It’s an understatement to say that the US has challenging times ahead when it comes to race relations. Tensions have been steadily building, the police are under scrutiny as figures from the Guardian show that so far this year they’re twice as likely to kill a black citizen than a white citizen, and June 2015 will forever be known for the horrific killing of a group of African-American churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, by a white supremacist who was barely out of high school.

As America reels in the aftermath there is mounting pressure on the South Carolina State Capitol to remove the Confederate flag, which seems to be falling on deaf ears as disturbingly, it continues to fly proudly and unashamedly at full mast.

The potency of flags and their symbolism is undeniable. We saw how Dylann Roof chillingly wore the old South African and Rhodesian flags in the lead up to his hate crime.

But why, then, have black rappers including Outkast, Ludacris and Kanye all worn or featured an emblem of America’s racist history in their music videos? Because, by appropriating something that is abhorrent to them they are trying to change perceptions and upheave preconceived meanings. As the Daily Beast writes:

Subversive art is absolutely necessary to challenging preconceived notions and ideas. Subversive art is why black rappers saying “Nigga” will never mean the same thing as a white person saying it. The context doesn’t just matter—it’s the entire point. 

When asked why he put the flag on his bomber jacket and subsequently on his 2013 Yeezus tour merchandise, West’s response was:

React how you want, any energy is good energy. The Confederate flag represented slavery in a way. That’s my abstract take on what I know about it, right? So I wrote the song ‘New Slaves.’ So I took the Confederate flag and made it my flag. It’s my flag now. Now what are you going to do?”

Not surprisingly, a lot of people found this a bit lacking, as the Daily Beast goes on to say:

If you plan on using that flag to make a statement, be prepared to give a statement—because black people have been wounded by too much for anyone, regardless of their race, to exploit that painful history for empty shock value.

Oh Kanye. If you’re going to proclaim yourself ‘the voice of this generation’, perhaps you should find a little more to say.

Read the full article HERE.

[sources: The Daily Beast and The Guardian]