"Dark Realities: 'Reverse Racism/ Colorism & Sickness of Black Cowardice. The Homicide And Extreme Violence We Foist On Ourselves Since Enslavement Days"
Dr. Dianna Kenny's research points out that hip-hop artists have mortality rates akin to high-risk professions. This comparison may seem exaggerated until one considers the sheer number of lives lost due to violence, with a death toll more fitting for soldiers than for entertainers.
Another Disease in the Black Community, Even in Our Entertainment Scene—When It's Meant to Be Our Leisure Time, Fun Time, Music Time. In the world of Black music, particularly in hip-hop, the story of violence and tragic endings is so built in that it feels like another epidemic—a disease that is both rooted in and reflective of the challenges in our community. Even in spaces meant for celebration and creativity, we are grappling with deadly defective realities, where many artists who rise from Black communities often face a deadly fate. What is this?
The Reality of Homicide in Hip-Hop
The homicide rate among hip-hop artists stands out when compared to other genres. Over half of hip-hop and rap artists' deaths result from murder—a staggering statistic that separates this genre from others like rock, country, and pop.
For comparison, artists in those genres primarily face issues related to substance abuse and mental health struggles, with murder playing a minor, repeat a minor role.
This grim pattern in hip-hop depicts a massive truth about the self hating, cowardly, trigger happy environments many of these artists come from: urban spaces plagued by systemic issues, poverty, and cycles of violence. These environments shape not just their music but their fate, proving a tragic correlation between the socioeconomic pressures they face and their life expectancy.
A Complex Interplay of Factors: Systemic Inequities and Internalized Norms
One of the most disturbing aspects is the interaction between internal and external forces that shape these realities. Black-on-Black crime is a significant factor, driven by conditions that result from generations of systemic inequality, lack of economic opportunities, and strained communities. People can only use the closest people to them as emotional punching bags but in our case it's a bit over the top everywhere you look.
There is an internalized expectation among some that violence within the community is more permissible, whether consciously or subconsciously. This mindset, often deeply ingrained, implies a belief that acts of violence within the community may not face the same scrutiny or consequences from the mainstream investigative and prosecuting judicial system that might occur if the target were white or not black.
'Reverse Racism' in the Cycle of Violence?
The phenomenon some call "reverse racism" in this context suggests that the fear of serious consequences feels less palpable when dealing with disputes within one’s own community.
The thought process might be that "no one will notice" or "no one will care as much" if a Black person is the victim, contributing to a dangerous normalization of violence within the community.
This theory involves white individuals residing in gang-heavy Black neighborhoods, who are often less targeted in conflicts.
Disputes with white individuals, even if they are directly involved in the same cycles of gang violence, tend to result in more extensive investigations and law enforcement involvement, which could act as a deterrent.
Thus, in a twisted form of internalized racism, Black-on-Black crime may persist in part because it doesn’t provoke the same level of external scrutiny, reducing the perceived risk of retribution.
A Genre Depicting Its Environment
For hip-hop, which has become a global phenomenon, the lyrics, imagery, and lifestyles often mirror the streets from which many artists emerged. This connection has made the music both deeply relatable and painfully authentic, attracting millions. But the cost is evident in the high number of homicides among artists in the genre.
Dr. Dianna Kenny's research points out that hip-hop artists have mortality rates akin to high-risk professions. This comparison may seem exaggerated until one considers the sheer number of lives lost due to violence, with a death toll more fitting for soldiers than for entertainers.
The Societal Lens: Is This Fate Avoidable?
So, why does it continue? Is this simply the way things must be for Black artists in America? Societal and cultural pressures contribute to this fate, but so too does the music industry’s unwillingness to address the issue beyond sensational headlines. The industry profits from the authenticity of pain and struggle, yet it rarely steps in to support the wellbeing of these artists.
Until the structures perpetuating these patterns are confronted—from economic disparity and media glorification to internalized notions of 'acceptable' violence within our community—this tragedy will continue. But the hope lies in awareness and change: accepting this painful truth, creating support systems within the community, and challenging both the external and internal forces that have led to a culture of normalized violence and expected homicide, "We have become acclimatized to this abstraction of reality."
Can Black people or People Of Colour Be Venomous Racist White Supremacists Against Black People/ People of Colour ?
Comments
Post a Comment