Jim vs. Slim

In class on Thursday we discussed the term "Jim Crow" and the roll it played in the history of American entertainment. The article we read in class explained that the man who, "made Jim Crow Jim Crow", went by the name of Thomas Dartmouth Rice. Rice was an actor in the 1800's who was known for his use of black face and stereotypical racist antics on stage. Rice would paint his face black and imitate African Americans, portraying them as intellectually inferior. An idea that surrounded the talks of Jim Crow in the article we read in class is that he took away from African  culture for his own selfish agenda. This is an accurate way to describe Rice and his actions. But at one point in the article, the author alludes to other white artists that have taken from African american culture such as Dan Emmett, Al Jolson, and George Gershwin. I personally am not to well versed with these individuals so creating an opinion on them is difficult. But while the author talks on this idea of whites stealing from African culture, the author then goes as far as to consider Eminem to be one of these individuals, and that is simply wrong in my opinion. Eminem may be white, but he certainly is not defined by his skin color. Things were never easy for Eminem and his family. Abandoned by his father and raised by a single mom, Eminem had to grow up fast. Dropping out of school when he was seventeen after failing the 9th grade multiple times, Eminem wasn't the most educated or the most wealthy and he was treated poorly by those around him. He kept to himself most of the time and became a bit of a social outcast due to his constant alienation. Despite his lack of social interaction and education Eminem still aspired to work with words. He would study the dictionary and read books to further his vocabulary and study the way words and sounds worked. At the time, blacks were creating rap music that spoke their inner and outer struggles. Groups like NWA preached about their difficult lives, things like police brutality and not always having food on the table. No different is Eminem's music. While the rap industry, especially at the time,  primarily belonged to black artists, Eminem used it in the same way they did. He used words to speak out about his struggles in life. While yes Eminem is doing the same thing as black artist at the time he is not doing it in any fashion similar to Jim Crow. Whereas Jim Crow exploited the African culture by taking it and portraying it in a very offensive satirical manor, Eminem simply used the platform. If anything Eminem and his music brings whites and blacks closer together by showing a commonality between his life, the life of a poor white boy who struggled and worked his way up, and that of the underprivileged and sometimes discriminated against African american. In Eminem's 2002 hit "Without Me" he says,"I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley, To do black music so selfishly, And use it to get myself wealthy". Now while this line appears to discredit everything I have been talking about in this post, it is quite the contrary.When Eminem says this he is almost tipping his cap to African American culture, acknowledging that he is using their platform to speak his message, something Jim Crow never would have done due to the context of his material. Eminem is welcomed into the community of black rap artist and is even celebrated as one of the best lyricists of all time. So in conclusion, by no stretch of the imagination should Eminem and Jim Crow be considered to be in the same category.