Kanye West shares poignant speech declaring February to be “Black Future Month”

nme.com:

Kanye West has made the argument that Black History Month – an annual commemoration of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora, celebrated every February in North America – is no longer relevant, instead declaring in a new video that February will henceforth be known as “Black Future Month”.The video shows West – who is legally known as Ye – standing in the centre of a hooded group and delivering a powerful speech on his upbringing and struggles as a Black man in modern America.“The system has been separating families in every way that they can, for years” he said, noting that he was separated from his mother (the first female head of the English department at Chicago State University) and his father (a Black Panther) at a young age, leading to a fractured relationship between West and the latter.He continued: “America is made to enslave us.

What they ever gave us? We’d improve. We’d ensure. It’s documented, now cement it – Black future, it’s time to invent it. If Ye said it, you know that he meant it.“There’s no more Black History Month.

Every February, reminding us that we just barely can vote – you shouldn’t have to be a tech genius, a basketball god, a musical wizard, to be able to hold down your family.

It’s been about four or five days since I’ve seen my kids, but we’re in America, ain’t we? That’s just how it is.”Take a look at West’s full speech below:A post shared by ye (@kanyewest)The rapper went on to encourage his followers to be more embracing of their cultural roots, asserting that “it’s time for improvement” in the way Black Americans are perceived.“We start by declaring Black Future Month,” he said. “We’re thinking about the future and not the past.