Kirshnik Khari Ball, known professionally as Takeoff, was killed in Houston on Nov. 1 after a heated conversation that led to a few shots being fired. He was best known as a member of the hip-hop trio Migos. This is a death that has left many artists, influencers and fans grieving both Migos and Takeoff. Personally, Takeoff’s death triggered a rage in me because Black men are dying at a young age because of gun violence.

As a generation of innovators, thought leaders, artists, influencers and celebrities, we, the Black community, have entered a period where we must use our voice. Whether it be through social media accounts, a YouTube channel, a pulpit, art or fashion, we need to use our platforms for positive change in our communities. Our generation needs to use their platform to address the real epidemic that is occurring: the death of Black men and women at an exponential rate, by law enforcement and one another.

Many college students like myself live in a four-year constructed reality where we are extracted from the environment we were raised in and less privy to everything that’s going on at home. For us college students that come from what some may call the hood, it’s hard for us to be academically focused and attentive in class when there are certain events occurring in our communities that disturb us.

I hate when I hear people portray the narrative that the curriculum is what makes the experience in college strenuous. What makes the courses rigorous at Syracuse University, at least for us Black and brown students, is not the curriculum itself but all the factors that take place outside of academia that we must manage while still trying to stay academically efficient.

It shouldn’t take an artist to die for us to have a conversation around self-governance, gun violence, and the injustices black men and women face. While it is unfortunate, it’s a common reoccurrence where young men and women of color who are not celebrities are also dying. I ask all artists of color to use their platform to speak about the injustices we face transnationally as a community of color. You don’t have to be a big artist or a millionaire to make a difference, just speak. You never know who might hear your message.

Artists should focus more on using their platforms for social commentary. Young people of color that look to artists as role models should be able to understand the beauty of being themselves and navigating spaces without the intent of harming one another. We need to reassess how we have been taught to communicate, so we can communicate with one another effectively. More critically, Black men are dying earlier than those that gave birth to them, but still rap about the fortunes that they are not living long enough to enjoy.

There is no politician, policy or lawmaker that can change what’s going on right now. I firmly believe that the most powerful form of government is self-governance, meaning we have to hold one another accountable. Violence in our community can’t be solved through policy or legislation. That is something we as members of the Black and brown community must come together to change ourselves, and it starts with our generation.

With the death of Takeoff and many of the artists the Black community has lost within the last decade, there needs to be more people pushing the envelope of change. The generations that have come before us often try to make it seem as though this generation of people of color is lost and violent. What they often forget to acknowledge is our genius, our ability to evoke global change, and most importantly our capabilities. We must use our voice to ignite change and make this world a better place than it was when we entered, for the next generation.

Jordan Pierre, class of 2023

Published on November 7, 2022 at 11:57 pm