But the situation of African-Americans was completely different; they were not there voluntarily. Why would there be African-Americans where there were no African-American lands? That was something we'd have to ask white people, wouldn't we?
Both singers sharply pointed this out in their songs, bringing African-Americans over as slaves when needed, and tossing them aside when not, perhaps feeding them enough to make them feel grateful. They had lost their homelands and suffered discrimination on unfamiliar soil; did they deserve such a fate?
Many African-Americans of this era hadn't come to grips with this fact, mainly because the situation had indeed improved a lot following the relentless struggles of certain individuals within the community.
Saying they were akin to farm tools in the past was an insult to farm tools. At least now they were considered people; previously, when white people killed African-Americans, it wasn't even a crime. Now, they at least didn't dare to kill or harm them openly, which was, admittedly, a kind of progress.
In the midst of such slow progress, many African-Americans became complacent, thinking, "What's wrong with this? What does it take to be enough?"
And these two African-American singers unanimously expressed the viewpoint that this was not only insufficient but far from it. "What more could we want? We want equality, we want freedom, we want you to pay for what you have never paid before, for the mistakes and crimes of your past."
This was extremely pointed.
Up to the present, African-Americans make up about 12% of the total population of America. Although it may not sound like a lot, they are not evenly distributed across every state; states like New York and California on the East and West Coasts have the most, with over six million combined, and these individuals are the backbone of the African-American movement.
Because they live in the most developed states, even the least among them have better educational opportunities, broader horizons, and higher levels of knowledge than other African-Americans, as well as more channels to make their voices heard. Moreover, the East and West Coasts are where rap culture is most prominent, and these two songs immediately resonated with many African-Americans from the coasts.
Just their voices alone were enough to make these two songs incredibly popular; for a time, major music media and forums were all abuzz with analyses of the lyrics of these two songs.
"If they knew Gotham Boy was white, they'd blow a gasket." On the way to the concert, Jason said excitedly from the back seat.
"Do you realize you're acting like an ostrich right now?" Dick said.
"What do you mean? I haven't buried my head in the sand."
"You've laid an egg and don't want others to know, but you also want others to know what a big egg you've laid," Tim added.
"No need to hold Aisha, it's so relaxing," Dick remarked.
Now, there were four of them in the car, Bruce driving, Dick in the passenger seat, and Jason and Tim in the back. Usually, it was Jason in the passenger seat, while Dick would sit in the back holding Aisha.
"How many of your hoodie strings has she eaten?"
"You'll have to ask the toilet."
"Forget it, she only eats, doesn't poop."
The car made its way toward the Iceberg Integrated Commercial Plaza.
After about a year, the commercial plaza, invested in and personally planned by Cobblepot, had opened its doors. Although only the first phase, the shopping center, was complete—with the accompanying hotel and entertainment center still under construction—it had already become Gotham's hottest new shopping district. The land around it had skyrocketed in value by more than tenfold.
The concert today was also meant to boost the shopping center's popularity. Once the entire commercial complex was finished, it would become the biggest integrated entertainment, lodging, dining, and shopping center on the East Coast. It was essential to make a name for itself among tourists.
So, Cobblepot had spared no expense in inviting many celebrities to the event. In addition to the local stars of Gotham, there were singers, actors, and sports figures active on the East Coast, as well as rappers from both the East and West Coasts.
The concert tonight was slated to feature the two biggest rap stars from the opposite coasts, each with a hit single. Both needed an opportunity to demonstrate their live performance chops, and Cobblepot needed their stardom. Hence, the two parties struck a deal to have them close the show tonight, bringing the atmosphere to a fever pitch.
Bruce's car took a turn, and suddenly his phone, resting beside him, rang. After he picked it up, he said, "Hello, Amanda, oh, you've already gone back? Is there a problem?"
Amanda seemed to speak quite rapidly about something. Bruce's brow furrowed tighter and tighter, and after a long moment, he slowed the car to a halt at the roadside. The children remained tactfully silent, awaiting Bruce's word.
Bruce took a deep breath and let it out before saying, "There might be some danger at the concert. Should I have Alfred come to take you back first?"
Although Bruce had phrased it as a question, the children did not rush to contradict him or protest. After a moment of hesitation, Dick asked, "What level of danger?"
"I've just received information that an assassin might have infiltrated the concert, but it's not yet clear who or what level of assassin it is."
"Who's the target?" Jason was most concerned with this. If Batman was the target, he would definitely support the idea of having Alfred pick them up immediately.
The biggest difference between the Robins of this universe and those of other universes was that they were so caught up in attending school that they had barely improved their combat skills. But as the saying goes, those who drown are often swimmers; if they didn't think about fighting, they wouldn't expect to fight. When something happened, their first response was to seek out Batman, and if Batman was in trouble, their first instinct was to ensure their own safety and not cause more problems.
Bruce was still hesitating, but it was Tim who spoke up in disbelief, "Are you serious? We've got Batman, Wonder Woman, and at least a dozen Spider-Men, Constantine, Zatanna, Pamela, and from another universe, Iron Man, Captain America, Loki, and the like at this concert. Shouldn't we be more worried about the assassin?"
Everyone suddenly understood.
In another car, The Flash from the Prime Universe was puzzled, saying, "Where did Batman go? We had agreed to go to the concert together; how come he has vanished again?"
Peter, while typing furiously in the backseat, replied, "Doesn't he always disappear? I got used to it. After the music festival, do you want to come hang out at our place?"
"Better not. There's a war going on in our universe, so neither Wonder Woman nor Superman came. And with Batman gone, who knows when he'll be back. I need to go back and help them with communications."
Just then, whoosh—a car zoomed past them along the curb, overtaking them illegally and without any sportsmanship, aggravating even the usually mild-mannered Flash, who couldn't help but slap the steering wheel and shout, "Hey, what are you doing!"
Unbeknownst to them, a head, decked in black and red, poked out from the car in front. Before The Flash could say anything, Peter had already stuck his head out the window and yelled, "Wade! Are you going to the concert too?!!"