Getting My Head Sprung to Accidental Racist

Not every first step is a giant leap. That said, it is what it is, a first step. Recently I was asked to weigh in on "Accidental Racist" the collaboration of Brad Paisley and LL Cool J, aka Uncle L, aka James Todd. I made a deliberate effort NOT to listen to the song, but instead read the lyrics. My knowledge of country music is limited: Jerry Reed's "East Bound and Down" the theme of Smokey and the Bandit and Waylon Jennings's "Just the Good Old Boys" the theme of "The Dukes Of Hazard." These were songs I grew up to and can recite every lyric to this day. Ironically, as a kid, both media texts really represented key points of my childhood. When I saw the Burt Reynolds's Trans Am dodge and duck Jackie Gleason, or when I saw Bo and Luke Duke jump the "General Lee" through the mountains of Hazard County, I never for one moment thought about the Confederate Flag as a symbol of hate. To me as a little Black/African American boy, I saw car jumps and comedy. Who could forget Boss Hogg or Roscoe P. Coltrane properly pissed because they couldn't catch the Duke boys. In the end, it was all good clean escapist fun. As I grew older, becoming more educated and socially conscious, the confederate flag had a double consciousness of its own. As it was a symbol of the confederacy during the civil war, it dually became synonymous to slavery and hate. As we all know, the civil war was ended only when President Lincoln issued an order that emancipated the southern slave, a war measure, noted by famed historian the late John Hope Franklin. When I think about this Paisley/Cool J collaboration, as I look at it through a critical media lens, the song functions as an exercise in semiology and the politics of race and representation. When I view the song that way, the media text begins to make sense to me. When we discuss semiology, it represents the study of signs and symbols and various interpretations. If we extend beyond that into how various realities are socially constructed, then the song forces the audience to explore their individual histories or life stories they bring to the table. In short, how has your life, along the axis of race and class been socially constructed prior to your introduction to the media text. At this point I think the text latently highlights a "King-like" text, there are two Americas, one Black, one White. I think it becomes clear when the song explores the interpretation of symbols, the confederate flag, the do rag, the sagging pants. I get this, it is basically a 21st century "We Are The World"/"Can't We All Just Get Along?" I even get the point of both artists playing it "safe." No one wishes to play the Kanye West card, let alone Tupac. But lets play Fantasy Island for a minute. Lets say that the duet was executed with Johnny Cash and Tupac, or
Kris Kristopherson and Public Enemy. Lets say we didn't discuss the rebel flag but instead discussed Trayvon Martin and Eve Carson. Lets say The Dixie Chicks and Queen Latifa teamed up to challenge the war on women. So as I think about the song "Accidental Racist," I think about the potential that could have been but barely got off the ground. This song could have "got your head sprung" while at the same time promoting a message of commitment to racial harmony. Instead, this is weak and in my opinion both artists should know this. That said though, I do applaud them on the attempt and initiating some type of discussion.