Joyner Lucas: I’m Not Racist

It is not hard to see or feel the political and racial divide that has spread throughout this country. Once President Barack Obama became the first African American President of the United States, our history shifted. Many people who had hope for so long may have gain a real reason to believe in American again, and many lost their faith in the country that they loved.

Going from the first African American President to President Donald Trump must have been the most shock our nation has been through politically in my generation. Last year, as a freshman at Hofstra University, my university was having its 4th consecutive time hosting the presidential debate. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were on my campus. I did not end up in the same room as them. Instead I decided to protest with the Black Student Union. Others and I believed that since there would be so much press and commotion, that this is an opportunity to get our voices heard on an issue that affects us all.

This is a war that man has created, as if any other war is different. The casualties are horrendous. There have been too many people losing loved ones, too many tears shed, too many cries heard over this war. Yet, people still muster the courage so effortlessly to not so empathy to one another at such a time with so much tension and atrocities. Racism is the longest war we have had.

That is what it is all about. Being heard. However, everyone falls under their own ignorance. Not only do people want to be heard, they want to be right. I never took the time to truly hear someone’s side. Everyone is guilty at some point to just get riled up and ready to be on the front line of this battle among the races instead of hearing people out. It is frustrating and heartbreaking.

I’m Not Racist by Joyner Lucas was the 6th video trending on YouTube. Having 1.1 million views in just one day. I see how Joyner did something here, which is why it became viral so quickly. Depicting sides of a battle that have been represented through many media platforms to be pinned up against each other and never reaching a middle ground or any kind of understanding. I am not going to lie, I had to pause the video a couple of time just to get myself together as the first 1^st verse was playing. Watching a white man with a red “Make America Great Again” cap yelling in the face of a black man that he knows nothing about, rapping “With all due respect, I don’t have sympathy for you niggas. That’s just how I feel”.

This line made me feel and realize two things. Racism will never die. If the divide of races exists, and we continue to acknowledge each other as someone different from us, due to where they came from or the way they look, racism will always exist. The second this is that, racism will always be a feeling. A racist can never truly explain how or why they hate someone who is outside of their “race” or acts like they are not a part of their “race” because that’s just the way they feel. Love is the same is hate. Both strong feeling that are difficult to explain.

This argument between a Trump supporter and a Black man, broke down what they are both feel is unjust. At the end of the day, we all just want to be respected. We all want to be treated as if our live is valuable just as much as the next person. Until that happens, grievances will still be heard and demonstrated by the oppressed. Each side in the video had the chance to get what was on their chest out. Through to the end, a viewer could get a lot of watching this video.

It showed the flaws within both sides. How the movements that we all believe in and stand for has no real urgency. Although I participated in a Black Lives Matter protest, I know that police affect me indirectly and that our protest did not have a strong sense of urgency like other historical political movements. It is just sad at the end of the day how this video can resonate with someone from either side. It’s so relevant to our time. However, this issue is not new. I do not think it should be expected of a black person to understand the oppressor’s feelings or grievances how the way black people live or act. But I hope that one day, one should not have to explain the injustice they face in the world due to the skin of their color or their political affiliations or whatever you believe in.

The direction at the end shows the disconnect between the cultures shown in the video beginning to soften, and one can begin to see understanding form. I do not think peace will come anytime soon, but it is nice to see that contemporary artist speaking on issues such as this.

To check it out, Click here to watch

Click here for the lyrics