I knew it. The moment I saw Coca Cola’s Super Bowl ad, I knew there was going to be turmoil. As soon as I heard “America The Beautiful” in Spanish followed by other languages, I knew the racist, prejudiced, bigoted uproar was coming. For so long, America has lived under an unrealistic idealized expectation of “true” Americanism. It is often supported in every day speech like, “All American Girl” and “Hometown Boy.” When we hear “All American Girl,” what immediately comes to mind is a thin, blonde haired, blue-eyed woman. However, those are mainstreamed ideals of exclusion, in which people that don’t possess this look are othered and marginalized. Coca Cola as a corporation can be critiqued for many issues. However their latest commercial has added to an important discussion about who is truly American.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=443Vy3I0gJs

The truth is a girl wearing her hijab and speaking Arabic is an “All American Girl.” A young woman speaking Spanish and shopping in a bodega is an “All American Girl.” A woman speaking Igbo at church is “All American.” A “Hometown Boy” may easily speak Korean as a first language.  This is America and to think otherwise is to delude one’s self. Our identity as Americans is not preluded by a certain ethnicity, dress code or way of speaking. Additionally, critics of the commercial believe that English is the only language for America, forgetting that American English is highly influenced by a litany of cultures and languages.

Perhaps this all stems from fear. The fact it is, America is browning. According to the Census Bureau,  “50.4 percent of our nation’s population younger than age 1 were minorities as of July 1, 2011. This is up from 49.5 percent from the 2010 Census taken April 1, 2010.”

The Associated Press reported, “The government also projects that in five years, minorities will make up more than half of children under 18. Not long after, the total U.S. white population will begin an inexorable decline in absolute numbers, due to aging baby boomers.”

They go on to state:

As a whole, the nonwhite population increased by 1.9 percent to 116 million, or 37 percent of the U.S. The fastest percentage growth is among multiracial Americans, followed by Asians and Hispanics. Non-Hispanic whites make up 63 percent of the U.S.; Hispanics, 17 percent; blacks, 12.3 percent; Asians, 5 percent; and multiracial Americans, 2.4 percent.

America is getting browner everyday and this fact paralyzes some people, especially those who have become accustomed to Eurocentric ideals of Americanism. The fear of the “other” drives voter suppression laws, the prison industrial complex and racial profiling. These are enacted to prevent marginalized Americans from having full access to the benefits of citizenship.

Regardless of where the hatred stems from, “America The Beautiful” only holds true to its name if we recognize the beauty in all of America’s citizens, not just the ones that have been mainstreamed or appear to represent the dominant culture. When Langston Hughes penned those prophetic words, “I Too Am America”, he was putting America on notice. You can deal with it now or you can accept it later but I too am American. And I’m not going away.

Jessica Ann Mitchell is the founder of OurLegaci.com & BlackBloggersConnect.com. To reach JAM, email her at OurLegaci@gmail.com.

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In the late 1960s and 1970s, the top Rhythm and Blues songs were about racial pride and self-love.  Songs like “We’re A Winner,” “Higher Ground,” and “Respect Yourself” inspired a generation of African Americans to work together and feel better about their circumstances. Today’s (urban) music contains derogatory language, normalizes violence, and promotes the pimp/gangster mentality.

James Brown asked Al Sharpton during their last conversation, “What happened to us that we are now celebrating from being down?  What happened we went from saying I’m black and I’m proud to calling each other niggers and ho’s and bitches?”  Brown said, “I sung people up and now they’re singing people down, and we need to change the music.”

James Brown was right.  Here are three reasons why we need to change the music in 2014:

1. We are not keeping it real. Rappers are unfairly blamed for many of the problems in the black community.  Professor Michael Eric Dyson argues that, “the demonization of gangsta rappers is often a convenient excuse for cultural and political elites to pounce on a group of artists who are easy prey.” I completely agree. However, we, as a community, need to challenge gangster rappers’ specious justifications for promoting violence and using derogatory language.

Many rappers rationalize their negative content by proclaiming to be street reporters. 50 Cent said, “Music is a mirror, and hip-hop is a reflection of the environment that we grew up in.”This statement is disingenuous. Many gangster rappers, including 50 Cent, do not simply rap about what they have experienced. Oftentimes, they glorify the worst aspects of the inner city. A perfect example is 50 Cent’s popular 2003 song “P.I.M.P.”

He raps:

I ain’t that nigga trying to holla cause I want some head/ I’m that nigga trying to holla cause I want some bread/ I could care less how she perform when she in the bed/ Bitch hit that track, catch a date, and come and pay the kid/ Look baby this is simple, you can’t see/ You fucking with me, you fucking with a P-I-M-P.

In this song, 50 Cent describes the life of a pimp as being exciting and glamorous. Taking on the persona of a pimp, 50 Cent brags that he drives a Mercedes Benz and wears tons of jewelry. If I were young or naive, I might think this would be a great career without negative repercussions.

50 Cent’s assertion that he raps about reality is not accurate.  This song does not reflect the true pimp-prostitute relationship in the inner city. Pimps engage in dangerous and criminal behavior. They can be sentenced to long prison terms for major offenses such as operating a prostitution business, child sex abuse, and sex trafficking. Moreover, pimps and gangsters ruin our communities. They prey on vulnerable girls (sometimes as young as 14 years old).  These girls are forced to engage in sexual activities in dirty motels, back alleys, and even the backseats of strangers’ cars.

I do not want to single out 50 Cent or this song.  Currently, the most downloaded hip-hop songs use the gangster/pimp/thug trope. As of January 2nd, 2014, YG’s “My Nigga” has spent 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart; and in less than three months (September 2013-December 2013), the single was certified Gold, meaning it was downloaded or streamed on-demand over 500,000 times. Songs like these wrongly promote actions that are illegal and deleterious to our community.

Think about the way repetitive lyrics and stylized music videos can influence impressionable young boys and girls. In The Hip Hop Wars, Tricia Rose writes, “As it stands now, ‘keeping it real’ is a strategy that traps poor black youth in a repetitious celebration of the rotten fruits of community destruction.”Furthermore, this distortion of inner-city life continues to link African Americans to laziness, criminal violence, and sexual insatiability; thus, reinforcing the most potent racist and sexist images of the black community.

2. Not keeping with tradition. In a 2007 sermon, Al Sharpton responded to arguments by rappers like 50 Cent.  Sharpton noted that black music has never been just a reflection of black life; black music has always encouraged and uplifted our community. Sharpton explained, “During slavery, we were not just singing about picking cotton; we were singing “Go Down Moses.” During the 1950s, we were not just singing about sitting at the back of the bus; we were singing “We Shall Overcome.” In the 1960s, when whites told us we were less than equals, we were singing, “I’m Black and I’m Proud.”Black musicians have always inspired our people to dream higher and think bigger.

One of the best examples of this is James Brown’s “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud.” In the 1960s, Brown worked tirelessly to uplift our community. By 1968, he was frustrated that African Americans were still being marginalized and oppressed.  He was also disheartened by the rate of crime within our own neighborhoods.  In fact, urban violence was the final impetus that motivated Brown to write his trademark song.

In The One: The Life and Music of James Brown, R.J. Smith recalls Brown watching a television news report about black-on-black violence with his longtime manager, Charles Bobbit. The book notes, “Mr. Brown said, ‘Black people love each other, why do we have to do this to each other?’” After a few moments, Bobbit retreated to his room. Brown asked him to come back twenty minutes later. When Bobbit entered, he saw two napkins with the phrase written, “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud.”  Brown asked Bobbit to gather 30 kids and meet him at the recording studio. Using the young people to help him sing the chorus, Brown recorded the song that night.

Brown, later, explained his reason for incorporating boys’ and girls’ voices into the song. In his autobiography, he wrote, “If you listen to it, it sounds like a children’s song. That’s why I had children in it, so children who heard it could grow up feeling pride.” Over 50 hip-hop songs have sampled James Brown’s melodies.  I wish more platinum-selling artists today would emulate Brown’s desire to use lyrics as a means to empower and uplift young people.

3. Music is a powerful tool In our culture, musical artists and their songs have always enjoyed a central role.  Nikki Giovanni once wrote that, “if [Aretha Franklin] had said, ‘come let’s do it, it would have been done.”Even during Dr. Martin Luther King’s career, comedian and activist Dick Gregory understood that an artist like Aretha Franklin had just as much political and social impact as King. “You heard her three or four times an hour. You heard him only once on the news.” This analogy is even more true now. Not only do we hear a song by an artist like Rihanna or Kanye West several times an hour on the radio, but we are also inundated with their music videos on television and online.

Every time an artist of that caliber releases a new single or album, millions of people all over the world are talking about it and/or sharing it via social media. Three weeks ago, so many people were downloading the new Beyoncé album and posting about it across all social media platforms that many pop culture commentators joked, “Beyoncé had broke the Internet.” Furthermore, Rihannahas over 32 million more followers on Twitter than First Lady Michelle Obama. Today, our musical artists have an even bigger platform to help shape our community’s discourse.

Throughout black history, artists like Aretha Franklin took advantage of their unique position by recording empowering songs like “Respect” and “Think.”  One of Aretha’s favorite songwriters and artists, Curtis Mayfield also used his status to encourage African Americans during the civil rights movement.  In Higher Ground: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, and the Rise and Fall of American Soul, Werner writes:

When the struggle seemed too much to bear, followers of both Martin and Malcolm took heart from Mayfield’s gentle exhortation to “Keep On Pushing.” As they savored the bonds of love and friendship that bound their families and the movement itself together, they sank into the soothing harmonies of “I’m So Proud” and “Woman’s Got Soul.” “People Get Ready” tapped the deepest wellsprings of the gospel vision and gave many a weary soul a place to rest.

Some people suggest the civil rights era demanded an approach that is no longer relevant or necessary. This argument is problematic. During that period, we were fighting for justice and equality in greater society while simultaneously wrestling with complex issues within our own community.

In 2013, we experienced the Trayvon Martin verdict, the striking down of a major component of the Voting Rights Act, and the continued proliferation of the prison industrial complex. Yes, we continued to celebrate having a black president; but, we only have one black governor (out of 50) and one recently elected black senator (1 of 100) in the United States Congress.

In addition, we struggled to find ways to curb inner-city youth and gang violence. This epidemic claimed the lives of too many of our precious boys and girls. Moreover, the homicide statistics did not account for the countless young people who survived violent attacks but were severely injured, traumatized, or emotionally numbed.

In 2014, we still face many uphill battles and challenges. And that is, ultimately, why we need to change our music. We need songs that will motivate us to stay positive. We need songs that will encourage our young people to graduate high school and attend college. We need songs that will remind us to respect ourselves and our community. We need songs that will inspire a generation to work together to solve our most difficult problems. Now more than ever, we need our artists to sing us up!

Jarrett Mathis is the Founder of Empowering Ourselves, Inc., a 501© (3) non-profit organization, whose mission is to empower black youth and reduce violence in Brooklyn, New York. To learn more about Empowering Ourselves, please visit www.EmpoweringOurselvesInc.org.  He can be contacted at jarrett@empoweringourselvesinc.org

Before there was Dr. Phil, everyone “knew” Uncle Phil. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was a top rated family sit-com for six seasons, especially among African-American audiences for its ability to stylistically merge the Hip Hop and Civil Rights generations, highlighting differences in age and economic class in a comedic way. The show takes place in Bel Air, a neighborhood not unlike Beverly Hills. As a native of Los Angeles, I’d visited Bel Air, which looked quite similar to the home featured in the  show’s intro. Though I lived on the east side of town, worlds apart from the opulence of the Banks family, in some way-like the Cosbys, they were real to me. Uncle Phil was real to me.

The character of Philip Banks’ is truly worth some analysis as it stood out as a unique voice for manhood and fatherhood during 90’s television and beyond. He started out a respected attorney, and through the duration of the show became a judge.  James Avery played a sharp attorney in a tailored suit that owned a mansion with a lawn the size of a football field. This image stood in stark contrast to the casual shirts, baggy pants, baseball caps, and designer shoes worn by the show’s leading character played by a young Will Smith.

However, the power of Avery’s character was his role as a family man. A provider and tough, yet loving relative, Uncle Phil character, alongside Aunt Viv, showcased communal parenting and the value of the extended family.

Unlike shows featuring Black youth who were adopted by strangers, such as Different Stokes and Webster, Fresh Prince displayed a family extending kinship to a relative in trouble. Remember the words to the intro theme:

“When a couple of guys, they were up to no good; started making trouble in my neighborhood. I got in one little fight, and my mom got scared…”

I trust you know the rest. While an extremely catchy lyric, the song reflects the heightened distress that mothers of urban youth, especially Black males,  were experiencing all across the country in major cities during a rise in gun violence and the popularity of color-based street gangs. Absentee fathers, overwhelmed mothers, and societal conditions in Black communities make extended family practices in the U.S. commonplace. It is essential to survival.

Rather than the narrow limitations of the nuclear family, the extended family approach wholeheartedly embraces the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Uncle Phil became synonymous with that village in so many homes for years.  In turn, we welcomed him and the Banks family into our homes, making them part of our extended family, so to speak.

James Avery passed away on New Year’s Eve. It is true that death happens every day, yet it feels intensely punctuated when a well-known person goes home on a holiday.  Shortly after interviewing Mr. Avery in 2005, my paternal uncle passed away on New Years Eve. In a twist on taking care of extended family, Uncle Tony moved in with my sisters and parents after he had a close brush with death living on the streets. My mother helped nurse him back to health. He went on to live about 5 years longer than any doctor ever expected. I thought of him a great deal today, just as I thought of Uncle Phil.

James Avery will be greatly missed by all those who enjoyed him years ago, as well as those who got a quick thrill out of seeing him on crime dramas like CSI: Miami and Grey’s Anatomy. He played a role, an unmistakable character that broadened notions of fatherhood and family. As much as we will miss him, let us not forget to keep his family, grieving in a way that is far from the fiction of a script, lifted in prayer, just like a true extended family would.

Alexandra Barabin is a writer, public speaker, and cultural facilitator. She is the Founder of Sun Up Business Management and www.YesSheIsMe.com, a community dedicated to women and girls. She can be contacted at SunUpSays@gmail.com.