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Racism and prejudice are cages – a prison sentence alienating those who hold these attitudes from the beautiful diversity of the world – and I pity people with those afflictions.
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The very foundations of hip-hop are rooted in the cultivation of creativity within strict constraints, and the traditionally inflexible musical rules – a 4/4 beat at around 96bpm often with no live instruments or formal musical training, just a sample of music replaying over and over – mimic the constraints of the black experience in a poor area where a life has to be made without local amenities, jobs, healthcare or hope.
Education only makes sense if you can see where hard work might lead, a future you can imagine yourself taking part in.
That is when a connection happens, you need to want to know more about the history that has never been taught to you, and seek out those who lived through it and encourage them to share their memories. What motivates this is when you realize that history is connected to who you are in a very real way, that knowing history is gonna help you know more about yourself and understand why you are so marginalized, socioeconomically, culturally and politically.
People work all day, travel to and from work and then sleep. Everybody is worried about having lots of things, but it turns them into slaves because they never have enough, they never stop. All I want is enough food, a nice lady to dance with and a home somewhere.
It is as though no black man can see another black man except by looking through a white person.
The future of Europe depends on transparency – governments should clearly state how Europe benefits from diversity, open up and admit when the financial sector has failed society, teach colonial history with nuance and honesty and face up to the past so we can all understand the present and move towards a truly unified future, the potential of which I saw in the eyes and smile of little Shira Helmstetter.
