Links: Prejudice, Segregation & Discrimination

A healthy collection of opinions

by j. brotherlove

There are times when it’s best for people within the same group (race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) to interact solely amongst themselves. With predispositions for our own groups, we often self-segregate and group others based on our prejudices. Yet, as the world continues to shrink, we are discovering more situations where we have to interact with people who look, act or believe differently.

With these changes in mind, when does institutionalized or self segregation start working against us? How do we grow if we only socialize or exchange ideas amongst our peers? What does one do when they cease to share the ideals of their group? Why am I asking so many questions in one paragraph?

Let’s consult some links.

Thomas Chatterton Williams: Black culture beyond hip-hop

Over the past three decades black culture has grown so conflated with hip-hop culture that for most Americans under the age of 45, hip-hop culture is black culture. Except that it’s not.

Karamo via About.com’s Gay Life:

The one thing that does bother me about gay prides is how segregated they are. I have hosted and attended Black Prides, Latino Prides, Asian Prides and of course White Prides and I hate the fact that you only see a sprinkle of other races mixed in with the majority race. It really gets under my skin, because how are we going to inspire the rest of the country to jump on the gay equality band wagon if we as a gay community are not even on the same band wagon?

A Reluctant Fraternity, Thinking Post-Black (NYT subscription)

[Los Angeles art dealer Steve] Turner […] expressed particular enthusiasm for “this new group of African-American artists in L.A.”

That is, if they even qualify as a group. This can be a prickly issue, as a sign of success for almost any artist today is to be appreciated as an individual rather than as part of some larger demographic. The issue can be especially loaded for black artists, who have historically been shortchanged and undervalued by being lumped together under “African-American” or “Negro” labels.

N.J. becomes 9th state to ban transgender discrimination

Advocates hope the new law will lead to more acceptance and awareness of people who are born one gender but live as the opposite gender. Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center of Transgender Equality in Washington, said she expects more states to follow, including a handful in 2007 and 2008.

Campus Diversity and Student Self-Segregation

While there are situations in which college students may cluster in racial/ethnic groups, research suggests that there is a high degree of intergroup contact on college campuses and that self-segregation by race/ethnicity is not a dominant feature on diverse college campuses today.

The Big Gay Essay

Many homosexual people also consider themselves to be gay. “Gay” is not a sexual orientation. “Gay” is a lifestyle and a collection of cultural, social, and political values that some homosexuals (and no doubt some non-homosexuals) share, most of which are not inherently related to sexual orientation. The fact that I have sex with members of my same sex does not mean that I am predisposed toward any certain set of non-sexual behaviors.

Hat tips: Nova + George

Okay, I am so over blaming hip-hop (Thomas Chatterton Williams: Black culture beyond hip-hop) for the ills of black people.

I’m going to refrain from writing a dang essay on the topic, but COME ON. There has always been a current of class and racial identity among black people.

“Cultivation” as Williams calls it could also be known as “snobbery” on the part of upper-middle class blacks. Adopting the ways of white folks has for most of our history in this land been synonymous with black achievement. Check almost any black hair care ad from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and you’ll see references to “refinement” that are linked very closely with “whiteness” and aspirations of being more like “Miss Anne.” Hell, even Howard University started off teaching the finest in European history and Victorian manners.

And while middle-class Asian kids may not feel pressure to act like gangsters, the term “banana” — yellow on the outside, white on the inside — functions in the exact same way as “oreo.”

It’s so easy to blame hip-hop and “street culture,” when the truth is a *whole* lot more complicated.

Tiffany, I agree hip hop is an easy target. However, I do see one breakdown in communication on the issue.

It’s rare for proponents of hip hop (artists, fans, industry, etc.) to voice logical arguments outside of the “it’s not just hip hop” stance.

I don’t hate hip hop. But it does bug the hell out of me more often than not. I know that racism, sexism, homophobia and economic inequality informs our outlook on life. But why is it so difficult to find positive (or at least non-destructive) messages and images in popular black music? And why don’t we support the ones that already exist with the same vigor ($$$) as the rest?

Eh.

Just because hip-hop isn’t the blame for all of society’s ills does not mean it’s absolved of the responsibility it should shoulder for destroying itself.

I’m young, black, male, from the “hood” and I’ve bought a lot of hip-hop over the past 15 years, but I’ve gotten to a point where I cannot defend some of this foolishness. I’m not even speaking about the language, images and subject matter (it doesn’t offend me, but it offends SOMEBODY and I can’t ignore that) but most modern mainstream hip-hop is just BAD. It’s monotonous, paint-by-the-numbers and remedial. And let’s not even get started on the dumb shit some of these rappers say and do outside of the music when they get in front of an eager journalist or a camera (Cam’ron vs 50, anyone?).

Hip-Hop is dealing itself its own black eye and the only thing I’m hearing coming out of the community are a bunch of excuses and abdication of responsibility. I guarantee that if the music was less about profit and trends and more about creativity and knowledge, people wouldn’t be so quick to attack it.

“It’s rare for proponents of hip hop (artists, fans, industry, etc.) to voice logical arguments outside of the ‘it’s not just hip hop’ stance.”

it’s even more rare for hip-hop’s critics to take a historical look at race, class and culture and be honest about the fact that the problem is much deeper and older than hip-hop.

and — WOO LAWD! — try finding a critic who will admit hip-hop has always (at least until these last few years) been a diverse musical genre.

i’m not saying hip-hop doesn’t have issues. but i have a problem with williams’ argument and the way it uses history.

While, I don’t even know what the term “hip hop” means, I don’t think that it can be blamed for the ills of society. I don’t consider it “music” and nor do I consider it a genre, since to be a musician requires talent, and other than when rap got started with Curtis Blow, etc, it has been downhill FAST.

Gay as a lifestyle? I would agree with that, I’m a homosexual man, not gay. I don’t frequents bars, nightclubs, etc, so, to me, that would be part of a lifestyle, more than an orientation.

And, as far as “gays” mixing it up at more events and coming together as one on the issues that affect us, I don’t see that happening. We all come to the table with how we were raised, and that colors our views of each other more than anyone would like to admit.

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