By: Ariah L. Kragness
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Enough. Enough sugar coating and enough lies. Economic inequalities are rooted in our present-day societies and have been integrated into our daily lives for centuries. Variables like wage, sex, education, residence, race, and health have evolved to become words associated with societal grouping in ways like never before. It is undeniably changing the world we live in and significantly impacting people from all walks of life, races, and ethnicities.
Though, these ideas never truly came to light until the pandemic opened the eyes of the majority. Ph. D activist and scholar Ashley Starr-Morris says, "In 2020, the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19, Covid, pandemic) is not only exposing age-old patterns of racism and systemic inequalities but deepening them as well." (Starr-Morris 1) Which is true. Covid confined billions of us to the walls of our homes, gluing us to screens and forcing us to stop, pay attention and identify the inequalities within our country. And as people expanded their knowledge, these imbalances were soon answered with protests, movements, disputes, and a massive chunk of opinions from opposing sides.
A man by the name of George Floyd whose life was taken from a police officer kneeling on his neck became a national symbol calling for change, and further redefining the effort of the Black Lives Matter movement. "Several scholars...have found that people's confidence in the police decreases significantly following a highly publicized incident of police misconduct." (Fridkin 1) Which Floyd's death proved true. Soon music, literature, art, and media flooded with the struggles of minorities and the hurt that's been coming from our communities for centuries. However, "Let go" by Inglewood California's, Daniel Anthony Farris and Sir Darryl Farris stuck out amongst the others.
The song was released only days after the murder of George Floyd, targeting significant subjects of racism and disproportions among black citizens in a way that I've never seen done before. Below displays the lyrics of his song and underneath (in grey), descriptions of their underlying meanings to support your understanding.
Link to song:
As an African-American woman, racial inequality resonates deeply with me, and the words of Daniel stuck firm. I often wonder how I’m supposed to live in a world where people do not accept me because of the color of my skin, or even a country where people refuse to say that my life, as well as the lives of my bi-racial and black brothers and sisters, matter.
Knowing that I am unliked and unwanted by some, considered less than, not expected to be as educated and as proper, I walk into classrooms full of people who look nothing like me. All the time facing uncomfortable microaggressions. "Is your hair fake?" "Can I touch it?" "Do you have a dad?" And the most common, "You're not really like other black girls." Though my attributes and personality are not reflected by my skin color and neither is yours. Martin Luther King prayed to see the day that we weren’t judged by the color of our skin and we’re protesting for those who are still dying because of it in the twenty-first century.
Skin color alone has completely changed my perception of more things than I’ve realized. Things that those closest to me will never fully be able to understand, because of the smallest detail, the difference in the color of our skin. This is emphasized in interactions with institutions and people in positions of power like police officers, who make the lives of citizens who look just as I do extremely uncomfortable.
I am afraid of the police. I am afraid to fit the stereotype. I am afraid that one day someone I love will fit the description. And I am simply afraid to be black when black is beautiful, and that outrages me. Our country and its institutions must prioritize change and make efforts towards the reconstruction of our society. The people of our country deserve equality, and I mean all of its people.
References:
- Starr-Morris, Ashley. "Blindspotting and COVID: The Gentrification of Racism." Journal of Religion and Film, vol. 25, no. 2, Oct. 2021, pp. COV2+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A679757432/AONE?u=txshracd2497&sid=bookmark-AONE&xi d=41486432. Accessed 9 Nov. 2021
- Fridkin, Kim, et al. "Race and Police Brutality: The Importance of Media Framing." International journal of communication [Online], Aug. 2017, pp. 3394+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A534020722/AONE?u=txshracd2497&sid=bookmark-AONE&xi d=f623a2b7. Accessed 10 Nov. 2021.
- Farris, Daniel. Farris, Sir. "Let Go." Single edition. Empire Records, 2020, track one.https://music.apple.com/us/album/let-go/1515830786?i=1515830788
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