Even though it is 2015 and it has been decades since segregation and the civil rights movement, some prejudices against African Americans still occur today. Reading and listening to Malcom X's "Message to the Grassroots" speech helped me to better understand the lyrics of Kendrick Lamar's song "The Blacker the Berry" by teaching me about the racist acts that were done towards African Americans and how they were treated, helping me understand that the lyrics are about white people just as much as they are about black people, and it also helps me take what is in the song and make personal connections with it, relating it to my life and seeing how it actually does happen. Malcom X's "Message to the Grassroots" speech took place during the civil rights movement and was all about how white people heavily discriminated against African Americans. It talked about the history of it and talked about what is currently happening with many examples. Kendrick Lamar's song "The Blacker the Berry" is all about how white people are racist towards black people in modern America and he uses examples all throughout the song. Initially listening to the song it is hard to understand what Kendrick is talking about and what certain things he is talking about mean, but after listening to Malcolm X's speech, you can easily decipher what he is talking about. 

Something listening to Malcom X's "Message to the Grassroots" speech helped me interpret and understand about Kendrick Lamar's lyrics in the song "The Blacker the Berry" was that the lyrics had to do with white people just as much as they did with black people. In Malcom X's speech he talks all about how the white man is the common enemy to the negro, "We have a common enemy. We have this in common: We have a common oppressor, a common exploiter, and a common discriminator. But once we all realize that we have this common enemy, then we unite on the basis of what we have in common. And what we have foremost in common is that enemy  --  the white man. He's an enemy to all of us. I know some of you all think that some of them aren't enemies. Time will tell." (Malcom X). The reason this has to do with Kendrick's lyrics is because he is constantly listing stereotypes certain people have and saying a certain person hates him and his people, "you hate me don't you." (Kendrick Lamar, The Blacker the Berry). This certain person is the white man. He is talking about how white people are so racist towards blacks. When he lists things in his song such as Trayvon Martin and being a slave he is constantly saying things that white people have said or done to blacks. The speech made me realize that Kendrick is actually talking to white people as a whole in his song as he says what they say and do to him and his race of people. 

Another thing Malcom X's speech helped me to understand and interpret in Kendrick Lamar's song was the basis behind all of the prejudices and stereotypes against African Americans that white people make. Malcom X makes uses many examples in his speech, such as "a desegregated lunch counter, a desegregated theater, a desegregated park, and a desegregated public toilet; you can sit down next to white folks on the toilet." (Malcom X). He talks all about things white people discriminate black people with. This relates to "The Blacker the Berry" because Kendrick says things that are stereotypes or actions whites have done to blacks, such as "penitentiary would only hire me" or "how you no see the whip, left scars 'pon me back." 

(Lamar, The Blacker the Berry). The stereotype is that all black people go to jail, and the historical allusion was to white hitting black slaves with whips. Malcom X's speech showed me a lot about how things were said and done to black to hurt and discriminate them and initially listening to Kendrick's song you might not realize that these things he is saying are stereotypes and past actions white folks did against blacks, but the speech made it possible for me to understand and better interpret what Kendrick means and is actually talking about. 

Another thing Malcom X's "Message to the Grassroots" speech helped me to understand and interpret with based on Kendrick Lamar's song "The Blacker the Berry", was that it helped me be able to see what he is talking about and make connections and relate it to my actual life. Malcom X talks about a so called "negro revolution" in his speech, "[The] only kind of revolution that's nonviolent is the Negro revolution. The only revolution based on loving your enemy is the Negro revolution." (Malcom X). This relates to Kendrick's song because he talks about things that caused huge African American race movements, like "Why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street?" (Lamar, The Blacker the Berry). When Trayvon Martin was shot and killed for no reason by a white man it sparked a lot of outrage among the blacks of America because they deemed it as racist because a white man did it. The speech Malcom X made helps me interpret Kendrick's lyrics enough that I can relate it to what I see in my daily life, I remember the outrage over Trayvon Martin and things such as Ferguson and the Baltimore rioting. Seeing these things happening in my life and right in front of my eyes and being able to know where it comes from and connect it back to history is something I am able to do and understand more after the connections were made between the speech and the song. I can understand more now why certain things are deemed as racist and why African Americans feel a certain way. 

Reading and listening to Malcom X's "Message to the Grassroots" speech helped me to better understand the lyrics of Kendrick Lamar's song "The Blacker the Berry" by teaching me about the racist acts that were done towards African Americans and how they were treated, helping me understand that the lyrics are about white people just as much as they are about black people, and it also helps me take what is in the song and make personal connections with it, relating it to my life and seeing how it actually does happen. Malcom X's "Message to the Grassroots" speech took place during the civil rights movement and was all about how white people heavily discriminated against African Americans. The speech and song are both about the discrimination white people say and do against black people. I was able to understand that in Kendrick's song he was talking about many stereotypes and things whites did to blacks and I did not initially realize that. I also was able to take when Malcolm X talked about the white man as the common enemy and interpret that Kendrick is talking about how it is the white man who is racist and hurts the black, all throughout the song. I was also able to make connections into my real life such as Baltimore riots and Trayvon Martin and be able to understand them better. Overall "Message to the Grassroots" and "The Blacker the Berry" showed me how even in modern America racism still exists and where it is all based out of. These two works of art can teach anyone who listens or reads them a lot about their society and even possibly about themselves. It could make someone notice that even though they did not previously see it, these things do happen in their society and even though events like the civil rights movement happened, there will always be a new way for the racism or discrimination to occur but they will see it and hopefully be the change they want to see. 

