos Def holding a microphone is not LL Cool J holding a microphone, that Trayvon Martin is not De'Marquise Elkins, that wearing a hoodie and being black does not make you the same as every other person wearing a hoodie and being black. ”
—Ta-Nehisi Coates on why “Accidental Racism” is actually just racist.You know what the most fucked up thing about "Accidental Racist" is?
It’s how fucking one-sided it is
It puts the blame for a white man sporting a Confederate Flag as being racist squarely on the shoulders of black people for perceiving it that way instead of “letting go of history”
instead of actually soul-search (well, we know white people don’t have souls, but whatevs) and choosing to relinquish imagery that everyone has a god damn right to judge someone for rocking.
Even worse is LL Cool J’s coonery on that track.
We, as black people, don’t need to apologize for gold chains, du-rags or saggy pants - white people were the ones who arbitrarily decided that shit was bad as a way to demonize. White people are the ones who created a cultural climate where a god damn fucking teenager wearing a hoodie gets hunted down like a dog in the night and fucking MURDERED.
You know who decided the confederate flag was a bad thing? Fucking white people when they decided to fly that shit as they demanded their right to keep slaves. Fucking history teaches us to abhor those symbols.
