The song ”The Blacker the Berry” by Kendrick Lamer was released on February 9th 2015. “The Blacker the Berry” is also the title of a novel by Wallace Thurman. The song and the novel actually share more than just the title - they both deal with the theme “racism”. But is racism even still a thing in the US? What is it really like being a minority today compared to just a few decades or centuries ago? Kendrick Lamar partially answers those questions in “The Blacker the Berry.”
America has dealt with - and still deals with - racism as a structural and cultural problem. The song makes numerous references to the way black people were treated in the past, and you could argue that it also claims that black people are still treated very poorly in America. …show more content…
He knows that he’s successful and he’s not afraid to admit it: “Jealous of my wisdom and cards I dealt (…) Black and successful, this black man meant to be special.” In that sense you could say that he seems to be proud of who he is and what he has accomplished, but he still thinks that being black is a challenge and that racism is a problem. So even though he’s proud of what he has become, he still wants to be someone else. That may seem like conflicting statements, but in reality it means that he accepts himself but his surroundings don’t. That’s what he’s hoping to achieve: Acceptance from those who don’t like him.
While racism might not be as large a problem as it was a few decades ago, it’s still a very serious topic that the black community in America has to deal with daily. Even though Kendrick Lamar is considered a very successful person, he still experiences racism in his everyday life. Therefore it’s evident that racism is still a thing that many people experience in the US every single day, but the living conditions of minorities have become increasingly better in the last decades so hopefully it’s only a question of time before the term “racism” will
America has dealt with - and still deals with - racism as a structural and cultural problem. The song makes numerous references to the way black people were treated in the past, and you could argue that it also claims that black people are still treated very poorly in America. …show more content…
He knows that he’s successful and he’s not afraid to admit it: “Jealous of my wisdom and cards I dealt (…) Black and successful, this black man meant to be special.” In that sense you could say that he seems to be proud of who he is and what he has accomplished, but he still thinks that being black is a challenge and that racism is a problem. So even though he’s proud of what he has become, he still wants to be someone else. That may seem like conflicting statements, but in reality it means that he accepts himself but his surroundings don’t. That’s what he’s hoping to achieve: Acceptance from those who don’t like him.
While racism might not be as large a problem as it was a few decades ago, it’s still a very serious topic that the black community in America has to deal with daily. Even though Kendrick Lamar is considered a very successful person, he still experiences racism in his everyday life. Therefore it’s evident that racism is still a thing that many people experience in the US every single day, but the living conditions of minorities have become increasingly better in the last decades so hopefully it’s only a question of time before the term “racism” will