storytime with luna
Around this time last year, I went to an Aminé concert with my cousins. For reader information, Aminé is a hella banging rapper from Portland, and his parents are Ethiopian immigrants. During his set he had this part where he would bring someone up on stage to sign his "tour pants". When he prompted the crowd for this bit, he selected a white girl to come up on stage and sign the pants. Logically, when artists bring people in the crowd on stage they are either selected beforehand or chosen from whoever is closest to the barricade for safety and efficiency reasons. I remember when the girl got up on stage, a group of guys behind me got mad, and I heart one of them shout, "She's not even from Detroit! She probably lives in Royal Oak!".
Now considering that me and my cousins are all kids too scared to push to the front at concerts because we don't wanna get stomped out, it was obvious that Aminé wasn't going to select anybody far back in the crowd like we were. Despite that, it became obvious to me that the guys weren't mad about themselves not being selected, but they were mad that the person chosen to go on stage didn't represent the city of Detroit where the concert was being held, and didn't represent the black community, especially at a rap concert.
I think this story is a pretty good example of how segregation literally and Metaphorically creates boundaries between classes of race and wealth. It can be argued that maybe the guys behind me were just mad for whatever reason, wanted to yell about something just because. It can be argued that amine choosing a white girl to come on stage and sign his pants is really and truly not that deep, and of course anybody who knows what Aminé stands for knows that he has so much pride for his culture and community, but I believe it can be argued that these people wanted to see amine reach out for another black person to come up on stage, and represent their city.
Now considering that me and my cousins are all kids too scared to push to the front at concerts because we don't wanna get stomped out, it was obvious that Aminé wasn't going to select anybody far back in the crowd like we were. Despite that, it became obvious to me that the guys weren't mad about themselves not being selected, but they were mad that the person chosen to go on stage didn't represent the city of Detroit where the concert was being held, and didn't represent the black community, especially at a rap concert.
I think this story is a pretty good example of how segregation literally and Metaphorically creates boundaries between classes of race and wealth. It can be argued that maybe the guys behind me were just mad for whatever reason, wanted to yell about something just because. It can be argued that amine choosing a white girl to come on stage and sign his pants is really and truly not that deep, and of course anybody who knows what Aminé stands for knows that he has so much pride for his culture and community, but I believe it can be argued that these people wanted to see amine reach out for another black person to come up on stage, and represent their city.
This was a really nice way to connect a very unique experience to segregation near us. I think this sort of represents how those in control unknowingly ignore giving opportunities to those who should be represented!
ReplyDeleteI feel like though those guys wanted a certain race to sign his pants, it's not like Detroit=one specific ethnic community. Despite who that artist chose to sign, anyone would just get mad because of our natural tendency to be jealous when we don't get what we want. This was an interesting story to read and I love how you tied it in to this problem of racism!
ReplyDeleteI think it’s really interesting how any type of person at a concert can represent the city it’s held in. Most big concerts in michigan are held in Detroit, and anyone from around the state can go to that location if they want to go to that concert. I also love how you connected a real life example of what we talked about in class, which just goes to show how prevalent these issues are in our society everyday!
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