This song is about comparing slavery and the state of black people in America today, or rather showing that one is a continuation of the other - slavery ostensibly ended, but oppression continued all the way up until today. The slavery stuff is notable because it's not just a mention, which you would usually get from PE, but a harrowing deep dive into the brutal details of what it means to be owned by another person. It's also interesting that throughout the song he shifts between the slavery stuff and the point of view of a black person today, giving a context for his point of view. "That's why it's hard for the black to love the land."
I also think it's interesting that he points out that black Africans betrayed other black Africans by capturing them and selling them to the white slaveowners. It's a theme he's addressed several times: Black people being complicit in the oppression of their own people.
This is a damn powerful song, one of my favorite PE cuts.
This song is about comparing slavery and the state of black people in America today, or rather showing that one is a continuation of the other - slavery ostensibly ended, but oppression continued all the way up until today. The slavery stuff is notable because it's not just a mention, which you would usually get from PE, but a harrowing deep dive into the brutal details of what it means to be owned by another person. It's also interesting that throughout the song he shifts between the slavery stuff and the point of view of a black person today, giving a context for his point of view. "That's why it's hard for the black to love the land."
I also think it's interesting that he points out that black Africans betrayed other black Africans by capturing them and selling them to the white slaveowners. It's a theme he's addressed several times: Black people being complicit in the oppression of their own people.
This is a damn powerful song, one of my favorite PE cuts.