James McBride's Hip Hop Identity

Hip Hop Planet Response

            James McBride originally did not enjoy rap music all, when he first heard it he said it sounded like the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. He did not fully understand the talent and creativity to produce hip hop music and that it was a form of art. James was close minded to this newly founded musical art form and he didn’t bother listening to it for another 26 years even after college. He would later regret this and he wrote that, “In doing so, I missed the most important cultural event in my lifetime.” McBride is correct when he says that he missed out. A new form of music was originating and beginning to grow and he turned a blind eye to it all. Hip Hop originated from South Bronx and Harlem. A few thousand people gathered together and listened to artists such a Kool DJ Herc and Grand Wizard Theodore and the projects were alight with the party music. The radio stations slowly began to play that music in 1979. James realizes that Hip Hop is becoming a widely accepted form of art and that it can compare to the folk songs and dances from African American tribes, which is also art. He came to embrace this form of music despite how much he tried to ignore it. Some Hip Hop James does not prefer but he realizes that it is a culture that he grew up around and got to know for many years as it surrounded him and grew in popularity. The comparison to our national anthem containing bombs bursting in air and Hip Hop containing a lot of violence also revealed to him that not all music should be judged.  One may dislike the United States’ national anthem but that does not stop all the citizens in this country from singing it and playing the song. Hip-Hop shaped James McBride’s identity because it made him more open minded about a different form of music. He realized the amount of effort and years of work it took for an originally slavery based song and dance form to be accepted worldwide as what the generations listen to today.

The Importance of Identity

The Importance of Identity

            From a young age we define our identities and if someone was to make an attempt at taking a piece of our identity away we should fight back no matter what. Gloria Anzaldua did exactly this when scolded by her teachers at school for actively professing her identity. The punishment for Gloria speaking her native language, Spanish, was that since she lives in America she should speak English. The only effect this had on her was to provide inspiration for her to be proud of her nationality. I disagree with the rational of the teachers because even though she may be living in the United States she doesn’t only have to speak English. Millions of people live in the United States and they do not all speak only English either so there was no reason for Gloria’s reprimanding. For Gloria, her identity relates to her Spanish language because it is uniquely and entirely part of her personal life, as well as Spanish Culture. Therefore, Gloria fights back and does not stop speaking her home language whether it be at home, with her friends, family, or at school. This piece is a chapter of Gloria’s book, “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza,” which depicts Gloria’s life at a young age and follows through adulthood. It also explains how her identity remained with her and how she applied it to everyday life. She understands that America is a melting pot of different identities which adds to the American culture. Everyone in the world has a different identity no matter where they are located on the globe.

An identity is not simply just a language; it consists of much more. An identity can be made up of multiple features such as language, morals, personality, nationality, family, friend’s, culture and education. Identity is how one goes about their life. For example, Gloria identifies Spanish as her primary language. She speaks it at home with her family and at school with her friends. Anzaldua also writes in her book not in just English, but in Spanish as well. Gloria writes about her personality identity stating, “Stubborn, persevering, impenetrable as stone, yet possessing a malleability that renders us unbreakable…” This is significant because it states how her personality is strong minded and persevering as she didn’t back down when faced with the intimidation and the punishments by her teachers at school. Her experiences as a child strengthened her and she applied the lessons she learned to her life and developed a strong will. Language, family and personality are the main themes discussed in Anzaldua’s, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” but that is not all an identity consists of.

Identity consists of education and environment. Education can be part of someone’s identity because if one is not well educated they may speak with slang using improper grammar or sentence structure. Education is also how one obtains a job in the future, so if one isn’t properly educated they will not have a decent high paying job. Identity is made up of family life as well because one may look up to one or more family members such as a mother or a father. A family tragedy also can also change a person but it also can strengthen them too such as a child who lost a father and they must now take care of their mother. Having an identity is important since it affects someone in every aspect of their life.

We should all remember that your identity is important because your identity is who you are as a person. Your identity is how others see you and how you will be remembered as. We should stand up for ourselves if someone is trying to bring us down and not let them negatively affect how we truly are as a person. Just like in Gloria’s situation she did not back down when the teachers told her to stop speaking Spanish just because she lived in America. Her identity is her Spanish language and the culture surrounding her. Our identities may be made up of many parts but as a whole that is who we are as an individual and are what makes us unique from any other person in the world.

McBride and Black Power

The concept of black power is that all African Americans want to be treated like humans. To be more in depth, blacks want the same freedoms and rights as the whites have. The right to vote, the right to proper education and the right to public transportation were all things that African Americans wanted, but could not obtain. McBride’s point about the concept of black power is that it had permeated every element of his life as he grew up around the time it was growing. Especially after Malcom X’s death who was a public figure for the support of black power and what it was supposed to be meant for. McBride believed that black power was a bad political act as it caused fear to many white people and he also feared for his mom as she was white but knew many African Americans. He did believe that having equal rights as any other human being should is the positive of black power and fighting for that is a good thing. McBride did not like the aggressive stance that many supports of black power had an example of this were the Black Panthers. The Black Panthers were a specific group of people that support black power but they were extremists and they hated white people. The Black Panthers were basically the African American version of the Ku Klux Klan as the whites hated the blacks, the blacks hated the whites. McBride can be defined by his identity which has developed over the course of his life. As McBride was younger and the black power movement was in full effect even the buildings were painted in the liberation colors. He also feared black power as he thought that it would be the end of his mother. As he grew older he would watch the news and see news clips showing Black Panther rallies. He didn't want his mother being caught up in any violent acts as he loved his mom and cared about her. I feel that his identity is what defines his opinion on black power as he just grew up having a fear of it for many years. He deemed that black power causes Black Panther rallies and that could be potentially dangerous for himself and his family.

How to Tame A Wild Tongue Response

Josh Yovich

September 1, 2014

Professor Young

English 1100

Reading Response Questions to "How to Tame a Wild Tongue"

1. Discuss how the opening scene of Anzaldua in the dentist's chair connects to the overall point/message of the essay and title.

Anzaldua had trouble controlling her tongue as it kept pushing out the cotton from inside her mouth. The title "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," goes along with this because he tongue was necessarily, "wild," as it was not being controlled the way the dentist would have liked it to be. Also sometimes it can be hard to tame ones tongue as people speak what are on their minds and they talk differently to adults then they do towards their friends.

2. Discuss Anzaldua's use of the Spanish throughout her writing. Did it make sense? What was her purpose?

Anzaldua used Spanish throughout her story and it didn't make sense at some points and wasn't really necessary for her to use it. Her purpose was to show that was the way she talked and she expressed her way to tongue her in writing.

3. Can Academic English be defined as Spanish (Standard) and can Chicano Spanish be described as nonstandard? why? what inferences, conclusions, can be made from referring to one identity (language) as standard versus nonstandard?

Yes because Academic English and Standard Spanish both use no slang at all and they both are used when talking properly to others such as professors and parents. Chicano Spanish can be described as nonstandard as it isn't used normally to professors and both contain slang words. Standard versus nonstandard conclusions that can be made are that people who are more educated use Academic English and Standard Spanish. People who have financial issues or haven't had proper education use nonstandard and Chicano as they couldn't afford proper teaching of their language.

4. Discuss the necessity of speaking and/writing in Academic English as an identity. Is it necessary?

It is much more professional to write and speak in Academic English than slang or any other type for it can be taken that one is much more intellectual than one using slang constantly. It is necessary because high end jobs and interviewers look for people who speak proper Academic English as it indicates they are educated and proper.

5. Anzaldua describes different types of Spanish, identities. Discuss the various types of English, identities, you know.

The various types of English identities I know are slang and English used by foreigners who have many different accents and uses of words. For example my friend from Dubai used the word trousers instead of pants and I have never heard of someone my age say that before.

6. Pachuco. Do you use a secret language, secret identity, to communicate to your friends? If so, what?

I do not use a secret language or a secret identity to communicate with my friends but my word usage is different depending on who I am talking to. For an interview or talking to my professors I talk very politely and use proper speech. With my friends I am more lackadaisical in my speech and I use much more slang depending on who I am talking to such as my friends from my home town.

7. Chicano Spanish can be compared to non-standard English. What form of English (standard or nonstandard) do you speak with our friends (audience)? what form of English do you speak when talk to your mother (audience), professor (audience)? Why?

I speak with my friends in mostly nonstandard English because all of them speak that way as well. When I talk to my mom I use standard and nonstandard English because I am not always going to speak properly when I am home and she doesn't mind at all. Towards my professors I speak standard English because they are grading my papers and I should give them proper respect. 

8. "I am my language." What does this mean? How does this statement connect to a person's identity?

They have a deep connection towards their own heritage and they are avid supports of their own cultural practices, one of them being their language. This statement connects to a person's identity because identity is not just likes, dislikes or physical features, it is also nationality, language, culture, emotion, morals ad formal and informal speaking.

9. Talk specifically about how the introduction and conclusion connect

The introduction connects with the conclusion because her language is her identity no matter how badly the teachers wanted to get rid of it while she was younger in school. They punished her for speaking in Spanish and no in, "American," and that still did not change her identity. In her conclusion she wrote about her being impenetrable as stone and possessing a malleability that made her unbreakable. Anzaldua did not change her identity no matter what happened to her and that shaped her into being a stronger person who will not take any mistreatment from others.

10. Can the language you speak be a part of your identity? Why?

Yes the language I speak is part of my identity. Although I mainly speak English I also speak some Spanish and a large amount of my friends speak it fluently. This helped me learn much more Spanish and I have conversations with my Spanish speaking friends parents in Spanish with them sometimes. My identity was changed from this because my Spanish friends respected that I could speak their own language. Also my identity is always changing as I grow older and have more experience.

11. How important is identity to you? Does Anzaldua believe it's important to have identity? Use some examples from "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," to support your answer.

Identity is very important to much because that is who I am as it is my entire being. My identity is what I am known for such as my beliefs, my ethnic background, my own personal story and all the other qualities I have. Anzaldua believes it is important to have an identity as well because she is not just an average Spanish speaker, she is her own type of dialect of Spanish. Their are many other types of Spanish dialects such as Mexican Spanish, North Mexican, Chicano, Tex-Mex and Pachuco. Her home tongues are the languages she speaks with her sister and brother. With Mexican she speaks Standard Mexican or the North Mexican dialect. She also wrote and said that, "when other race have given up their tongue, we've kept ours," therefore she believes identity is important to have.

What defines me as who I am

Josh Yovich

English 1100

Page Response

September 1, 2014

The people that define me as who I truly am is my close family. Not just one person can shape me into the person that I am which a strong and independent young man. I also am very self-reliant and I care about others very much especially my younger cousins, mom, aunt and best friends. Each member of my immediate family have taught me something about myself no matter if they were older or younger, they still taught me a life lesson. My mom taught me all my life to be a strong young man who is independent as I have no other siblings I was by myself most of the time since both of my parents worked so I had to go out and make friends. If I had problems in class or back in my town I would have to solve them myself since I only had myself to rely on and that is why I am a leader figure in my family. My younger cousin Adam has taught me to be a role model to him and also to look over him and protect him from other dangers out in this world. The other cousin I have, Felissa, is very much younger and much more immature than Adam is. Therefore, I have to keep an eye out for her and look out over her because she always ends up getting in some sort of trouble. Also since they are the only family I necessarily have I definitely will watch over them. The rest of my family is very far spread out and they do not communicate with my mom or me. This also helped shape me into the person I am because I am very wary of other people because I do not trust anyone unless I am best friends with them and I witness them doing something specific which gains my trust. They also have to be my immediate family to also have my trust. Because the rest of my family is all lying, cheating and conniving people who I Do not want to associate myself or anyone else I know with. Throughout all my life the only people that have truly been there for me and understood me were my mom, cousins and Aunt. I am very thankful to have such a great and understanding family who all have helped me grow into the person that I am today and I will continue through this journey of life with them by my side.