Basquiat on Black Cops

Two years prior to “Defacement”, Basquiat painted “Irony of Negro Policemen.” This earlier painting depicts a black cop in a blue uniform with the title painted next to him. To closely examine Basquiat’s message of this painting, we reached out to James Forman Jr. In 2017, he published Pulitzer winning “Locking Up Our Own: Crime And Punishment In Black America” which examines the role played by black people in shaping America's criminal system today, the history of (notably for this video) black cops, and all of the nuances of this history.
See the full interview with James Forman Jr. here:
• Interview with James F...
0:00 Intro
2:27 What Is The Irony? Part I
3:59 James Forman Jr.
4:43 James Forman Sr.'s Arrest
9:11 Why Criticize Black Law Enforcement?
13:32 History of Black Law Enforcement
18:16 The Irony of Black Policemen Part II
25:55 Conclusion
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#Basquiat

Пікірлер: 205

  • @TheCanvasArtHistory
    @TheCanvasArtHistory Жыл бұрын

    Thank you James Forman Jr for giving this super insightful interview! You can find the link to full interview in the description of the video! Thank you so much!!

  • @jameswelsh7789

    @jameswelsh7789

    5 күн бұрын

    So valuable and important and impressive to see a Left / make the world better for everyone influencer like you taking on board the practical journey/experience of a 2nd generation activist! God, it gives me hope for the next generation/a better life for all mankind.😊 Please note that as in nature, multiple strategies and tactics appear, evolve, flourish immediately, gain momentum over generations, we need to understand and harness the diversity even though it can appear to work at cross purposes for a lifetime. ✌️

  • @rosieanox6669
    @rosieanox6669 Жыл бұрын

    Wake up babe new Canvas video just dropped

  • @linguineimpasta

    @linguineimpasta

    Жыл бұрын

    Same

  • @ginoxious

    @ginoxious

    Жыл бұрын

    I already watched it babe. I'm a member

  • @aconvinentlycrossshapedrock

    @aconvinentlycrossshapedrock

    Жыл бұрын

    Three months late but im up babe

  • @StopCopCity1312
    @StopCopCity1312 Жыл бұрын

    James Baldwin covered this a long time ago. He was the one who taught Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. nearly everything he knew. "Black policemen were another matter. We used to say, 'If you must call a policeman'- for we hardly ever did-'for God’s sake, try to make sure it’s a White one.' A Black policeman could completely demolish you. He knew far more about you than a White policeman could and you were without defenses before this Black brother in uniform whose entire reason for breathing seemed to be his hope to offer proof that, though he was Black, he was not Black like you." They see themselves as heroes and protectors of the peace against troublemakers in "the ghetto". Which leads to tragedies like Tyre Nichols, Manuel Teran and many more. Too many names, too many names... He's been saying some of the same things Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were saying back in the 50s and 60s, using poetry and literature instead of comedy. Instead of looking at individuals, we really need to look at systems. It's been 70+ years. Nothing's changed. Trying to reform a system that refuses to change is a fool's errand. Abolish it.

  • @NormanFinkelstein9863

    @NormanFinkelstein9863

    Жыл бұрын

    Cut the Legs off the fkn Table..? We'd have to abolish Netflix first, then maybe TicTok, and cut most of the SOMA out of YT. That's your obstacle: Apathy , Distraction and the Casual indifference it engenders toward suffering of others. Healthy information, News has become blended with entertainment, mindless celebrity gossip to make a kind of simplistic, easily digestible Junk Food which produces fewer positive outcomes and poisons people minds with increasingly polarizing reactions. We are being played off against one another , constantly trained to react in predictable ways to defend our sense of identity, 'values' and position in our own carefully constructed illusion of society. Why would uneducated Black Police Officers be any more likely to change their behaviour than a bunch people sitting on the Internet.? respect

  • @ProgessivesBwhitetho

    @ProgessivesBwhitetho

    Жыл бұрын

    so qwhite cops are good and police unions good and biden who loves police protection good?

  • @mdude625

    @mdude625

    9 ай бұрын

    Abolish the cops and replace them with what? Or are you just a child who wants to pitch fits and tear stuff down, giving no thought to anyone around you?

  • @Illumirage

    @Illumirage

    10 күн бұрын

    No, everything has changed. You are out to lunch. Black people are privileged over everyone now. Hell, a woman made it all the way to the Supreme court because of her skin color. But, conveniently forget about things like that. It's all the oppression olympics based on falsities with you leftist communists.

  • @buddharuci2701
    @buddharuci2701 Жыл бұрын

    As a clerk on the midnight platoon in a New York City police precinct in the late 1970’s, officers told me that black PO’s were rougher on black alleged perpetrators than white PO’s because black PO’s wanted to “clean up” the neighborhood. This was a time when the ”tune up” was the rule. Where are we now? I hate to think. Thank you for your work.

  • @cliffgaither

    @cliffgaither

    Жыл бұрын

    Buddha Ruci :: Five BPO's, in Memphis, a couple of weeks ago, beat a BM to death :: Tadarrius Bean Demetrius Haley Emmitt Martin III Desmond Mills, Jr. Justin Smith All from a special _Scorpion Unit,_ that has since and conveniently been disbanded.

  • @Illumirage

    @Illumirage

    10 күн бұрын

    @@cliffgaither WM's that get beaten to death don't even make the news. quit acting like that only happens to BM's. Becuase it doesn't. You're privileged in 2024.

  • @cliffgaither

    @cliffgaither

    10 күн бұрын

    @@Illumirage :: 1.. I never typed that wm's were never beaten by cops. 2. _"You're_ privileged in 2024". You don't know anything about me, but not to worry ... you're consistently wrong. 3. Privileged people aren't shot when they knock on the wrong door.

  • @dominikcunningham9079
    @dominikcunningham9079 Жыл бұрын

    I'll never forget that I took an Ap art history course in high school and to understate a fact I knew more that our teacher about what I thought art history was. It was in college when two European friends told me who Basquiat was. I had literally never heard of him before. Im black and spent my whole life in Texas, to say the least I was so embarrassed. I don't think Republicans have to worry about teaching black history in schools, they already don't. Public school in America just seems to be a never ending indoctrination into the national myths.

  • @numbersix8919

    @numbersix8919

    Жыл бұрын

    Let's face it, white supremacy is baked into the European Project, period.

  • @brixan...

    @brixan...

    Жыл бұрын

    I definitely learned about many black leaders in American public school. I don't think it's as simple as "if they don't mention Basquiat, then they are hiding the truth." People who had big impacts are always left out of history class. There's only so much they can include. I'm sure the vast majority of artists (even famous artists) were excluded from your class. There are thousands... I think it's important to not oversimplify these issues

  • @dominikcunningham9079

    @dominikcunningham9079

    Жыл бұрын

    @@brixan... I don't think I ever mentioned anyone hiding the "truth". I was mainly talking about my AP art history class. I do not think its an overstatement to say black history in American public schools in neglected. Especially black history from a black perspective. If I remember well most classes were just centered around teaching toward a test at the end of the year. There was no critical analysis or in depth divulging into any subject. I think its odd to have an entire art history class and not mention a single black artist. Also you said they have to prioritize certain information, but why prioritize an entire year to Texas history (from the white colonizer perspective). Also I was just giving a personal anecdote. How is that an oversimplification? And why did you choose to take a non charitable position? Also just to go back to the art history thing; why is Michelangelo no matter what always mentioned? Him and all the other "grates"? Why ?

  • @brixan...

    @brixan...

    Жыл бұрын

    @@dominikcunningham9079 "Indoctrinating" implies that the teaching is one-sided, and therefore leaving out something you think they should include. American schools do "teach to test." It sucks, but I don't see what that has to do with black artists. The oversimplification was the idea that "if they don't mention Basquiat, they're just indoctrinating" (edited for clarity). I actually took a more charitable position in saying that leaving out Basquiat isn't inherently evil, racist, deliberate, etc. Could just be time and content restraints. Michelangelo is one of the most famous artists in the world... Like, ever. That'd be like teaching Basketball history and leaving out Michael Jordan. When you're teaching history, you have to address the giants in that area, and then include the others.

  • @dominikcunningham9079

    @dominikcunningham9079

    Жыл бұрын

    @@brixan... Why is Michelangelo a "giant"? Who decided that? Vasari? Why isn’t Basquiat a "great". Is it because he hasn’t had the same power structures built around his legacy. Also to imply that there are no political views and or biases that are present when constructing a curriculum, is insane. And yes the curriculum is one sided and racist because of that fact. When we learn about manifest destiny do we get a rebuttal? Maybe from an indigenous perspective? No we don’t. And that is an implicit bias. And you saying imagine teaching a history of basketball and not mentioning M.J. furthers my point. If you think that an art history class which is supposed to cover world art history doesn’t have to mention one black artist than you must think that there are no black artists that are "giant" enough to be mentioned.

  • @bugzy_brain
    @bugzy_brain Жыл бұрын

    i think people seem to forget that literally anyone can be racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, ect, even towards their own community. ive met many racist poc and many homophobic and transphobic queer people. just because someones identity has a label on it doesnt make them immune to their own bigoted ideals.

  • @ProgessivesBwhitetho

    @ProgessivesBwhitetho

    Жыл бұрын

    true most democrats say they hate cops but defend bernie voting mass incarceration

  • @mdude625

    @mdude625

    9 ай бұрын

    Istaphobe!!!

  • @magicalelvishman
    @magicalelvishman Жыл бұрын

    The grate pattern seen behind the officer's head and before his mouth says something to me -- ironically, the black cop must constantly incarcerate himself?

  • @selalewis9189
    @selalewis91899 ай бұрын

    I’m so glad you interviewed James Forman Jr.! I listened to the audiobook on my own and I’m trying to get my local DSA to read it. I want to invite him to a panel discussion for our Defund MPD work here in DC where James used to work.

  • @TheCanvasArtHistory

    @TheCanvasArtHistory

    9 ай бұрын

    You should definitely send him an email! He was really nice and generous with the interview. However, he might be busy as I know he's working on his next book. Best of luck! :)

  • @taouinche
    @taouinche Жыл бұрын

    One could simply say that this is another great video on this channel, but this one has a special resonance for me as a French citizen. We are going through times in which systemic problems of this nature in institutional bodies, such as the police, have become obvious to even the most blind among us. Thank you for your great work.

  • @pejamane

    @pejamane

    11 ай бұрын

    whoa

  • @refugeinthewind
    @refugeinthewind Жыл бұрын

    So sorry I missed the live session, Shawn. As one of the first four women hired as fully fledged, trained law enforcement in a major metropolitan department in 1975, just substitute "woman" throughout this interview. And yes, many female cops were very overly aggressive and violent, apparently trying to prove they were one of the boys, and to avoid the ridicule. I had hopes of rising to a position where I could make policy and procedure. When I applied for promotion to sergeant I was told by my university mentor that the biggest problem was that for me to rise to that position I would have to play coyote for years, giving every appearance of being "a company man" to get promoted. He feared it would kill my covert revolutionary spirit. But the administration had already figured me out. I was told that I was "not one of their people." I stayed 12 years. And then I "got well"...and moved on to better things. Thank you for your amazing work here. And thanks to Prof. Forman Jr for shining a light.

  • @GawxArt
    @GawxArt Жыл бұрын

    I love your channel

  • @antoinepetrov

    @antoinepetrov

    Жыл бұрын

    Hey, Gawx!

  • @sharongillesp
    @sharongillesp Жыл бұрын

    The “whiteness” of his bones reflects how we are “all exactly alike on the inside.” The white wash over and around his face depicts his whiteness.

  • @FortheLoveofMonsters

    @FortheLoveofMonsters

    Жыл бұрын

    you get it

  • @titobandito1555

    @titobandito1555

    Жыл бұрын

    ☝️

  • @oj8868
    @oj8868 Жыл бұрын

    I have to say, I'm not normally interested in art. But the way your videos manage to explain what is depicted, and why the artist chose to depict it in the way he did, in a manner that is relatable to me, is quite fascinating. Thank you for your work!

  • @vaynerebelle84

    @vaynerebelle84

    9 ай бұрын

    The story is always the part that sells to you.

  • @sadshawty2092
    @sadshawty2092 Жыл бұрын

    It’s been a year since I follow your channel and I have to say that I’m very happy and glad that your channel exists

  • @leehayes4019
    @leehayes4019 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for continuing to put out such great work.

  • @trevor1550
    @trevor1550 Жыл бұрын

    Been waiting for this one 🔥

  • @apurplepaintingunicorn3363
    @apurplepaintingunicorn3363 Жыл бұрын

    The quality of this content makes my heart so happy

  • @IrishMorgenstern
    @IrishMorgenstern Жыл бұрын

    Been looking forward to a new video! Joy!

  • @FawumiArt
    @FawumiArt Жыл бұрын

    Great conversation!

  • @lukatrdina5108
    @lukatrdina5108 Жыл бұрын

    You're my fav art youtuber, and Basq is my fav modern artist, thank you!

  • @deviningram6814
    @deviningram6814 Жыл бұрын

    Wonderful discussion!!!

  • @sapphic.flower
    @sapphic.flower Жыл бұрын

    Just starting the video but already loving it! I love Basquiat’s art ❤

  • @achronos178
    @achronos178 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you! I'm glad to a Haitian artist has gotten so much love.

  • @lalopem7401
    @lalopem7401 Жыл бұрын

    amazing video thank you canvas ♡︎

  • @mrkba
    @mrkba Жыл бұрын

    “If we can’t sit at the table let’s knock the fucking legs off.” Beautiful.

  • @mdude625

    @mdude625

    9 ай бұрын

    More like childish and emotionally immature.

  • @chriss780

    @chriss780

    9 ай бұрын

    @@mdude625 its naive to expect people to have any sort of loyalty to or investment in a system that treats them like dogs

  • @mdude625

    @mdude625

    9 ай бұрын

    So what’s the solution? What is the alternative? What do you replace it with, other than rage quit and knock it all down like a toddler having a tantrum?@@chriss780

  • @theseoldhomes

    @theseoldhomes

    9 ай бұрын

    @@mdude625 you replace it with a better table, and people at that table.

  • @mdude625

    @mdude625

    9 ай бұрын

    What does that look like?@@theseoldhomes

  • @amherst88
    @amherst88 Жыл бұрын

    Much gratitude for this, brings to light so many factors that are at play simultaneously. Much as I agree with virtually everything said I have to say that, unlike Mr. Forman, I consider collective 'institutions' (and 'laws') to only have the power people continue to give them, they have no 'power' in themselves -- if enough people were to decide to 'de-fund' them by withdrawing their assent they would cease to exist (Frederick Douglass described this with eloquent simplicity). There is certainly danger and uncertainty in that dynamic and, unfortunately, human beings seem to be evolving out of the capacities that would be necessary to utilize such a possibility.

  • @endlessc4nuck224
    @endlessc4nuck224 Жыл бұрын

    Keep up the work!

  • @annalisa.robbins
    @annalisa.robbins Жыл бұрын

    Loved the video ✨💕

  • @subhankarmohanta7546
    @subhankarmohanta7546 Жыл бұрын

    Your video making style, contents have changed a lot. I like this one, but I loved the previous format.

  • @NY_Mountain_Man
    @NY_Mountain_Man6 ай бұрын

    What a great video.

  • @Gettomix222
    @Gettomix222 Жыл бұрын

    sick intro. very aesthetic!

  • @enxk2426
    @enxk2426 Жыл бұрын

    This intro is fire bro, I love it

  • @vitorclemen
    @vitorclemen Жыл бұрын

    awesome video!

  • @jpgamein5242
    @jpgamein5242 Жыл бұрын

    Please please make a video on Vasili kandinsky, I love your channel and would love to see your take on his art!

  • @mrJohnDesiderio
    @mrJohnDesiderio Жыл бұрын

    Great content

  • @cgautz
    @cgautz4 ай бұрын

    Thanks!

  • @Malkfr
    @Malkfr Жыл бұрын

    great work ! dope vide. love basquiat

  • @skramzy6628
    @skramzy6628 Жыл бұрын

    I, too, love your channel

  • @bdhanes
    @bdhanes Жыл бұрын

    ❤ Love y'all. & Love all this video is about.❤

  • @empatheticrambo4890
    @empatheticrambo4890 Жыл бұрын

    This gave me a LOT to think about

  • @anthonymorales842
    @anthonymorales842 Жыл бұрын

    Brilliant just Brilliant well done

  • @orconoftime
    @orconoftime Жыл бұрын

    Great video / interview I'm just a little curious as to what the 'Thermos' signifies in La Hara

  • @bigblueshoe777
    @bigblueshoe777 Жыл бұрын

    Fantastic interview material. Thanks for bringing this to the eyes/ears of white dudes like me that have trouble understanding.

  • @NoaManic
    @NoaManic Жыл бұрын

    I’m very glad that you’re producing these videos now that include social commentary from a Leftist and Progressive perspective. Art, historically, has oftentimes been pure expressions of frustrated people to critique the society around them, and understanding this, I believe, is fundamentally critical to understanding art like Basquiat’s.

  • @khambrelgreen
    @khambrelgreen Жыл бұрын

    I'm having difficulties finding your other KZread channel. Would you please Supply a link so I can follow up on the information you have provided?

  • @esnecastroribeiro
    @esnecastroribeiro Жыл бұрын

    i was just watching the Basquiat movie

  • @anuel3780
    @anuel3780 Жыл бұрын

    14:57 James Forman says "...deserve at least..." but the sign itself says "rate"? Are they synonyms or something? What does rate mean here?

  • @justhereforthememes536
    @justhereforthememes536 Жыл бұрын

    This is actually a really good perspective

  • @johnathangill5666
    @johnathangill5666 Жыл бұрын

    Important video on an important issue

  • @thejourneyofone2425
    @thejourneyofone2425 Жыл бұрын

    Truly inspirational as a photographer living in the UK I would really like to do a project here based on this information. I have read the institution of racism which investigated and documented similar structures of racism in Britain.

  • @mdude625

    @mdude625

    9 ай бұрын

    Sounds stunning and brave.

  • @bendahl12

    @bendahl12

    6 ай бұрын

    Racism in Britain… you know after America and the UK abolished slavery, your British ancestors spent 175 years policing the oceans for slave ships and returning them back to Africa. The UK and America are the two best places for black people to live and prosper, and that’s backed up by facts (look up family incomes in America and UK compared to other countries) All this basquiat stuff is BS (he’s French so of course he has horrible political ideas) and the whole “black people are victims” narrative needs to stop.

  • @zetectic7968
    @zetectic7968 Жыл бұрын

    Very interesting & thought provoking. If you have a broken system, in this case a racist police force, then black cops will not dilute the racism as they want to "fit in" and not be seen as disloyal or not team players. Change can only happen from the outside, needing political will to impose change & to force through reform. Too often the required reform is portrayed as being "soft on crime" that will produce more criminality & criminals.

  • @olliewild7211
    @olliewild7211 Жыл бұрын

    Woooo

  • @chompytv8591
    @chompytv8591 Жыл бұрын

    “If we can’t sit at the table, let’s knock the fucking legs off.” AMEN, LOUDER FOR THOSE IN THE BACK.

  • @Hartley_Hare
    @Hartley_Hare Жыл бұрын

    Basquiat didn't know the meaning of irony, then.

  • @SaraSaadlou
    @SaraSaadlouАй бұрын

    Would you please enable Persian subtitles?

  • @iiev8398
    @iiev8398 Жыл бұрын

    nice intro

  • @ESPIRITUS_A
    @ESPIRITUS_A Жыл бұрын

    why do you pronounce the painting's title wrong?

  • @mak4374
    @mak4374 Жыл бұрын

    ❤❤❤❤❤

  • @walsh0
    @walsh0 Жыл бұрын

    basquiat

  • @PrometheusExselsiorHanzo
    @PrometheusExselsiorHanzo6 ай бұрын

    The Basquiat film brought me here Drink every time I type Basquiat (That's a lie, the Basquiat film didn't bring me here, 😅 I just want you guys to know that there's a Basquiat film) Jean-Michel Basquiat is from half Haitian, 🇭🇹 I am also Haitian & he is one of the few world famous people to come from Haiti👏🎉

  • @Mr.paint123
    @Mr.paint123 Жыл бұрын

    “Hey you, whatever your name is that, I met at the bar last last night, you need to leave ! Because I’ve got shit to do today and canvas just posted a new video”

  • @intboom
    @intboom Жыл бұрын

    Isn't this just the same message everyone has been doing for about 50 years?

  • @mnm1273

    @mnm1273

    Жыл бұрын

    The work is 42 years old.

  • @namesake7885

    @namesake7885

    Жыл бұрын

    The work is not done. AP African American history just got banned from all Florida state curriculum, while other AP classes sit untouched. Black Americans still face 3:1 conviction rates for the same crimes as their white counterparts. Black Americans were only just able to qualify for federal housing loans at the end of the 80s/early 90s. This issue is still ongoing, to pretend it isn't and everything is resolved now is foolish.

  • @intboom

    @intboom

    Жыл бұрын

    Is this why a group of black cops beat a black guy to death recently?

  • @gnomschild

    @gnomschild

    Жыл бұрын

    They'll probably stop talking about it once the problem is fixed.

  • @intboom

    @intboom

    Жыл бұрын

    @@gnomschild If you define "white supremacy" as "living a comfortable, safe, and prosperous life in a first world country", then it is a problem can be pretty easily solved by utterly destroying everything that makes life worth living.

  • @lrwa_broyfleurimon_432
    @lrwa_broyfleurimon_432 Жыл бұрын

    Idk, he’s spitting CRT academic racist ish and not what basquiat personally referring to at the time. I don’t think you can critique this piece of work out side basquiats whole body of works which is a critique of western institutions and this guy world view is of that world view critiquing a single basquiat piece to make a career. The whole phenomenon of basquiat is that he was not from those institutions but rivaled the ranks speaking true of his time.

  • @namesake7885

    @namesake7885

    Жыл бұрын

    "CRT academic racist ish"? Do you even know what CRT is out of a meaningless overused reactionary buzzword to refer to anything that regards race or racial identity? CRT is a specific college course taught to legal students. Not just a buzzword for discussions on race that make you uncomfortable.

  • @lrwa_broyfleurimon_432

    @lrwa_broyfleurimon_432

    Жыл бұрын

    @@namesake7885 I do. And i am Haitian American. And college educated. It is very frustrating the groups who complains about cultural Appropriation can not see they themselves appropriating Basquaits work as well many things to today’s discourse. You can’t speak about basquaits works without careful consideration that NYC being bankrupt in the 70s and early 80s as well and the broken home he is from. I too is from from Brooklyn NY and no where this guy speaks about the corruption of the NYPD who were in bed with the Italian mob and how they would funnel money to the black gangs at time to do their bidding. There’s no talk about the crack era which Basquait is a victim of. This is exactly what Basquaits feared would happen to his work when he pass.

  • @BigHenFor

    @BigHenFor

    Жыл бұрын

    I think you're confused. Facts confuse you. You don't even know what CRT is about.

  • @lrwa_broyfleurimon_432

    @lrwa_broyfleurimon_432

    Жыл бұрын

    @@BigHenFor you haven’t said anything of substance commie. You should read about that period in NYC

  • @H0mework

    @H0mework

    Жыл бұрын

    It's ironic he made a video about propaganda then ignored the artist and interviewed some woke guy. Definition of clickbait. Love from another American, I have a Haitian friend but she considers herself french and lives in Montreal now lol.

  • @philsophkenny
    @philsophkenny Жыл бұрын

    🤔

  • @SoulSukkur
    @SoulSukkur Жыл бұрын

    when I first heard of/saw this piece in high school from another student's presentation, I didn't get it. frankly, I still don't. I think it's an interesting topic, the way people can dutifully serve a system which in turn doesn't serve their best interests. however, that topic is presented plainly in the title; isn't it ironic when a black man works as a police officer? that's what the title says, but I never understood what the /piece/ was saying. it was a messy, chaotic depiction of a black man in a police uniform. the title says that's ironic, but how does this depiction represent that irony? the form is distorted, disjointed, like the situation is unnatural, but does that make it ironic? he appears to be standing motionless in a void. he isn't depicted as actively engaging in some form of oppression, actively doing anything against his own interests. he is simply existing as a police officer, and as a black man. what /about/ a black police officer is ironic, in of itself? what does this piece do, beyond rehash (and literally restate) its title? in what way is it deeper than its own premise? I also judged the piece more negatively (fairly or not) for being made during a drug trip, if I remember that presentation correctly. I felt that, while such a piece can still be very expressive, an altered state of mind doesn't produce the symbolism or layered metaphors I always find fascinating in art (though i've never been any good at discerning those myself.) so at the time, I had no trouble believing the piece itself lacked depth. nowadays, i'd prefer to think that's wrong, but still don't see how it is. in much the same way, this video dives into the topic of black people as conduits of systemic oppression, but barely references the work of art itself beyond using it as a jumping-off point, before discussing a book with plenty to say. even at the end, James admits that, while there are many respects in which a black police officer can be considered ironic (and some in which it isn't), he didn't claim to know what manner of irony Basquiat was actually trying to convey. in this case, the art literally didn't participate in the conversation. it all fits a bit too neatly into my stated preconceptions, and yet it doesn't sound like the takeaway this video intended.

  • @freakalmighty2533

    @freakalmighty2533

    Жыл бұрын

    I disagree on the last part. It appears to me that the irony resides in the factors explained by James Foreman Jr. If you don't understand the racist structure of the police force, you cannot see the irony in the figure of a black policeman. What makes the black policeman ironic is a communion of multifaceted elements and perspectives. Another commenter posted a wonderful example that wasn't touched in the video further up: (grossly simplified paraphrase) the desire to prove yourself as different and better than your peers, having internalized the beliefs of a racist society, thereby justifying those beliefs in an attempt to distinguish yourself. Foreman points out many reasons why some fought to allow black people to have a place in law enforcement, and how there ultimately may be some irony in that. Furthermore, I think the video does well to dwell on the final point that Foreman raises. Is there really any irony in a black person wanting to become a police officer? It's a matter of perspective on a topic that, no matter which side you look at it from, ultimately presents the same truth: police is racist. If you are a black police officer, you might find the desire to change the system from within. Or you might want to distinguish yourself from the other, 'bad' black people. If you are black, you might want a job. If you are a middleclass black person, you might want a buffer from systemic oppression. If you are a poor black person, you might hope in a less violent oppressor. If you are Basquiat, you find irony in that.

  • @necrophagus9
    @necrophagus9 Жыл бұрын

    The police intend to subjugate all at the behest of the state.

  • @jessehenao8362
    @jessehenao83629 ай бұрын

    Rich people

  • @jessehenao8362
    @jessehenao83629 ай бұрын

    It's not about black and white and all that was part of that but it's more about keeping the poor people away from the

  • @reethkitchards
    @reethkitchards Жыл бұрын

    See Kamala Harris…

  • @bzxshor67mpts
    @bzxshor67mpts6 ай бұрын

    Gee we are scratching the bottom of the barrel throwing this up as Art. No wonder the average person no longer is interested in visual Art anymore. Canvas is becoming unwatchable

  • @H0mework
    @H0mework Жыл бұрын

    Are there any good things you say about police officers in the interview? I've known two people who become police, part of the training is going to a Holocaust museum, and I genuinely think they want to make the world a safer place, as they experienced terrible situations where they wish a cop had been present. Just as racism has no color, crime doesn't either. It's as ironic as a self policing group who share a culture, as ironic as the shooter who was stopped by a man of his own race. Nicols is a tragedy, and the irony is that many others said the scorpion unit was useful in other situations. But no institution is perfect. It is unnecessarily violent and you're correct some people can't do it. One of my friends father is a detective and he was mentally destroyed seeing some of the cases that keep you up at night. I wanted to be a detective until I saw how stressful it was, and how I'd have to go up the ranks. This felt more like propaganda for a book than a dive into the art, and I don't know much more about the art but I know more about a book I'm not interested in. I hope this isn't a trend.

  • @mrJohnDesiderio

    @mrJohnDesiderio

    Жыл бұрын

    Qualified immunity is the Nuremberg defense for cops. The Holocaust comment was pretty ironic.

  • @StopCopCity1312

    @StopCopCity1312

    Жыл бұрын

    People need to stop looking at individuals and start looking at systems. Back when I was in 5th grade, my class was doing on assignment on Westerns and tall tales. My teacher said no six pointed stars. I scratched my head wondering why and then looked it up later. Badges used to say "Runaway Slave Patrol". Now when you see one on TV, in the movies or real life it's either blank or just says Sheriff. It's been 70+ years of reforms. They all failed at the same time. You can't reform a system that refuses to reform. You can't change the system, the system changes you. Abolish the system.

  • @darklyripley6138

    @darklyripley6138

    Жыл бұрын

    @@StopCopCity1312 Literally everything you said is false, myths, and nonsense. Abolish the system? Black people already kill other black people and victimize each other at a high rate. What do you think will happen if the system is abolished? Blacks will be the ones hurt the most.

  • @darklyripley6138

    @darklyripley6138

    Жыл бұрын

    @@mrJohnDesiderio No, god you’re ignorant. First off, you actually need to qualify for qualified immunity. You don’t just a automatically get it. Hence the name. If you actually cross the line and deprive people of their rights in bad faith, you won’t get it. You don’t seem to know what qualified immunity actually is. If a police officer hears about a suspect breaking into cars, and he sees someone who matches the description, he can detain him under reasonable suspicion. If qualified immunity did not exist, that person could bring civil suites against the officer for detaining him, even though the officer was acting in good faith. Police are already afraid of doing their job because of ignorant people like you. You’d actively be making it near impossible for them to do their job if qualified immunity was removed.

  • @H0mework

    @H0mework

    Жыл бұрын

    @@StopCopCity1312 and replace it with what? The video can be summed up as cops are always bad, but even democrats dropped the ACAB because the gangs are more monsterous. You want to live in Detroit, with their weak police force? I'll buy you a ticket.

  • @MontaukFilms7
    @MontaukFilms7 Жыл бұрын

    Yeah... OK.

  • @Illumirage
    @Illumirage10 күн бұрын

    cherry picked instances. I'm not sure what he wanted, just full on anarchy? No police? How would that improve your life? Hatred of police is so short-sighted....

  • @sparkyfromel
    @sparkyfromel Жыл бұрын

    It seems somewhat unfair to focus on the police without considering black men crime rate the only argument of racism is a bit light in my mind , many oppressed minorities established prosperous and peaceful neighborhood the argument of repression has some value , it fit with a perception of an inherent threat to law and civil order

  • @BigHenFor

    @BigHenFor

    Жыл бұрын

    I suggest you actually research the issue.

  • @moth9659

    @moth9659

    Жыл бұрын

    You're the one who needs to make a little more research with all respect, remember who's posting those charts

  • @BigHenFor

    @BigHenFor

    Жыл бұрын

    @@moth9659 I think you don't think.

  • @moth9659

    @moth9659

    Жыл бұрын

    @@BigHenFor im replying to op u wheatless bread

  • @PleaseIgnoreSomeofMyComments

    @PleaseIgnoreSomeofMyComments

    7 ай бұрын

    @@moth9659 It doesn't matter who's posting those charts, it's the truth. People in poverty are most likely to do crime. It's a culture dominated thing, not specifically race.

  • @cliffgaither
    @cliffgaither10 күн бұрын

    @illumirage :: I never typed that it never happened to wms. You know nothing about me, so your comment :: You're privileged in 2024, is asinine. Not to worry, you are consistently wrong.

  • @theowlfromduolingo7982
    @theowlfromduolingo7982 Жыл бұрын

    2:57 3:03 3:31 Any proofs for those wild claims?

  • @jvballatore

    @jvballatore

    Жыл бұрын

    wild claims? good one

  • @namesake7885

    @namesake7885

    Жыл бұрын

    lol wild claims? you have internet access, google is free, if you really cared to learn instead of feigning doubt and being pedantic. the history and origin of the modern day form of policing we have in america started out with slavecatching. even before police enforced racist jim crow laws, "police" before they became a systemic norm were mostly southern bounty hunters and small town sherriffs who took on bounties put out by plantation owners to catch runaway slaves even after they escaped to "free" northern states and bring them back into slavery. hell, small town sherriffs especially in texas were the main ones to gather a crowd and oversee lynchings and mob violence against black civilians. there's a reason that even to this day black and brown americans have a 3:1 conviction rate for the same crimes as their white counterparts. for every meth bust, a black and brown person gets jailed at 3x the likelihood than a white american who has done the same crime. black americans couldn't even get approved for federal housing loans until the late 80s/90s and you really think our modern day legal system, a system that still to this day profits off of legalized slavery via prison labor is completely fair and balanced? that's wild.

  • @darklyripley6138

    @darklyripley6138

    Жыл бұрын

    Yeah, he says it like it’s common knowledge and not up for debate. He’s clearly anti police.

  • @BigHenFor

    @BigHenFor

    Жыл бұрын

    @@darklyripley6138 it's as clear as you are clearly you are anti-breathing.

  • @theowlfromduolingo7982

    @theowlfromduolingo7982

    Жыл бұрын

    @@jvballatore Saying that an entire system and all of its individuals (police officers) are serving white elites and at the same time they are all oppressing a part of society because of racism - sounds like a huge oversimplification or rather a conspiracy theory.

  • @tru2thastyle
    @tru2thastyle8 ай бұрын

    Yeah, I just love treating entire groups of people as a monolith with no unique experiences between them. Lol

  • @internet_best
    @internet_best Жыл бұрын

    woke art...

  • @zeus7873
    @zeus78739 ай бұрын

    Man you can do better many wild claims without any proof to back

  • @notapplicable2u
    @notapplicable2u10 ай бұрын

    You say that women are a marginalized group but how is that possible given the amount of power they currently hold today and when they make up 50% of population? How can you make the argument that ethnic minorities share the same type of oppression? It’s a numbers game and it’s about power.

  • @mdude625

    @mdude625

    9 ай бұрын

    They are also going to & graduating from college/university more than men. Now, whether they’re getting degrees in anything worthwhile is debatable.

  • @armingux
    @armingux Жыл бұрын

    I swear to god if I don't hear a nwa reference in this video....