Her father was a Black man, so Black men donвЂ™t enjoy racial privilege in the justice system, so IвЂ™m trying to echo this story, but at the same time there are people and family members that contacted me on Twitter, very upset that I made the song. Men enjoy a privilege in the justice system, so when it comes to domestic abuse, men are privileged in that way when it comes to the courts and the police. Kweli: WhatвЂ™s also interesting about Bresha is that her mom was white.

We can speak about Black women obtaining a small sliver of recognition, but Black girls and the Black women that are coming up and do have the platforms do benefit in a classist manner in society. IвЂ™m still not seeing enough of the Issa Rays and others, who are starting to be exceptions to the rule, but we should make it so these women are not exceptions to the rule.ДЄmNews: IвЂ™m glad you mentioned that. A lot of people are just surviving.Д®ven when I watched a show like вЂњSheвЂ™s Gotta Have It,вЂќ one because of Spike Lee and two because I heard my name was mentioned in the show, but I see how they flipped the character to be more feminist, but still, itвЂ™s an older man writing and directing it.

We certainly can appreciate the sharing of stories like hers, but we have a privilege, even for Black women and men who go to college and have access to learn through books, thatвЂ™s a privilege too. There are so many people who donвЂ™t have smart phones and are not prolific on social media, so we have to be aware of the fact that our engagement on social media is a privilege. You always have to celebrate progress or else thereвЂ™s nothing to fight for, but someone like a Bresha Meadows, a young Black woman, doesnвЂ™t have that media outlet, even if she had a bunch of Facebook friends. Kweli: I think thereвЂ™s still a lot of work to be done. I think our narratives have been lumped together, and now you can find individual narratives. The story poured out when I heard that track, and it was something that Styles was jumping on, so it ended up coming out.ДЄmNews: ItвЂ™s interesting that Black women in the last year or two have gone from being virtually silent to having a platform like social media to be able to express not only our outrage but also our individual perspectives. He sent me the track (that ended up being вЂњSheвЂ™s My HeroвЂќ) as a part of a bundle of tracks he sent me while I was working on вЂњThe SevenвЂќ album with Styles P. The story is problematic for me for a lot of reasons, for the same reasons why it is problematic to many other people, but I didnвЂ™t think about making it into a song until I heard the track from Oh No, who is a producer I work with often. Kweli: I heard about the story mostly from Black women online who were amplifying it. This interview is an excerpt from the podcast show, вЂњSurviving Music.вЂќ which will be premiered in early 2018.ДЄmNews: LetвЂ™s talk about your new album, вЂњRadio Silence.вЂќ The song вЂњSheвЂ™s My Hero,вЂќ which is about Bresha Meadows. Kweli discussed the sensitive topic of relations between Black women and men and expressed that he learns about life and these relations as he lives and continues to listen to the national conversation on Twitter and other social media platforms. His work during Ferguson and his long musical history of speaking his truth and perspective on being Black and intelligent has inspired important conversations on race and more recently sexism, which is the theme of his song, вЂњSheвЂ™s My Hero,вЂќ on the new album вЂњRadio Silence,вЂќ about the young Black teen, Bresha Meadows, who murdered her father in an attempt to halt the domestic abuse going on in her home. Kweli is a vocal activist who has always been a sounding board for civil rights and also community-based efforts in the Black community. Rapper and activist Talib Kweli took the time to chat about his new full-length album, вЂњRadio Silence.вЂќ Although the conversation began with music, it quickly turned to the topic of sexism and the lack of equality for women and girls in the court and penal systems and in society.

Radio silence talib