Public Enemy - Fight The Power

Fisher-price’s my first activist song. For me, anyway.

Picture it: Fuquay-Varina, 1989. I’m 11 years old in 5th grade. I suddenly find myself shunning Debbie Gibson and turning to EPMD, BDP and the D.O.C. Much to the confusion and concern of my family, the pre-teen, chunky, red head girl hiding in her room suddenly found herself relating more to angry adult black men. Maybe it was because I felt oppressed myself… I was awkward, overweight, always hiding in books and didn’t play sports. I started learning about MLK and reading the autobiography of Malcom X. I found myself becoming overwhelmed with injustice. I was preoccupied with the baffling concept of racism and what the implications of slavery meant for our society. This was some heavy shit for a kid my age.

Around this time I started feeling like I was left out of some club. I felt myself being drawn to the black girls in my class. All we really had in common was our love for Mariah Carey and the Rude Boys, but I made it my mission to sympathize and make some sort of stride towards racial harmony in my podunk town in rural NC.

It was around this time I started clashing with my parents. I grew up with my parents throwing racial slurs around like action verbs, thinking nothing of it. I remember once sitting in the car at a pier at Carolina Beach. We were waiting for my brother to buy something inside. My mom and dad in the front seat, a couple walks past; black guy, white girl. My parents both grumble and make comments like “such a waste…” my mouth falls open. I remember it being the first time I stood up to them. I said something to the effect of “that’s really fucked up. You can’t help who you love.” And I got the “We will disown you if you ever bring home a black guy” speech.

(Aside: This is extremely ironic and completely unplanned… I am now in a deeply committed relationship with an Asian man. It took me several months to tell my parents. When I finally did, my mom said, “as long as he isn’t ‘B’.” She couldn’t even say “black.” I wish just once I had fallen for some black dude, just to challenge them. But I never did. Alas.)

Anyway, I digress… I was 11 or 12. I was suddenly opening my eyes to the world. I was expanding my socio-empathetic nature; I was burying myself in oppression and listening to more Marvin Gaye, U2, Peter Gabriel and Public Enemy. I started debates and straight up fights in my English and Social Studies classes. I started questioning authority way too early. When I think about all this, I am disappointed in the fact that I’m not some sort of great revolutionary leader. Is it ever too late? I have to believe it's not.

So when I hear this song I think about buying this tape, playing it in the car with my dad, him taking it out and telling me to get over it. I think about screaming at my PE teacher because he blatantly split the class into black and white for a football game one day in class. The day a friend wouldn’t talk to me because she told me I had an “A-T” (attitude) and I couldn’t understand what an A-T was and I thought it was a secret black girl thing, like a secret handshake into the club and I got even madder about how bad my ancestors fucked things up for me.

When i watch the video, however I mostly think… “what the hell happened to Flavor Flav? And Where the hell is Chuck D? We need him back.”

I also think about the space ghost episode where Space Ghost told Chuck D his favorite rapper was M.C. Escher.


Please Escher, don't hurt 'em!