Summary of “The Gift and the Grift”
Micah Peters, author of The Gift and The Grift: What’s Jay-Z’s NFL Deal About, published on the ringer website sound somewhat skeptical about the rapper’s involvement in the league as live performing policymaker while his firm, Roc Nation, helps the league in intensifying its exertions to influence social change. The writer begins by reminding readers of Jay’s earlier pronouncement that he is not just a rapper; he is a businessman. Jay-Z’s race and billionaire status present seed of doubt of his commitment to inspire social change. The type of partnership Jay Z entered is the kind that benefits the league more than it would do to Jay.
It is worth noting that the NFL deal with Jay Z happens at the backdrop of protests stemming from Colin Kaepernick’s actions in 2016 to raise concerns on racial inequality. Kaepernick was nowhere in this deal that was supposed to mend the rifts occasioned by league-wide protests. Kaepernick should have been part of the agreement. Given Jay’s social status, it is clear, according to the author, how the deal would benefit the league. On the contrary, it is unclear what would be in for Jay Z and Roc Nation, although there were reports of an ownership stake in a to-be-determined NFL franchise.
Jay has previously advocated for blacks to spend their money on investments whose value appreciates with time. The author’s concern is the type of investments Jay Z talked about are not the kind that the average black person would afford.
The writer, however, acknowledges Jay’s efforts to inspire social change through his many social causes. Be it the 2017 miniseries or the 2018 documentary around Trayvon Martin and the five-part docuseries Free Meek. Jay Z was a founding associate of the REFORM Alliance, a custodial change organization (Peters, 2019). The writer further refers to him as a black activist, but with all these social good, the author feels he sounded like a billionaire while speaking about the agreement with the NFL. The author questions the social consciousness of a billionaire amid reports of an ownership stake in to be determined NFL franchise.
A 100-word Reflection about the Organizational Structure
The purpose of this section is to give an overview of the organizational structure of the summary of the heading” The Gift and the Grift.” Nevertheless, considering the structure of the outline, the length of the paper could be lengthened given that the content required is more than the number of documents required and also given that there is more content to be covered. However, the color-coding helped to illuminate an organizational error since each color could represent a different section. Besides, the concluding idea was well organized, given that it was brief and straight to the point; it concisely summarizes the whole concept.
References
Peters, M. (2019). The Gift and the Grift: What’s Jay-Z’s NFL Deal About? Retrieved from https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/8/21/20827140/jay-z-football-partnership-buying-team-colin-kaepernick