THE EXPLOITATION of hip-hop culture in the mass media is so prevalent that many people have become numb to the fact that this is so problematic. This aspect of black culture has become so commercial that in almost any ad, anywhere, one can find the flavor of hip-hop somewhere in the mix. These gimmicks have done much for the advertising success of many companies, but now it has become crystal clear that the subjugation of hip-hop has spun out of control. The final line has been crossed by our very own U.S. Army with their "Takin' It To The Streets" campaign, using ideas of hip-hop to discriminately target low-income areas -- primarily comprised of minorities -- to recruit for the armed forces.
Apparently, the U.S. Army in tandem with Vital Marketing Group -- the events marketing team targeted toward African Americans -- has toured the country in a yellow hummer to form better relationships with urban youth. This "Takin' It To The Streets" is the Army's way of bringing the information about the opportunities they provide to those who might not normally consider this option. The group offers opportunities for those interested to show off in physical or sports contests, experience various scenario simulations, have personalized dog tags made or even win prizes such as throwback jerseys. The problem, however, is that no flight simulation is going to express the realities of danger in the armed forces. And the prizes and contests do not exactly express what a young kid from the hood will actually be dedicating his life to.
As if this extensive recruitment tactic was not enough, Vital Marketing is teaming up with the Source -- deemed to be the "hip-hop bible" -- to promote their campaign. According to writer Whitney Joiner, "The Source Campus Combat Tour will start in late October, hitting five Northeastern college campuses with high percentages of African-American students" ("The Army be thuggin' it," Oct. 17, Salon.com). "When I saw the Source was teaming up with the Army, I was outraged," says Bakari Kitwana, former executive editor of the Source and author of "The Hip-Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African-American Culture." "It's a betrayal of their readership. The military has historically used African-Americans, while the country has not done justice to African-Americans"(Salon.com).
With statistics showing that minorities have historically been overrepresented in the U.S. armed forces, the mere thought of targeting minorities for recruitment is ludicrous, much less unnecessary. Not to mention, one of the most widely-read hip-hop magazines chooses to support this initiative, without considering the complete effects that this campaign may have. Instead of improving community centers or sending mentors or college recruiters into underprivileged communities, we are sending fully-loaded Hummer vehicles playing hip-hop beats to let people know that the Army is the way to go. Once again, subjugated culture and glorified lifestyle is being used to deceive.
Even though the initial thought of offering options to people of lower-economic status, there is too much room for misconception about what it is really like to be in the Army. Definitely it is an honor to serve one's country, and there is room for upward mobility and promotion with a military career. In addition, the job stability and subsequent opportunities that military life provides are all very positive and worthwhile to those who join and to those of us whom they serve. The point is, however, that these "targeted" campaigns are not realistic. And when situations arise like our infamous war on Iraq, those called to leave their families at the risk of death for their country should never be disproportionately black. Yet and still, statistics tell us that they are. Unfortunately, the Army seems to only be encouraging this as a reality.
Not to mention, it should not be acceptable in anyone's mind for the Army to purposely go to Howard University -- a historically black university -- to recruit blacks specifically for the army and not coming to the University to recruit whites for the same cause. If this were the top investment banking firm, voices of privileged Americans would be crying out at the unjust "opportunity" being afforded to blacks, yet no one seems to mind when it comes to the Army.
The actions of the Army suggest that it is OK for the Army not to look like America -- I'm not so sure. Yet, we do not have a draft, so very little will probably be done to remedy such a problem, especially when noting what opportunity the military can provide people when it comes to economic disparity. Still, it is highly disturbing that most of the people making military decisions (i.e., President Bush) do not even have the same interests or concerns as the average lower-income young black male. When it comes to war, we often send the poor, we send the minorities, we send some of our ranked relatives and we get to watch -- in the comfort of our own homes -- on television. Maybe its time we reevaluate how exactly those "chosen few" get sucked in.
(Amey Adkins' column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at aadkins@cavalierdaily.com.)
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