N.W.A VS. The United States

“Fuck the police coming straight from the underground”, is not your typical reverberating message, but a group of five hip-hop artists were able to start a movement in a time of injustice and racism in the United States. The group N.W.A was established in the 1980’s and became a heavily prosecuted group because of their lyrics and messages. Recently released was a movie, Straight Out Of Compton, which told the story of the group as they came together and pushed the envelope on controversial topics in the United States in the 1980’s. Among the most controversial was, the racial profiling done by police as well as police brutality.

            N.W.A originated out of Compton, California, which was a hub for drugs and black gang violence during the 1980’s in the United States. As five black hip-hop artists, they tried to defy social barriers while developing a new type of music, however as they began to grow they also began to feel the pressure of society push back. A turning point in their careers was a concert that took place in Philadelphia, PA. The groups’ growing popularity and need to express the issue of police profiling and abusing innocent blacks, lead them to make a public message while at the concert. After being warned by police before the concert not to play their most polemic song, Fuck The Police, they made the decision to play it anyway on stage and send a message to the police. The groups’ constant prosecution from police had caused them to finally act out against police.

            This was a turning point in their career because it officially started their movement against police prosecution and police brutality of blacks in Compton and other areas of the U.S. This demonstration lead to the uprising of other hip-hop artists and groups propagandizing the same issues of police brutality and racial profiling in their songs. A rising artist that followed in the footsteps of N.W.A, was the group Bone-Thugs-And-Harmony. Modern day artists that continue to pass along N.W.A’s message include Jay-Z and J. Cole. Today, just as in the 1980’s, we continue to have police brutality issues. The most recent police brutality issues include the deaths of Rodney King of California, Eric Garner of New York, and Michael Brown of Missouri.

            Although N.W.A and their successors may have created a movement and awareness to police brutality and racial profiling, it is still a huge issue. Racism in the United States is still very prominent, and although acts of racism are not as public or open, there are so many different examples of situation racism. For example, we still profile, not just blacks, but now Arabs or anyone we view as a gangster, terrorist, or a danger to us before we even meet them. In the work place blacks and especially black females are extremely prejudiced against. Often times black women in the work place. It is said that black women are two steps behind the stereotypical white male leader, so when it comes to making mistakes black women are heavily prosecuted in the work place. This is just a simple example of how racism has moved from open expressions to more sophisticated forms.

            Moving forward we, U.S. citizens, need to recognize what is happening and fix the racism and prejudices in our communities. The latest police brutality cases have only proved that there is an issue that needs to be addressed, and time will only tell if we made the proper decisions after these events to correct the issue at hand. Any direction away from discrimination, police brutality, and racial profiling is a step in the right direction and will make a stronger community.

            Nearly 30 years ago N.W.A shouted the lyrics to their new song “Fuck the police” at a Philadelphia concert and helped to start a movement in and out of hip-hop to recognize police brutality against blacks. The group didn’t end up resolving any problems but they did become an important attribute to at least recognizing and admitting that there was a problem within our justice system in the United States. it has taken the death of many innocent people by power hungry and anger driven police officers in the most recent years for an uprising to even start. It is now a civil duty in the United States for us to finish and see through what N.W.A and the rest of hip hop artists started. What we may have viewed as acceptable 30 years ago is no longer tolerable or civil.

Works Cited

Dudek, Alev. "Police Brutality Against Black Men, Plausible Outcome of Structural Racism." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 June 2015. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.

North, Anna. "Who Gets a Raise?" OpTalk Who Gets a Raise Comments. The New York Times, 26 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/26/who-gets-a-raise/>.