-
Black History Month 2010, Part IV - Old School - New Rap
February 23, 2010
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. Celebrating Black History Month
-
As we wrap up our four-week series on Black History Month 2010, we look at old school from back in the day, coupled with new rap, for the new decade. While we find ourselves in a society in which race doesn't hold us back as much as it once did, we are still not free. Things are still not equal by a long shot. In many areas, such as access to loans, health care and even the amount of face time African-American candidates get in the media, the racial fault lines determine that blacks are still treated less favorably than non-blacks, regardless of income or social class. We continue to struggle for the same basic rights as other minorities. Policies seem to follow the rhetoric.
Looking Ahead
Vision is being able to use rhetoric to turn promise into practice. Today, we're seeing what is possible for tomorrow and knowing what needs to be done to make it a reality. To do that we need leaders who understand not that seeing is believing, but that the believing is seeing. As we look forward we want to make certain that we haven't forgotten the past and those whose visions and struggles allowed many of us to survive. They took their time and persevered. They gave us reason for hope. They struggled, often without even the most basic tools that most of us take for granted. As we celebrate Black History Month 2010, we must not rush on and forget about them. They survived time.
While we as African-Americans may remain an underrepresented segment within the mainstream, Urban radio and its music are still very influential. Despite increasing competition from other media forms, they are still meaningful. There are always some who are out front. Radio stations have become leaders in many cities and hopefully, there will be even more as markets with smaller minority populations discover the influence our stations still have in our communities and what this influence can mean in the upcoming elections. All of this serves to prove that we really don't need quotas to succeed, just opportunity.
Vision & Investment
There are still opportunities for us to refinance the future and redistribute the wealth and the knowledge. But the only way for us to do this is through change --change in attitude and change in responsibility. We as African-American communicators must become more aware and more committed to the use of our skills and talents for a purpose greater than ourselves. We must be ready and willing to take full advantage of some earlier lessons learned in the '90s. We must develop an ear of responsibility -- one that owes a great deal to the lessons learned in the era of excess.
The past decade produced uneven black economic development, but also provided several lessons. For one thing, human capital investment pays off in higher earnings. And second, income and employment gains alone do not produce economic equality. And even in a crucial and divided economy, we are all connected.
When we forget that we are all connected, we are capable of the unspeakable. Now would be a good time to wake up to our connections. If you need proof that we are all connected, look into your own heart.
Keep In Mind
In order to survive a divided nation and turbulent times, we must remember the message and the messengers. We are moving forward, but we are still behind. We need to set innovative strategies, build powerful teams and get results sooner than later. By doing that, we can make this chapter of our lives and careers a defining moment.
Stay On Top Of Things
So it's really a combination of old school and new rap that is going to bring about more defining moments. Both are important. For those of us in radio, we are the new messengers and we need defining moments. In many ways, although the method of communicating the message has changed, the obligation and the results are the same.
The Story Continues
We have come a long way from the message drums of yesterday to the digital, high-tech sounds of today. It's a new school, but an old rap. History shows black music has always has a message. Back in the day, the drums and chants sent a message about a path to freedom. They promised hope and told a story about a future with no limits and a past that made it all possible. It made the toil a little easier to bear back then and it still does today.
Word.
-
-