Racism: Does it still exist?

Recently, rap phenom Lil Wayne did an interview on “Undisputed” with Skip Bayless to put the rumors of his possible retirement to rest. While many fans were relieved to find that he wasn’t retiring from the rap game, his statements about racism definitely raised some eyebrows. In the interview when asked about his reaction towards San Fransico 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest, Lil Wayne stated “I don’t want to be bashed ‘cause I don’t want to sound like I’m on the wrong—if there is a side but I thought that was clearly a message that there was no such thing as racism. That’s what I thought that was. I thought that was a perfect example. When I look out, when I come up off the stage, when I’m coming out the bottom of the stage at my show, when I’m on tour, and I’m in my stance or whatever and I open my eyes and I see everybody. I don’t see, I don’t have this type of crowd or that type of crowd, my crowd has always been everybody, thank God. And that’s all I can answer for.”
When asked if the younger generation is moving away from racism Lil Wayne stated “It’s not cool to them. It doesn’t matter to them. It’s so not cool to them that it doesn’t even matter to them”. Social media didn’t take kindly to Lil Wayne’s comments and although I was pretty annoyed at the comments myself, I wasn’t very surprised.
Many people often forget that Lil Wayne was signed to cash money at the age of nine years old and has been in the public figure for a long time now. Lil Wayne has been labeled as the epitome of the modern day rap world. His fan base is not just black but it is white. So should we really be surprised that he said he never experienced racism? In the interview, Lil Wayne stated “God knows I have been nothing but blessed.
My path, these 33 years, have been nothing but a blessing. I have never, never is a strong word, never dealt with racism.” I very much agree with that last statement because even though I have been stereotyped on many occasions and called the “N” word by my fellow Caucasian and black friends who thought it was “cool” and no longer has no racial meaning to it, I have also never truly experienced racism.
However, the thing that really made many raise eyebrows was when he said he thought there was no such thing as racism. Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamar Rice and Terrence Crutcher were not a figment of everybody’s imagination. I’m pretty sure that most of these victims have never experienced racism before they died in an unlawful manner. Not every white cop is racist but not every cop abide by the law and I think the deaths of many unarmed black people throughout the years have proven it. It was also interesting when Lil Wayne said the younger generation no longer finds it “cool” to them to be racist because just recently a girl who attends Kansas State University posted a picture on Snapchat of her and a friend with their faces painted black with the caption “feels so good to be a n*****.” I believe that those teenagers were doing it because they thought it would be “cool” and earn them a cheap laugh.
Racism is not a trend that goes in and out of style ,it’s something minorities races have dealt with for centuries and also something we are still dealing with to this very day. I also had a little trouble believing Lil Wayne’s statements about believing racism doesn’t exist because in the song “My Heart Races On” on his “Free Weezy” album there were lyrics that went “Oh Lord, what are we running from? The police cause they already killed enough of us, stay out them streets cause they don’t f*** with us, they hurting us…” I personally think it’s okay to have an opinion different from the majority however there also has to reasoning behind what you’re saying. Just because white and black people are fans of Lil Wayne does not mean racism no longer exist, it just means they have the same taste in music. Just because he has never experienced it before does not mean it no longer exists. There will always be a person in the world who believes that they are more superior than another because of their race or social class.