Chance the Rapper said “I have a bigger voice than Donald Trump, than literally anybody that works in politics.” He proved himself correct.
August 11th and 12th, 2017 are days marred by the memory of destructive white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville, VA. On Friday, August 11th, UVA students brandishing Tiki Torches marched campus chanting “white lives matter” and “Jews will not replace us.” On Saturday, American Nazis and alt-right enthusiasts marched the Charlottesville streets with military gear and assault rifles. A white nationalist terrorist crashed a car into a group of counter protesters, injuring 19 people and killing 32 year old Heather Heyer. Those claiming their marginalization and persecution while showcasing the opposite were treated with nonspecific words of discouragement from Donald Trump, and unfortunately the day shall be remembered as bloody and digressive. But neither their chants nor the president’s speech could quell the voice of our nation’s young musical hero, Chance the Rapper.
On Saturday, the man who recently donated $1 million to Chicago Public Schools (notably more than our president’s $100,000 donation to the Department of Education after cutting $9 billion from their budget) served as grand marshal of the Bud Billiken Parade, an event the Chicago Tribune describes as “the end-of-summer treat for the children of Chicago’s South Side, the truest way to ring in the new school year.” Chance and his non-profit SocialWorks started the day by giving away 30,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to elementary school students attending the parade.
Get the lawn chairs and the coolers. Our kids gon walk down King Drive proud and beautiful and we gon ?ACT A FOOL CHEERING THEM ON ???
— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) August 10, 2017
Chance the Grand Marshall will resume as Chance the Rapper at 5pm [?@VerVisuals] pic.twitter.com/fqGJPDRncB
— SocialWorks (@SocialWorks_Chi) August 12, 2017
Good job as Grand Marshall of 2017 Bud Billiken Parade @chancetherapper ???#ONEChicago pic.twitter.com/15maQ81BBH
— Whats The Word Media (@WhatsTheWordTV) August 12, 2017
He then announced a surprise free concert that night, handing out tickets in multiple locations across the parade and Chicago. Tickets to the Bud Billiken Bash were gone within an hour. Chance provided updates via Twitter throughout the day informing the public of what was to come.
#BudBillikenParade grand marshal @chancetherapper ? pic.twitter.com/jeGjnSzL3m
— Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive) August 12, 2017
What if I told you The Bud and the #BBBash ?WERE TWO SEPARATE EVENTS
— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) August 12, 2017
Got our tickets & backpacks ❤️? @heaverino #BBBash @chancetherapper pic.twitter.com/ienMNYFMgB
— princess. (@ZakariXo) August 12, 2017
He performed a plethora of hits and, as announced, brought out some very special guests. DJ Oreo, Madeintyo, and Chicago native Jeremih arrived for performances, but the biggest surprise of the night was Future who played “Commas.” Fans were not disappointed.
And while Donald Trump was preparing his lackluster response to the scene in Charlottesville, Chance the Rapper presented a video of Former President Obama speaking to the Bud Billiken Bash crowd. While thanking Chance for his work with the Chicago youth, Barack Obama spoke a prophetic and saddeningly ironic message to the concert attendees, considering the events happening on the eastern side of the country. He said,
“The Bud Billiken Parade stands for so much our community is about. We want to make sure our kids are safe, we want to make sure that they are ready to go back to school. We want to make sure that we are nurturing and protecting and encouraging and loving the next generation of leaders all throughout the city of Chicago.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W6A8o54Sdk
While Americans in Charlottesville rallied around hate, Chance and the kids of Chicago rallied around positivity. The president’s message fell on deaf ears for not calling out the perpetrators of the violence in Virginia, all while a young artist and philanthropist went the extra mile to provide for thousands of people in his community. Former President Obama backed Chance and spoke a truly presidential message, one of encouragement and fellowship. In terms of connecting positively with their constituents, Chance the Rapper does have a more powerful voice than Donald Trump. This is what is to be remembered from this day, that love flourishes and hate wilts, even in the face of despair. Chance says it best in the song below,
“Sometimes the truth don’t rhyme
Sometime the lies get millions of views
Funerals for little girls, is that appealing to you?
From your cubicle desktop, what a beautiful view
I think love is beautiful too
Building forts from broken dams, what a hoover could do”
lyrics (from Genius)
(Courtesy of NPR media https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2017/06/16/chancetherapper_charbage_wide-c1f4c14d8d2e6d74f320e0b7d82490a540bb78e3.jpg?s=1400)
(Courtesy of NPR media https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2017/06/16/chancetherapper_charbage_wide-c1f4c14d8d2e6d74f320e0b7d82490a540bb78e3.jpg?s=1400)
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