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Tupac Shakur: The Poetic Activist Rapper, actor, activist, Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in New York on June 16, 1971. He was born to Afeni Shakur who was an active member of the Black Panther Party; which according to Wikipedia was “an [|African-American] revolutionary organization established to promote [|Black Power], and by extension [|self-defense] for [|blacks] ”. His mother was often in trouble with the law because of her activist lifestyle. In fact Tupac Shakur was born just a month after she was acquitted on more than 150 charges of "Conspiracy against the United States government and New York landmarks" in the New York [|Panther 21] court case. Adversity seemed to surround Tupac growing up. Tupac studied acting, poetry, jazz and ballet. He performed in several plays and was very well liked in school. Tupac kept moving up and was performing in dance videos. His very successful professional career began in the early 1990s. Along with the fame came more problems for Tupac. He had several problems with the law himself. In 1991 and 1993 he had issues with policemen which eventually resulted in a court case. In 1993, Tupac was accused of abusing a woman in a hotel room with some of his friends. This case resulted in Tupac being convicted of sexual abuse and the trials continued. Tupac Shakur was a famed artist who used his music to promote egalitarianism which is, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, “a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political and economic affairs” or “a social philosophy advocating the removal of inequalities among people”. Tupac was born into an activist family both his mother and his father were part of the Black Panther Party which was basically an African American association established to promote “Black Power”. His parents had problems with the law because of this and Tupac was surro unded by it his whole life. Through his music and lyrics, Tupac advocated the problems he saw in society. Tupac felt that racism still existed to a certain degree. He often rapped about brutality by police on young black males who were in the streets. He also spoke out on the neglect African Americans suffered by the government. They were not being taken care of and their well-being was not a priority in comparison to others. Although one can perceive a lot of anger coming from Tupac towards the “white” he also felt African Americans had to change their ways in order to create an overall change. In his songs “Changes” and “Letter to the President”, Tupac uses his music to speak out on the how he felt that African American people in America were still at a disadvantage because of the idea that there is a better race. In “Changes”, Tupac begins by saying that he asks himself whether or not life is worth living. His situation is hard but even worse, according to him, was the fact that he is black. He then says that police don’t care for African Americans instead if they got rid of one they’d be praised for it as though they were a menace or burden in society. He says things haven’t changed all he could see were “racist faces” and how the society was not even ready to see a “black president” He felt people should just put these negative feelings aside and make change for the greater good. In his song, “Letter to the President”, he is addressing the President on why he hasn’t kept his word on the promises he made when elected. He can still see the same problems in his neighborhood and the president hasn’t done much if anything to change it. He questions liberty and states it’s hypocritical. The Statue of Liberty is prized and honorable for Americans but he says she has never done anything for him. Instead, young black males were being recruited for war; they were being used as “scapegoats” in his opinion. Tupac also wrote a book of poems called //The Rose That Grew From Concrete.// In which he also spoke of the hardships and struggles he underwent because of the inequality in society. In one of his poems, titled “Can You See the Pride In The Panther”, Tupac is talking about the Black Panther association. This panther is “toppling obstacles placed in the way of the progression of his race”. Tupac felt the struggle African Americans had to undergo even in these modern times. This says a lot of on our society which claims to be equal and free. Tupac advocated through his work the idea that racism was still around. He wanted it to change and although he was angered by it he didn’t feel it should fuel him to go against white people. He wanted unity and real freedom for everyone and with his music and lyrics he let us know his concerns and desires.

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