Post-Racism Research Paper

My parents grew me on a blend of 70s Funk, 60s Motown, 90s rap, howling blues singers and timeless Gospel standards. The music I’ve consumed has never been apolitical. With the backdrop of poll taxes, the murders of Emmett Till or Medgar Evers or Fred Hampton or MLK Jr or Malcolm X, the hunt for Angela Davis and Assata Shakur, the Detroit and later LA Riots, how could it ever be purely catchy tunes? Of course, because these mediums provided a soundtrack to my growth, initially the depth of the issues they were speaking to didn’t sink in. It was more like a lullaby than a rally cry. Our discussions however, were overt in their thesis: Do not buy the myth of a post-racial America, you will live a life having to be twice as good for pennies on dime, but most importantly, the system is not nor never will be here for you.

Revolutionaries, activists, freedom fighters, however they’ve recognized themselves, have long had a sparring match with the police state. As progressive reformists desire to legislate equality and peace, the government has continually placed the responsibility of enforcing these humanitarian hearted policies and procedures on the police. In Building an Abolitionist Trans And Queer Movement with Everything We’ve Got, Dean
It began as a joke, improvised on the spot with the Collective, but quickly became a more serious endeavor. Songs transcend time, as a Black Agender Queer, it was an easy choice. The 20th century was rich with protest songs that inspired me like “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke, “Mississippi Goddam” by Nina Simone, “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday “Fight the Power” by the Isley Brothers and Public Enemy, but the melody for “No Cops” is lifted directly from the 90s R&B group, TLC. I thought it would be cheeky and succinct, which made it easier for Carlos to produce a backing track