Black Privelege

I’ll admit, it was the provocative title that got me to read this book.

Before reading the book, I had barely known who Charlamagne Tha God was. I had seen a few clips on Facebook of the hit show The Breakfast Club that he co-hosts, but that was pretty much the extent of my exposure to him.

I’m glad I picked it up, because the book proved to be a very satisfying read. It is something of a memoir chronicling his life and rise to a successful career with entertainment, but is filled with helpful life lessons and advice.

The one warning that I will give is that if you are offended by strong language, this book is absolutely not for you. As he himself admits, the language is “raw” and the jokes are “tasteless.”

That said, it is a book that is definitely worth a read for multiple reasons. For me one of the best things about it was getting to read a book from someone who comes from a very different background, which is actually something he recommends in the book.

I have no idea what it is like to be black, to grow up in the deep south (I grew up in Tampa, which may be geographically further South than most of “The South” but is in no way, shape, or form a Southern city), to be arrested twice before turning 18, or to work my way into a successful radio career.

What was most interesting though was the fact that despite our differences, we are actually very similar in many ways. We have similar view on how to attain success and similar taste in books. He would regularly quote books that I had either recently read or that were on my reading list.

In some areas we do disagree, such as on the morality of monogamy, but it was good to read something where he honestly laid out some of his weaknesses knowing that other people probably don’t see eye to eye with him.

Ironically the politically explosive title that drew me in was not one that he wanted. Nor does the title mean that he doesn’t believe in white privilege. He says that racism is “as real as the air we breathe.” What he means by the title “Black Privilege” is that even though racism and white privilege might be real, black people shouldn’t be defining themselves against white privilege. While it might be easier for white people to “make it” and become successful, it is by no means certain, and in his view whether you are black or white (or any other race or ethnicity), of you want success, you need to “take it.”

Here are the notes that I took:

• On his decisions to at times be controversial and say things that may offend the artists that he interviews: “I’m here for the listeners, not the artists, and certainly not the labels.”
• “Here’s another principle: In order to change your life for the better, you must first change your lifestyle, which can’t happen unless you change the people around you.”
• Too many people aren’t chasing their dreams, they’re chasing someone else’s dreams. From his perspective, too many blacks limit their ambition to hip hop or athletics because that is what is expected of them.
• “Always give people the credit they deserve for being stupid, starting with yourself” (he believes in ruthless honesty).
• He believes in owning your weaknesses so that you take your critics’ ammo away. He makes fun of his own egg-shaped head so that no one can insult him by calling him “the fifth ninja turtle”
• “Remember, I’m the son of an English teacher. From an early age, my mother kept a book in my face. Those books, combined with her love, are what nourished my imagination and inspired me to transcend my circumstances. Books are what provided me with a sense of escape when the tension between our parents made our home feel suffocating. Books helped give me the confidence to dream bugger than I was supposed to as a poor black boy growing up in the rural south. Book are where I go the name ‘Charlamegne,’ even if i did misspell it. My life is a living testament to the transformative power of books.”
• “If I’ve had any advantage in this life, it was that I was encouraged to read.”
• His elementary school had a program sponsored by Pizza Hut where if you read four books you got a free personal pan pizza.
• “In order to chase your dreams to the very end, you must be very focused on getting inspiration where it’s available.”
• “Make sure, however, that you continue to explore books that don’t seem to directly connect with your experience. If you’re a young, black woman, read up on some of the experiences of Asian men. If you’re a white guy, pick up a book about the struggle of black women, or the immigrant experience. If you’re into sports, read a book about science. Or, if you mainly read self-help books, check out a historical novel. As I learned from my mother, there’s incredible power in subjects that don’t seem to pertain to you.”
• One of the books that he recommends is Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk. He cites this as a book by someone who is different from him (Gary’s family were immigrants from the former Soviet Union)
• Hen mentions that in middle school, they were grouped into “tracks.” He was on the highest achieving track and was one of just a handful of black students that were. He befriended a couple of white students and embraced his identity as a nerd, but he said that once the bell rang, he and his friends would go back to their separate worlds. He never got invited to any of their sleepovers.
• He spent 3 months in jail (and then briefly ended up in jail again later)
• After being a nerd, he became a self-proclaimed thug and started dealing crack and smoking weed
• He says that he is extremely optimistic, but sometimes gets labeled a “dream-killer”  because he believes in “de-motivational speeches” where he gives tough love to people who he doesn’t think are a fit for what they are pursuing.
• “There are no losses in life, only lessons.”