The text that I chose for Essay #3 was the song “I Can’t Breathe” by H.E.R. 

Thesis Statement: America is going through many social injustices, systemic racism being one of them. We as people need to fight for each other and stand together as one in order to create change that will last.

 

In my essay, what I hope to accomplish would be first of all to inform what systemic racism truly is. I would also want to highlight some of America’s injustices throughout these few years. I would like to write about the B.L.M. movement as well. What inspired the desire to further the research was how much the song touched me when I first had listened to it. It was around the time after George Floyd’s death when the Black Lives Matter protests and riots started to get a lot of people’s attention. Throughout the song, her lyrics are powerful, and while listening, you can hear the desperation and want for change. I came up with the thesis while listening to a verse in the song where it states, “How do we cope when we don’t love each other? Where is the hope and the empathy? How do we judge off the color? The structure was made to make us the enemy. Prayin’ for change ’cause the pain makes you tender All of the names you refuse to remember. Was somebody’s brother, friend, Or a son to a mother that’s crying, singing” This verse was important to me because it showed the humanity within it. Yes, we’re angry and want change, but that doesn’t mean that we want revenge. We just want justice and hope for a better future where people aren’t judged by the color of their skin. I plan to explore this statement in my research by adding information on the topic and maybe including people’s narratives from articles.