Common, Pharrell, THE NEW BLACK and IGNORANT Mentality That Undermines The Black Experience

FROM DAILY BEAST - Stereo Williams

Celebrities like Common and Raven-Symone are but ambassadors of the growing New Black culture that Pharrell became the unwitting poster child for in his now-infamous Oprah interview.

“Upward mobility,” sayeth the New Black, “that is the promise of America and because I have achieved—you can, too.”

They conveniently romanticize their climb to wherever they are in their lives and careers, telling themselves that they got there via personal drive and ambition that is unique to them. But structural obstacles kept most of their peers stagnant in socio-economic standing; these stars achieved in spite of racism—not because it doesn’t exist.


 So it is dangerous to put the onus on the oppressed people, as if you believe no one cared to climb the ladder until you came along. Poor public schools and overpriced housing mean that things aren’t really designed for you and your peers to “make it out.”

You can’t be “exceptional” without being an exception....




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