Author: Camryn

These past couple weeks, Kanye West has been doing and saying some off the wall things regarding the black community. Many people feel that Kanye’s comments may have put him in the position to be one of Donald Trump’s biggest supporters. In an interview with TMZ, Kanye West stated “When you hear about slavery for 400 years… for 400 years? That sounds like a choice.” How would you feel if you were interviewing a celebrity and that statement was said? As a black man, I would feel very disrespected considering he’s a black man himself. Kanye has been on an outrage these past couple of weeks and it’s ridiculous. I think just because people just brush things off in this generation, it’ll blow over their heads and continue to listen to the music he makes. Some people may believe he’s in the “Sunken place”, which is not necessarily real. However, this isn’t the Kanye West people have known before dating Kim Kardashian.

 

 

 

Citation :

“Will.i.am Leads Kanye West Backlash over ‘Ignorant’ Slavery Remarks.” BBC News, BBC, 2 May 2018, www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-43973090.

Today was the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. People around the country were honoring what he’s done for the United States and the black community.

Today, there was an email sent out at around 4:40 PM stating that there would be a gathering in honor of remembering MLK at 7:00 PM. If diversity is so important to the college, why were students just now hearing about this event at 4:40 PM, the day of ? I would like to point out the black community as well for always talking about how we (black students and Wooster at large) have to stick together, but as I walked up to the event, there were about 12 people there and only 4 were black. I think it’s a shame for the community and college to contradict themselves on what their values are and what actions are actually being taken to accommodate those values.

During the time Kathleen Cleaver came to talk to us about the Black Panther movement, she mentioned a lot of different people who had a great impact at the time of the movement. She talked about Aldridge Cleaver, who was one of the leaders, her husband and the father of her children. She included Bobby Hutton who was also one of the first men to be recruited into the movement. When describing Bobby, she talked about how quiet he was and that he didn’t want the things he did to be publicized for the media to be asking him too many questions. Ms. Cleaver included some stories involving shootouts between members and the police, how people would tell on the group members that were hiding, and also the role different women had in the group.

After hearing these stories, it surprised me that she still remembered everything just like it was yesterday. After a while, someone asked her how she felt about “The New Black Panther” and she they were illegitimate. She said that with power, because she believed they were just copying the name but wasn’t doing the things The Original Black Panther was doing for the black community. Overall, it was a good discussion and I would recommend her to comeback and speak again.

When I watched Traces of the Trade, it really intrigued me. The documentary introduced us to a narrative of a white family (the DeWolfes) wanting to acknowledge and learn of their legacy throughout the slave trade. It was interesting to see people who wanted to know about slavery and where their name came from, but who also shied away from difficult conversations and settings at times. Another part that really stood out to me was when they were discussing the role of higher education in their lives. Most of them went to Ivy League Colleges mainly as a result of their family ties. The beginning of the conversation gave off a vibe of entitlement however I agree with the family member who brought up the idea that they were handed the opportunities based on privilege. I think that overall, this documentary showed the importance of whites owning their role in American history and also owning their privilege in present contexts.