As Jay-Z’s “ The Story of O.J.” alludes to racism throughout media/music since the commencement of America, he puts light on a huge point. No matter how far we go, or how much we succeed, we, as black people, are still just “niggas”. However, this “nigga” narrative is not one that we have given ourselves, but it is one that was given to us to separate us from our deserving titles of men and women like every other respected race in America. So, the questions lie can we rid of this negativity and uproot the undermining a group of people? And if so, how?
We rid of these stereotypes and perceived roles when we speak for ourselves and rebut what others try to portray us as being as if we cannot contain more than one characteristic in our identities as everyone else does.
Personally, I find my passion in entertainment, film, and movie production which is mostly dominated by white males. This form of mass media is very important because it accentuates the narrative of America through images that are not only viewed by our nation but internationally. So, if we have people who are unfamiliar with our culture attesting to our being, we stand in the face of huge issues- the issues of falseness, ingenuity, and marginalization- and these issues make society more problematic for us. But when do we step in and take our narrative back and how successful will we be doing so? As discussed by many of my peers today, blacks make up majority of the entertainment field. However, it is deceptive to believe that because we are present we are progressively vocal and not conforming to what has been said about us (though this does occur, it is not the main view we receive).
As an aspiring film director/producer/actress, I have been discouraged since my childhood about pursuing my dreams not only by my educators but also my family members, black people. Consequently, I am aware that it takes dedication, it takes knowing that persecution comes when you challenge systematic barriers, and it takes perseverance to bring about change. But only by withstanding these tasks can we be successful in building a world that finds blackness as beautiful as we do.