Kanye Comments
An open letter to my students
Kevin Cummings
A week or so has passed since Kanye’s now-infamous tirade on free-thinking, which climaxed with his statement that “slavery was a choice.” Thankfully, like the ignorant comments made by many in the news and social media, most of us have been able to go on with our lives that are grounded here, in the real-world. Since I must work for a living, instead of being able to due so by occasionally saying something ridiculous into a microphone, I do not think about it much (part of that may be due to the fact that I am a white male), until one of my students asks me about it. So that we can all continue with our lives, and before I have to fumble for the politically correct answer again, here are my thoughts on Kanye’s comments.
First, let me state the obvious: No, slavery was not a choice. It was not a choice to be shackled in their own homes, to be herded onto ships with conditions so vile that some chose to jump into the open freedom of the ocean rather than face the slow death of slavery and starvation. It was not a choice to watch family and loved ones dragged away to be beaten, raped and tortured. The one choice allowed to these people: to give into the system, body and soul, or to follow the indominability of the human spirit. Many did choose the later, which took the form of work slow-downs, sabotage and the occasional spark of revolutionary uprising. I believe those who did take this path may have a different opinion of what “free thought” is than Mr. West does.
Now that’s out of the way, we can talk about why it is even necessary to bring this all up. To start, (it is my teacherly duty to say this) this clearly shows why knowledge and education are so important, especially as school is one of the only institutions we have that, at its core, seeks equality. So, why do I care? Because this statement cannot, unfortunately, disappear into the ether of ignorance. If slavery was a choice by black people, then the logic would follow that it was a choice by them to put up with lynchings, state-sanctioned terrorism, Jim Crow; that it was a choice to trade the bondage of slavery for that of the modern prison industry. Mr. Kanye, at least according to the 13th amendment, slavery is still a very real (and apparently acceptable) issue today.
I know you, my students are well aware of all of this. History class covered that; however, a state-tested high school history course does not teach the class-undertones behind it; whether that's due to time or design. Fortunately, this country is a product of the people who have fought and bled for their fellow man, and not a vague notion of American Exceptionalism espoused by many textbook publishers. So use this knowledge, use your skepticism of Kanye’s comments to question and challenge.
Question the choices we do have - due to the fact that slavery was a choice, just not to the people in chains. That is the narrative that would tell you that if you are poor, it is your fault alone, not because of a school funding system that inherently favors a wealthier neighborhood; that it is your fault that you are a suspected criminal, because you look scary, not because of policing tactics that increase patrolling rather than welfare in poverty-stricken areas. Kanye likely does not understand that narrative, due to the fact that he is a member of that class which 30 years ago introduced crack-cocaine to black communities to fund war over welfare; that 60 years ago used their political positions to proclaim that separation was a good thing; that over a hundred years ago would have been a part of that plantation-owning class. (Well, maybe his skin color would have kept him from that position.)
The hard truth is that you, my students, are not part of that class. You will experience racism, poverty, and the kind of thinking that would try to strip you of your self-worth. You can accept that for what it is, or you can join the long history in this country of people demanding, not asking, for dignity and a better life. That, at least, is your choice.