Akrobatik and the Struggles of the African American Community
In “Remind my Soul”, we see how the African American community is affected negatively by society by racism and how this affect makes African American people hold each other down. This is important because with all of the struggles African Americans have experienced in the past (Slavery, Civil Rights, etc), they should join together to make their lives and their children’s lives brighter and more prosperous.
In this rap by Akrobatik, we see many poetic elements and historical references. He uses the poetic elements in order to portray the situation that African Americans are currently in, and the historical references to emphasize that people in the past have devoted their lives,…show more content… Some of us may recognize this name, as he “was the first African American to reach national and international ranking in the sport of tennis” (2009). Although this is an incredible achievement for Ashe, he did more to help people. In 1985 “Ashe was arrested for protesting outside the South African embassy in Washington D.C.” (2009). This is extremely impressive, simply because Ashe, being a professional athlete did not have to risk being arrested if he did not want to, but he chose to express his beliefs and suffer the consequences, is very commendable.
Finally, Akrobatik mentions the most well-known Civil Rights leader in American History, Martin Luther King. King was an exceptional public speaker and “spoke of equality for all races, and practiced a non-violent approach to get his points across” (2012).
Racism also plays a role in this rap song. We all know, whether we accept it or not, that racism has always been a part of our countries history. Whether it involves the African Americans and slavery, putting the Japanese in work camps during World War II, or the profiling of Arabic peoples today. “There are three levels of racism, Individual, Institutional, and Cultural” (Harris, 174-179). In this piece, Akrobatik is referring to all three