It’s Bigger Than You and Me
The purpose of Art is to express oneself, whether it be art, music, or simply poetry. In this case two artists use their forms of artwork to touch on real issues in order to promote difficult but necessary topics within our communities that we face today. More specifically against the broader issues regarding the struggles of Africans and the unjust system which the world lives in.
In Bell Hooks piece,“Teaching New worlds/ New Words” and Tupac Shakur’s poem “The Rose that Grew From Concrete” both authors explore the systematic racism towards Africans and how they show resistance to their oppressors. On one hand, Hooks addresses the need for standardized english, the oppressor's language, to communicate. On the other hand, Tupac Shakur’s “The Rose that Grew From Concrete”- reflects the barriers that African Americans need to contend to in order to make a life for themselves. However, both of these pieces come to the same conclusion: the system we live in is dominated by our oppressors, and in order to persevere one must find way to show resistance in the system.
The standard language, english, is powerful. Internationally, English has become a common language used to dominate and oppress. According to Hooks, English is becoming a common ground where everyone can communicate. She takes a look at the impacts that this has on people all over the world when she expresses how she “believes that through listening to each others first language, “ we may disrupt that cultural imperialism that suggests one is worth of being heard only if one speaks in standard English (Hooks).”At this point, the author is challenging the idea of having more than one language to communicate in. She is suggesting that if we only communicate in one sole language, we are taking away our development as a country. Allowing English to become the language that most countries operate, proves that the oppressors, the english language, the U.S, only find it important to acknowledge their own system and laws being implemented. Thus a world of conquest, domination, and oppression.
On the other hand, Hooks also talks about the Standard English being used as an act of rebellion against oppressors. According to Hooks African slaves were able to reinvent the oppressors language and made it into their own. This allowed “enslaved black people [to] [take] broken bits of english and [make] them a counterlanguage.” Hooks states, “By transforming the oppressors language, making a culture of resistance, black people created an intimate speech that could say far more than a permissible within the boundaries of standard English (Hooks 175).” The author is implying that speech enables resistance, in this case to white supremacy; meanwhile allowing space to create an alternate culture for Africans to truly express themselves. Hooks furthers her idea of speech being a powerful tool when she gives a more particular example that became a large part of African resistance. She discusses how, “In contemporary black popular culture, rap music, has become one of the spaces where black vernacular speech is used in a manner that invites dominant mainstream culture to listen- to hear- and, to some extent, be transformed (Hooks 175).” The power of black vernacular speech was significant to Africans and remains today, they demonstrated a site of resistance that allowed them to stand up against their oppressors. The power of black vernacular speech also allowed them to create their own culture, which made a more powerful community. In a larger aspect, this movement draws attention to the important issues today, we must stay true to our culture in order to stand up against oppressive forces.
In her piece, Hooks discusses the impact of how adapting to one standard language is preventing the growth of society as a whole, instead is creating barriers to those that continue to value their language as individuals. In her first example, Hooks presents the hardships of African slaves brought to the U.S. when she states, “That the students in the course on black women writers were repressing all longing to speak in tongues other than standard English…(Hooks 176).” The author points out how these African students struggled academically due to their unfair circumstances. This prevented them from any success or opportunity that they may have been able to possess. Hooks then bring to attention critical implications that shed light on educational policies that allow African students, and students that are second language english learners. She begins by suggesting a new standardized form of education, by bending academic language into different forms and contexts of English- this way more students can participate by voicing their opinions. We must begin by welcoming more forms of language that way when others try to communicate voices can be heard and validated. Thus, creating pathways for everyone not just those that speak the standard English language.
Tupac Shakur, an American rapper and poet shares his past as he reflects how to survive the struggles and hardships he has to overcome despite the circumstances. In the first stanza Shakur beings with a rose which symbolizes those who are oppressed and still hold on to hope despite the struggles. Concrete on the other hand represents the oppressors; the system in which is the world we currently live in and the laws imposed preventing Africans from thriving. He poses the first stanza as a question, “ Did u hear about the rose that grew from a crack/ in the concrete…” In this open question we can bring in context from Shakur's background, he grows up in the ghetto but is able to maintain hope in order to survive the hard life. He describes his being able to maintain hope as “a crack,” as a space, a loophole in the system which Africans have to make for themselves in order to be successful. We can see a common example from Bell Hooks perspective on the importance of language in her article, “Teaching New Worlds/ New Words.” Hooks includes specific references to her text as she describes the oppression Africans slaves had to experience, however, she describes particular loopholes in the system that allowed them to survive. For instance she explains how, “ Enslaved black people took broken bits of English and made of them a counterlanguage… When the slaves sang “nobody knows de trouble I see-” their use of the word “nobody” adds a richer meaning than if they had used the phrase no one,” for it was the slave’s body that was the concrete site of suffering. (Hooks 174).” Here,
African slaves created a loophole for themselves in the system which allowed them to use the oppressors language to create resistance, a community, and hope. Changing the language to their own not only freed them of domination, but allowed them to create a culture of their own. Both authors, Hooks and Tupac reach the same conclusion: despite the challenges and hardships that Africans had to overcome, they were still able to persevere by creating loopholes in the system we live in today.
Ultimately we may face struggles and hardships, we must stand up for what is right. More importantly, Hook texts, “Teaching New worlds/ New Words” and Tupac Shakur’s poem “The Rose that Grew From Concrete” focus their message on the African community in order to shed light on the racial inequality in the system that the world operates on today. More specifically, Hooks addresses the need for standardized english, the oppressor's language, to communicate. Tupac Shakur’s “The Rose that Grew From Concrete”- addresses the issues that
African Americans need to live by in order to persevere in this world. However, both of these pieces come to the same conclusion: the system we live in is controlled by our oppressors, and in order to survive the system, we must show resistance as a community. Without these texts, readers would not be able to learn the impacts that language truly has in this country and many others, nor how important it is for African Americans today to live in a world where they still don’t receive equal opportunities due to the stereotypes and discrimination that are still lingering today.