What is the legacy of "Black" Generation X ?
Generation X maybe the most misunderstood and most criticized of any recent generation in American history. Born between 1965 and 1976, the generation is about roughly 50 million, with 12 percent being African-American. Although small in size, the influence of Black generation X on popular culture is substantial.
The problem lies in the influence. As my generation approaches it's 40's one has to look back over the past 20 years and be perplexed and disappointed. As the first generation of Blacks raised after desegregation, we've had the unique opportunity to accomplish goals in America that our parents generation could not. The Black middle-class has grown, and there are far more Black professionals and entertainers, as well as athletes who have excelled in this society. But as a culture we have regressed.
The problem with our generation is the unrelenting pursuit of "The Cool". Since as far back as the 1940's White America has looked to black culture for new styles and music innovations. From the creation of Jazz to the invention of Rock n Roll, black culture has had a major influence in defining what is hip and popular in American culture. Blacks have also played the role of America's moral conscience, pushing White America to deal with it's racial prejudices and economic inequalities. Our parents generation, "the baby boomers", broke down racial barriers in the 60's and championed cultural pride in the 70's. It is the failures of our parents generation though, that have directly affected the attitude and demeanor of our generation.
Our generation has had to put together the shattered pieces left by our parents self indulgence, political indifference, and the sexual revolution. We are the children of broken homes, broken neighborhoods, broken schools, "Reaganomics", "White Flight", and "Black Flight". A generation raised on a new level of sensationalized violence by Hollywood in the 80s with movies like "Scarface" and "King of New York", a cancerous Welfare system that removed the black man from his children and fostered institutionalized poverty. A black middle class increasingly distancing itself from it's culture and communities completely devoid of black leadership led to a cynicism in our generation and complete reinvention of what is "Cool".
The illegal street drug culture in black communities and the revolving door of black men being incarcerated and then released back into the same communities combined with the surging materialism in America, influenced how we thought, acted and the music we have created.What were considered survival tactics in the drug trade and prison life became acceptable forms of behavior. The two became intertwined with what was considered black culture for our generation. The worst parts of our society became what's "Cool".It was no longer "Cool" to be smart, be articulate, be kind, be respectful, do the right thing, to love, to work hard, pay your dues, to dress apropiate, to be concerned with something other than yourself.
It was now "Cool" to be hard, to make your living through illegal activity, to show no fear or empathy, to be a DJ instead of a musician, to be a rapper instead of a singer, to use slang, to have tattoos, to murder, to rape, to take advantage of, to be offensive, to be vulgar, to call ourselves "Niggers", a word that was used to oppress our people for nearly 500 years and to justify it. Its "Cool" for men to wear earrings, to call our women bitches, to disrespect our elders. To distrust each other, to use fake posturing as form of toughness. It's "Cool" to be black if you display the actions that make us "Cool".
Our generation has had it's share of significant moments such as the emergence of black clothing and film makers, the "million man" march, the creation of Hip-Hop music to the election of Barak Obama. But our successes have all been compromised by the absurdity of the "Cool".We have now passed the "Cool" to the next generation, who are "Cooler" than we are.Can we, as the children of those who died and fought for us to live a better life in America leave the "Cool" as our legacy?
Posted originally by: Divad (http://soulobjective.blogspot.com/)