Hats off to Atlanta rapper Tip ‘T.I.’ Harris as he celebrates the opening of his first affordable housing development. He truely exemplifies, and does’nt just preach, a concern for the community. He personifies the true meaning of not forgetting where you came from. I wish some of the New York Latinex celebrity’s would follow suit. The Latino community is under attack yet again, and not one person with a platform has stepped up as an advocate. Sure AOC make a speech here and there, usually just for the photo op, but nothing of significance. Yo Jenny from the block, and No Ordinary Joe, tell us how ‘We Takin’ Over’. These immigrants buy your music, watch your movies and attend your concerts. They crossed jungles, climbed mountains, survived unimaginable odds jusy to get into the USA only to be belittled and humiliated, even by other Latino’s. Think about this fact, when back in the day 845,000 immigrants poured into New York City to escape starvation due to a potato famine, there was no concerted efforts made to send them back. There was the same chats of theyre taking our jobs but they were not pushed out. In fact, that group of immigrants eventually assimilated and made tremendous contributions to New York City and the United States as a whole.
The progressive Irish reformers, like Jane Adams in Chicago, and Lilian Wald in New York created settlement houses to help the immigrants. In 2023 there are so many Latinex with platforms and followers, yet they do not take a stand politically, socially or morally. They do take a stand financially, to increase their own bottom line. Its not like they will loose if they help out. They get tax breaks and other incentives if they make donations. So whats thier excuse?
(Photo by Derek White/Getty Images)
WITH ALL THE MONEY THAT HE HAD AND EVERYTHING, HE STILL LIVED AROUND HERE
“He was a ghetto rapper; he didn’t forget his people,” one South Bronx grandmother told the Washington Post. “Other rappers tend to forget where they’re from, but not Big Pun. With all the money that he had and everything, he still lived around here, his home was here.”