I had a very challenging debate a few weeks ago about Nipsey Hussle’s impact on his community and on the culture. During this debate, I stated to this young man that by him undermining Nipsey’s achievements, it showed that he did not understand the black culture enough to talk so freely of it. By freely, I mean speaking from a place of being uninformed of what black people have accomplished, the jobs we created for our people, the trends we have started and etc. I didn’t even have a chance to fully explain my point of view to this guy before he referred to the same old narrative that even though he doesn’t look black, he is a part of the culture. And, as much as people may think that the culture is about the way you look, it is not.
CREDIT: CNN.com
This leads me to think about how the black culture is indeed a lifestyle, a way of life, it is your upbringing, the neighborhood you grew up in, it’s the way you dress, your swag, and even the way you greet your friends. The Black Culture can’t be taught, it can’t be given as a life lesson, it can’t be written in a book for others to understand, or study. You’re either born within the culture or you’re not. As a black woman, the black culture has been instilled in my blood before I was even created. My ancestors knew whatever they did whether it will cost them their lives or not, it will be passed down to their descendants for years and decades to come. The Black Culture is our heritage, it is our clothes, our hairstyles, our music, the Hip-Hop culture. Whether it is understood by others, it should be respected by all.
“What if America loved black people as much as they love the black culture?” – Amandla Stenberg
CREDIT: Grammys.com
Growing up black in America is an extreme sport. In my Opinion, Growing up a black woman in America should be a part of the Olympics. We are respected less, paid less, acknowledged last and appreciated the least. It makes you want to cry when you look at the obstacles that you have endured and will continue to endure as long as you shall live. But when you look up at black women who have persevered, it gives you hope. I think everyone is still getting over the high of Beyonce’s latest gift to us, “Beyonce: Homecoming” documentary on Netflix. The blood, sweat, and tears that went into the construction of one of the best performances that Coachella has ever seen. To only be upstaged by the idea that Pop Singer Ariana Grande received $8 Million dollars for her set at Coachella this year, 4 million dollars more than Beyonce, the first African American woman to headline at the music festival. However, flipping a $4 million dollar check from Coachella to a $60 million dollar payout from Netflix is the epitome of black excellence.
CREDIT: medium.com
Our accomplishments as a culture aren’t always acknowledged or appreciated and when it comes down to Nipsey, it took his death for most people to wake up. While talking to this young man about the things Nipsey was working on, his plans to launch STEM programs for inner-city youths, building a working space in the community called Vector90, and a line of The Marathon Clothing stores, barbershops, fish markets, and restaurants, it was clear to me that he was ignorant of Nipsey’s grand plan to restore faith in Crenshaw. It was clear that he didn’t research the importance of Nipsey and what he was able to accomplish before his passing. His bias towards Nipsey’s relevancy to the culture was based on who appeared most on his social media timeline, and unfortunately, that is more common than we really want to admit. By consequently whitewashing Nipsey’s efforts solely on the bases of social media relevancy, he stepped into a position of crossing a line that most foreigners of the culture often find themselves. A line of determining what is and isn’t important to the black culture, speaking on our behalf and making rash judgments based on their limited grasp of what is important to us. It is an insult to what we are and what we’ve built.
It’s been a few weeks since I had this talk with this guy and we still have our moments about what is and isn’t relevant when it comes down to the culture. Although his opinions about Nipsey haven’t changed, it is my responsibility to continue to correct him on my culture each and every time we speak about it. I feel like it is all of our responsibilities to set a barrier on what is and isn’t allowed to be said by other races about our culture. We need to set rules and instill an understanding with them so that this doesn’t continue to be a pressing issue. We must hold others accountable for their lack of knowledge on things and people that they don’t fully understand because if we don’t, they will continue to rewrite our history that best suits them and we owe it to our ancestors to do so.
