All in the Same Gang: The War on Youth and the Quest for Unity
by: Julie Bing, Becky Lathrop, and Julie Thompson
In the early 1990’s, West Coast gangs celebrated a time of successful peace treaties. Gang violence was down while creative energy was high. However, economic issues still plagued the cities and government-led efforts to raise funds to stimulate the regrowth of the city, such as the “Rebuild L.A.” organization, failed miserably. The people of the cities wanted to work and grow, but the opportunities were not available. In the meantime, the police grew suspicious of the motives behind the gangs’ peace treaties and feared their collective power over the streets. As a result, the LAPD often harassed the gangs’ peace gatherings and cracked down on gang-related activity. Their methods proved to be extremely biased against not only blacks and Hispanics, but against youth in general. Outrageously restrictive loitering, curfew, and cruising laws resulted in huge numbers of arrests and unjustified accusations of gang affiliation. The whirlwind of activity caused the general public to fear the youth, especially those of color.
Mainstream politicians such as President Clinton and Tipper Gore found themselves in spats with contemporary rappers and artists. Tipper Gore pushed to combat explicit lyrics, while Ice-T’s band Body Count released a song called “Cop Killer”. The song sparked a heated battle with media outlets and record labels, primarily over the issue of greed vs. responsibility.
Efforts to continue the push toward unity and peace within the Black community inspired Farrakhan to organize the Million Man March in Washington on October 16, 1995. While the event boasted no concrete political agenda or substance, the event brought clarity and unity to the Black community. The March proved to be a powerful symbol of their collective struggle and hope of redemption.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
From Noelle
Somali rapper bucks hip-hop code of violence
www.cnn.com
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Rapper: Violence was too common in Somalia to glorify it or make it cool in songs
* K'naan looks to "reform" hip-hop as "Wavin' Flag" hit chosen as a World Cup anthem
* Metallica guitarist, Maroon 5 frontman among collaborations on K'naan's résumé
* K'naan: Blasting U.N. for failed missions in Somalia may have kicked off career
http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/19/knaan.hip.hop.violence/index.html
www.cnn.com
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Rapper: Violence was too common in Somalia to glorify it or make it cool in songs
* K'naan looks to "reform" hip-hop as "Wavin' Flag" hit chosen as a World Cup anthem
* Metallica guitarist, Maroon 5 frontman among collaborations on K'naan's résumé
* K'naan: Blasting U.N. for failed missions in Somalia may have kicked off career
http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/19/knaan.hip.hop.violence/index.html
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Can't Stop, Won't Stop, Chapter 16
Gonna Work it Out: Peace and Rebellion in Los Angeles
by: Zenas Kim, Megan Schuster, David Tarai
This chapter is about the gangs of Los Angeles and how they went from shoot outs that ended in blood baths to police brutality and finally to peace. Like everything else that we have studied this quarter it took multiple tries and multiple people to bring people together. The chapter starts off focusing on the geography of where the gangs were located in LA. The Bloods and the Crips were in the East and West parts of the city, respectively with a railroad and Watts Towers being the dividing lines. Several other gangs, affiliated with either the Bloods or the Crips were being started around town as well. One gang that was an exception was call the Grapes. They were not aligned with either of the two main factions.
The geography of the main neighborhoods Hacienda Village, Nickerson Gardens, Jordan Downs and Imperial Courts, formed a triangle with the Grapes being in the middle. Aqeela, a student in the late 1980’s had managed to escape gang life, recognized that if the Grapes became peaceful so would the other gangs. So he, and Lois Farrahkahn a leader in the Muslim community and Jim Brown an NFL player started sending out God Squads to talk peace to the major gangs. Slowly they started coming around and Brown opened his house up for parties and eventually weekly meetings between the gangs. During these meetings they would talk about their feelings and work out differences.
During this time police brutality started to rise. The police saw gang violence as job security and therefore would stop and harass people without cause. One of the earliest examples of this is when a God Squad was on its way to a neighborhood got pulled over. When the men asked the officers why they were being pulled over the police became violent and arrested all the members in that squad. This grew into huge raids into the various neighborhoods where no weapons would be found but arrests would be made. Eventually this escalated to the point of the Rodney King incident 1991.
Eventually Farrahkahn and others were able to convince the gangs to sign the United Black Community Code. This code was based off of the temporary peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. It was modified to fit the gangs of LA and called for a truce between all the neighborhoods. During the celebration in the neighborhoods the verdict on the Rodney King trial was read acquitting all 4 officers involved. This, along with the LA City Council blowing off the peace treaty started a string a riots all over the city.
by: Zenas Kim, Megan Schuster, David Tarai
This chapter is about the gangs of Los Angeles and how they went from shoot outs that ended in blood baths to police brutality and finally to peace. Like everything else that we have studied this quarter it took multiple tries and multiple people to bring people together. The chapter starts off focusing on the geography of where the gangs were located in LA. The Bloods and the Crips were in the East and West parts of the city, respectively with a railroad and Watts Towers being the dividing lines. Several other gangs, affiliated with either the Bloods or the Crips were being started around town as well. One gang that was an exception was call the Grapes. They were not aligned with either of the two main factions.
The geography of the main neighborhoods Hacienda Village, Nickerson Gardens, Jordan Downs and Imperial Courts, formed a triangle with the Grapes being in the middle. Aqeela, a student in the late 1980’s had managed to escape gang life, recognized that if the Grapes became peaceful so would the other gangs. So he, and Lois Farrahkahn a leader in the Muslim community and Jim Brown an NFL player started sending out God Squads to talk peace to the major gangs. Slowly they started coming around and Brown opened his house up for parties and eventually weekly meetings between the gangs. During these meetings they would talk about their feelings and work out differences.
During this time police brutality started to rise. The police saw gang violence as job security and therefore would stop and harass people without cause. One of the earliest examples of this is when a God Squad was on its way to a neighborhood got pulled over. When the men asked the officers why they were being pulled over the police became violent and arrested all the members in that squad. This grew into huge raids into the various neighborhoods where no weapons would be found but arrests would be made. Eventually this escalated to the point of the Rodney King incident 1991.
Eventually Farrahkahn and others were able to convince the gangs to sign the United Black Community Code. This code was based off of the temporary peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. It was modified to fit the gangs of LA and called for a truce between all the neighborhoods. During the celebration in the neighborhoods the verdict on the Rodney King trial was read acquitting all 4 officers involved. This, along with the LA City Council blowing off the peace treaty started a string a riots all over the city.
Can't Stop, Won't Stop, Chapter 15
The Real Enemy: Cultural Riot of Ice Cube’s Death Certificate
by: Steve Jamison and Kyle Russ
This chapter was about the album that Ice Cube wrote in response to the conditions of African neighborhoods in Southern California in the early 1990’s. Two incidents occurred at this point in time that caused a lot of hardship and tension. Rodney King was beaten by several white cops after speeding drunk and a young African-American girl that was murdered in a liquor store for allegedly stealing an OJ. This caused a lot of strife between the African-American neighborhoods and the Korean-American shop owners. Many of the African-American patrons felt as though the shop owners thought they were consistently stealing, and many of the Korean-Americans felt as though their lives were in danger because of the number of robberies at the time.
Ice Cube’s album was in response to these conditions. He took a strong stand that was about the unity of African-American men, rising up, but not necessarily equal with the white population. He used harsh, aggressive lyrics “of the streets” that referenced white people, Jews, and Korean-Americans as “the devil.” Several of the songs referenced violent acts toward these groups of people. He also referenced women as “bitches” and “hoes,” although he later claimed that he did not think all women were this way. The album was banned in some stores and protested by several organizations.
KAGRO (Korean American Grocery Organization) looked to protect its people in these neighborhoods, and forced Cube to apologize and discourage violence against store owners and bring the communities closer together. KAGRO’s leverage was that Cube was the number one endorser of St. Idle, a malt liquor that was sold in all of the liquor stores in these neighborhoods. KAGRO adopted a ten point code of behavior that African American activists hailed as a breakthrough.
by: Steve Jamison and Kyle Russ
This chapter was about the album that Ice Cube wrote in response to the conditions of African neighborhoods in Southern California in the early 1990’s. Two incidents occurred at this point in time that caused a lot of hardship and tension. Rodney King was beaten by several white cops after speeding drunk and a young African-American girl that was murdered in a liquor store for allegedly stealing an OJ. This caused a lot of strife between the African-American neighborhoods and the Korean-American shop owners. Many of the African-American patrons felt as though the shop owners thought they were consistently stealing, and many of the Korean-Americans felt as though their lives were in danger because of the number of robberies at the time.
Ice Cube’s album was in response to these conditions. He took a strong stand that was about the unity of African-American men, rising up, but not necessarily equal with the white population. He used harsh, aggressive lyrics “of the streets” that referenced white people, Jews, and Korean-Americans as “the devil.” Several of the songs referenced violent acts toward these groups of people. He also referenced women as “bitches” and “hoes,” although he later claimed that he did not think all women were this way. The album was banned in some stores and protested by several organizations.
KAGRO (Korean American Grocery Organization) looked to protect its people in these neighborhoods, and forced Cube to apologize and discourage violence against store owners and bring the communities closer together. KAGRO’s leverage was that Cube was the number one endorser of St. Idle, a malt liquor that was sold in all of the liquor stores in these neighborhoods. KAGRO adopted a ten point code of behavior that African American activists hailed as a breakthrough.
From Ellen Eichner
This article was in the New York Times today and it's really cool. It's about 2 graffiti artists who started a business that makes custom clothes to go along with colorful sneakers! Here's the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/nyregion/16shirts.html?WT.mc_id=NY-SM-E-FB-SM-PIX-MSS-051710-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Can't Stop, Won't Stop, Chapter 14
The Culture Assassins: Geography Generation and Gangsta Rap
by: Jessica Modlich and Shea Mogg
This chapter focuses on the west coast around the 1980s. Around this time there was a lot of unrest and issues with the cops. Many manufacturing plants had closed down, and the unemployment rate of youths in South Central was 50%. Gang violence was also very high. An Asian American got caught in gang gun-fire and was killed. This event started the LAPD War on Gangs, where they added 650 officers to the force. This movement was mostly a failure. They arrested a lot of people, mainly on gang profiling, but 90% were let go without any charges.
Around this same time Ice Cube and other rappers started recording music. Their lyrics reflected the feelings the youth. They were very angry and they sang about violence against cops. Ice Cube wrote and recorded Boyz-in-the-Hood with Dr. Dre and Eazy-E (NWA). This song brought back memories of Jonathan Jackson, who took members of a courtroom hostage after his brother was accused of killing a white prison guard. This song was very popular and became an anthem for the urban youth on the west coast. Even after the popularity of this song, the group still got rejections from major record labels because their music was too violent. The finally signed with Priority Records and released Straight Outta Compton. The album was huge without much promotion. This album really started the term “gangsta rap.” While there was a backlash from the violent lyrics and hatred towards cops, the album was still popular.
by: Jessica Modlich and Shea Mogg
This chapter focuses on the west coast around the 1980s. Around this time there was a lot of unrest and issues with the cops. Many manufacturing plants had closed down, and the unemployment rate of youths in South Central was 50%. Gang violence was also very high. An Asian American got caught in gang gun-fire and was killed. This event started the LAPD War on Gangs, where they added 650 officers to the force. This movement was mostly a failure. They arrested a lot of people, mainly on gang profiling, but 90% were let go without any charges.
Around this same time Ice Cube and other rappers started recording music. Their lyrics reflected the feelings the youth. They were very angry and they sang about violence against cops. Ice Cube wrote and recorded Boyz-in-the-Hood with Dr. Dre and Eazy-E (NWA). This song brought back memories of Jonathan Jackson, who took members of a courtroom hostage after his brother was accused of killing a white prison guard. This song was very popular and became an anthem for the urban youth on the west coast. Even after the popularity of this song, the group still got rejections from major record labels because their music was too violent. The finally signed with Priority Records and released Straight Outta Compton. The album was huge without much promotion. This album really started the term “gangsta rap.” While there was a backlash from the violent lyrics and hatred towards cops, the album was still popular.
Can't Stop, Won't Stop, Chapter 13
Follow for Now: The Question of Post-Civil Rights Black Leadership
by: Keira Gaudette, Jaimie Hoppert, Kayla Pelok
The 80s ended. Campus organizations (Black Student Leadership Network and United People of Color) were forming. Afrocentricity came about as an intellectual program that decentered Eurocentric educational biases. Self-esteem and self-actualization were important. Jesse Jackson was running for president again. The campaign was based on hope and believing. Controversy grew and he was called an Anti-Semitic. Jackson came in second to Dukakis. There was a search for who could be leaders. Rappers put politics into their music and were leaders. Philadelphia declared Public Enemy Day. Stop the Violence Movement, a media event to show rappers were responsible, began in response to several incidents at concerts.
Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing showed the generational rage and confusion at the time and provoked questions of using violence as a means to protest but he offered no solutions which angered many media and politicians. From PE’s “Fight the Power” video, Chuck from PE became the new black power fighter/leader/icon of the time, even though he did not want that responsibility. Public Enemy’s members had conflicts with each other and the group began to unravel with Griff becoming the instigator for much of PE’s problems with the media. His comments were turning the media and public to think of PE as anti-semitic and not just pro-black.
Spike Lee was preparing to release Do the Right Things with “Fight the Power” as the lead-in single. Movie distributors questioned Lee over Public Enemy’s involvement. Public Enemy was in crisis. Griff’s statements had hit the newscasts and Hank and Bill were convinced something needed to be done. Some believed Griff sabotaged the group. They wanted to keep the group together, so Griff was forced out. This didn’t resolve the issues. Public Enemy collapsed. Bensonhurst occurred and the rise and fall of black power was still occurring. This staged a controversial comeback for Public Enemy. Their tract created revival in black communities. Whether the white race agreed or not, it was going to be a hip-hop world now.
by: Keira Gaudette, Jaimie Hoppert, Kayla Pelok
The 80s ended. Campus organizations (Black Student Leadership Network and United People of Color) were forming. Afrocentricity came about as an intellectual program that decentered Eurocentric educational biases. Self-esteem and self-actualization were important. Jesse Jackson was running for president again. The campaign was based on hope and believing. Controversy grew and he was called an Anti-Semitic. Jackson came in second to Dukakis. There was a search for who could be leaders. Rappers put politics into their music and were leaders. Philadelphia declared Public Enemy Day. Stop the Violence Movement, a media event to show rappers were responsible, began in response to several incidents at concerts.
Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing showed the generational rage and confusion at the time and provoked questions of using violence as a means to protest but he offered no solutions which angered many media and politicians. From PE’s “Fight the Power” video, Chuck from PE became the new black power fighter/leader/icon of the time, even though he did not want that responsibility. Public Enemy’s members had conflicts with each other and the group began to unravel with Griff becoming the instigator for much of PE’s problems with the media. His comments were turning the media and public to think of PE as anti-semitic and not just pro-black.
Spike Lee was preparing to release Do the Right Things with “Fight the Power” as the lead-in single. Movie distributors questioned Lee over Public Enemy’s involvement. Public Enemy was in crisis. Griff’s statements had hit the newscasts and Hank and Bill were convinced something needed to be done. Some believed Griff sabotaged the group. They wanted to keep the group together, so Griff was forced out. This didn’t resolve the issues. Public Enemy collapsed. Bensonhurst occurred and the rise and fall of black power was still occurring. This staged a controversial comeback for Public Enemy. Their tract created revival in black communities. Whether the white race agreed or not, it was going to be a hip-hop world now.
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