America’s issues with systemic racism are partly due to a failure of recognizing past atrocities. This fact is highlighted by “Atlantic” the new tune by acclaimed Canadian rapper Haviah Mighty.
In 2019, Haviah Mighty’s debut album 13th Floor won the Polaris Prize, an award that goes to the best Canadian album based on artistic merit. She was the first hip-hop artist and black woman to win. The exceptional album touched upon many themes related to blackness and social injustices.
These are themes that she continues to explore with “Atlantic”. She made the following statement concerning the motivation behind the tune: “This concept that we can’t escape is so disgusting, and the reason they say, ‘money is the root of all evil.’ Specifically, the Atlantic Ocean was used as a vessel of support for these wicked practices, at the expense of my Black ancestors. We were forced to come to the Americas to make this idea of value stronger, bigger, better, with very little benefit. Now we are the ‘bottom of the barrel’ in the Americas, a disposition I explore with the lyrics ‘Never seen Atlanta, but we travel the Atlantic.’ The singing vocals at the beginning and especially the end, are to represent our ancestors crying out — a reminder that they were so strong, so resilient, and still here, keeping us empowered. Our history is with them, and if we talk to them, learn from them, do our research — we will be stronger.”
As highlighted by that statement, Haviah Mighty accomplishes two powerful objectives with her poignant tune. First, she makes the link between capitalism and systemic racism. If you can justify viewing someone as lesser it becomes easier to exploit them for profit.
Secondly, she highlights the importance of listening to their ancestors. She is primarily exploring that from a black perspective and how black people learning about their ancestors can have an empowering impact.
But there is also a lesson for us white people as well. We can learn from our ancestors, even if that means the uncomfortable acknowledgment that we have personally benefitted from systems of oppression. As a society, we will never move forward if we continue to whitewash the past.