[Blackwatch]

I could understand if there wasn't a history of whites portraying blacks in "entertainment" as being backwards, ignorant, lazy, undisciplined, sex-hounds, but there is a long history of this, called minstrelsy. Whites had minstrel shows in the 1800's to entertain themselves with the notion that there was always black people around to remind them of their superiority(thus the negative imagery in the shows). Whenever I see blacks in the media portrayed in such ways (minsrtelly) I always remember the purpose of this "entertainment" and also the audience of the entertainment (remember, some sources estimate that up to 80% of rap music is purchased by whites). And the music they are purchasing ain't talking about black empowerment, but "watermelon, chicken, and grits". Another problem with the notion of "it's just music" is that our children get their cultural identity from the media. We can blame the lack of community and parenting for this, but the fact still remains that our children are being heavily influenced culturally by the images in this "entertainment". I'm in graduate school in a small college town in the Midwest and everytime I talk to the young black boys here all they talk about is hustling and "bling blingin'" because that's what they think life is really all about. Is this the rapper's fault? Probably not, but if you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. And I know that this type of rap music is not part of the solution. Just my opinion.
Blackwatch!!!!!