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Introduction

COMING SOON

In the “Merchant of Venice”, the Prince of Morocco was worried about Portia looking down on him simply because of his skin color. In a similar manner, famous Youtuber Nas too classified himself to be a “second class citizen” because he grew up as a brown, Palestinian Muslim. The insecurities Nas and the Prince had were similar by which they both saw themselves as inferior citizens given that they do not have white skin. 

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Feeling ashamed of their racial identity, both the Prince and Nas felt worthless compared to their White neighbours. In his first conversation with Portia, the Prince of Morocco was worried that Portia would judge him poorly despite him being a braver man than most other suitors. He also told Portia how he normally would not trade his black skin for a reward, yet for the sake of Portia he would. We know the Prince of Morocco felt ashamed of his racial identity by which he wished to lose his dark skin just to get a chance with Portia. If  he had been proud of his identity as an African, then why would he be desparate to lose it for a women he had barely known. Just like the Prince, Nas too undermined his worth as a human being because he was not born with White skin. Growing up in Palestine, he thought he would not get a good job in America despite graduating from Harvard university. In his video “The full story of Nas Daily”, he recognized how “in today’s world if you’re not white, you have a little bit harder in life” Thus, he further validated the inferiority of colored individuals towards whites as they would always live a tougher life. He further exemplified his inferiority with a metaphor comparing his skin to a concrete ceiling: Just as how a ceiling limits a building’s area, his potential to change the world too was limited by his brown skin. Feeling dismayed and hopeless for his future, Nas conducted buisiness behind the computer screen in order to hide his skin. It took him years to realize the irationality of his thinking and take pride to celebrate his identity. 

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Conclusion

COMING SOON

In his play, Shakespear highlighted a widespread racial issue by which individuals may undermine their worth as a human being simply due to their race or nationality. We know such problem is widespread by which both the Prince and Nas saw themselves as part of the “inferior race” compared to Caucasians. Eventually, Nas became sick of hiding his racial identity. He decided to proudly celebrate his identity as a Muslim Arab and spent his career advocating for racial harmony in his online videos. As he continues his vlogging career, he exhorts everyone not to be brought down by their racial identity but instead embrace it as a beautiful part of our human herritage.