HE WAS GUNNED DOWN BY AN OFFICER
LATE FRIDAY NIGHT.
HE’S THE LATEST IN A GROWING
LIST OF BLACK AMERICANS DYING AT
THE HANDS OF POLICE. JOINING ME NOW IS THE MAN WHO
JOINING ME NOW IS THE MAN WHO
LITERALLY WROTE THE BOOK ON HOW
TO NOT BERET RACIST.
HE’S JOINING BOSTON UNIVERSITY
TO LAUNCH THE BU CENTER FOR
ANTI-RACIST RESEARCH. HE’S A BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND
HE’S A BEST SELLING AUTHOR AND
HIS NEW BOOK "ANTI-RACIST BABY"
HAS SHOT ALL THE WAY TO NUMBER
ONE ON THE "NEW YORK TIMES" HARD
COVER LIST.
THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US. I ISSUED A COMMENTARY TO SAY
I ISSUED A COMMENTARY TO SAY
IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO NOT BERET RAC
RACIST.
YOU HAVE TO BE ANTI-RACIST.
IF I’M NOT A RACIST, WHY SHOULD
I BE MADE TO FEEL GUILTY OF NOT
BEING A RACIST.
IT BELIES THE UNDERSTANDING OF
WHAT THAT GIVES YOU.
IF YOU LIVE A LIFE NOT SUBJECT
TO POLICE BRUTALITY OR INEQUITY,
YOU ARE BENEFITTING FROM A
SYSTEM THAT PUNISHES SOMEONE
ELSE.
>> YOU ARE.
UNFORTUNATELY MANY AMERICANS
LIKE TO IMAGINE THAT THERE’S
THIS IN BETWEEN STATE, THAT
THERE’S THIS NEUTRALITY.
THE REALITY IS THAT WE HAVE A
SYSTEM, WE HAVE A PERVASIVENESS
OF RACIAL INEQUITY IN THIS
COUNTRY.
WE HAVE A IS HESCENARIO WHERE BL
PEOPLE ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY
DYING OF POLICE BRUTALITY, WE’RE
DISPROPORTIONATELY DYING OF
COVID-19.
TO DO NOTHING IN THE FACE OF
THAT INEQUALITY IS TO ALLOW THAT
RACISM.
THEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE
FIGHTING AGAINST ALL THESE
THINGS AND THOSE OF US FIGHTING
AGAINST IT ARE BEING
ANTI-RACIST.
>> I’VE HAD PEOPLE ON TWITTER
OVERNIGHT SAYING HE DIDN’T NEED
TO RESIST ARREST.
HE DIDN’T NEED TO RUN.
HE DIDN’T NEED TO DO THESE
THINGS.
WHEN POLICE ARRESTED THE
CHARLESTON SHOOTING SUSPECT WHO
SHOT UP A NUMBER OF BLACK PEOPLE
IN A CHURCH, THEY BOUGHT HIM A
BURGER KING HAMBURGER.
POLICE DON’T NECESSARILY HAVE TO
USE THIS KIND OF VIOLENCE ON
SOMEONE WHO DIDN’T PERPETRATE
ANY OF IT.
THIS GUY WAS -- POLICE WERE
CALLED ON THIS GENTLEMAN ON
FRIDAY NIGHT BECAUSE HE WAS
ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL.
>> YEAH.
I THINK WHAT THIS COMES DOWN TO
IS IT’S OBVIOUS THAT BLACK
PEOPLE ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY
DYING OF POLICE VIOLENCE.
THEN THE QUESTION BECOMES WHAT
IS TO BLAME.
ARE BLACK PEOPLE TO BLAME?
SHOULD THEY NEED BE RESISTING
ARREST?
IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH
BLACK PEOPLE OR IS THERE
SOMETHING WRONG WITH AMERICAN
POLICING?
IS THEIR RACISM IN AMERICAN
POLICING?
THOSE AMERICANS WHO JUST REFUSE
TO RECOGNIZE HOW PERSISTENT AND
PERVASIVE RACISM IS WITHIN THIS
COUNTRY -- THE ONLY OTHER
ALTERNATIVE IS TO BLAME BLACK
PEOPLE, IS TO BLAME THE PERSON
SHOT IN THE BACK THE OTHER
NIGHT.
>> TALK TO ME ABOUT WHAT THE
FIRST STEP IS OTHER THAN BUYING
YOUR BOOK, THE FIRST STEP IS IN
LEARNING THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN
ANTI-RACIST AND NOT BEING
RACIST.
AMERICA GOT A TOUCH OF THIS IN THE ME TOO ERA.
THE ME TOO ERA.
WE LEARNED IT WASN’T OKAY TO
VICTIMIZE WOMEN.
IN THE SAME WAY HOW DO THOSE OF
US WHO ARE NOT RACIST BECOME
ANTI-RACIST?
>> THE HEART BEAT OF RACISM IS
DENIAL.
EVERY AMERICAN WHO’S BELIEVING
IN EXPRESSING RACIST IDEAS,
EVERY AMERICAN WHO IS SUPPORTING
RACIST POLICY MAKERS AND
POLICIES THAT ARE LEADING TO
RACIAL INEQUITIES AND
INJUSTICES, THEY TYPICALLY
BELIEVE THAT THEIR IDEAS, THAT
THEIR POLICY MAKERS, THAT THEIR
POLICIES ARE NOT RACIST IN THE
WAY SLAVE HOLDERS BELIEVED THEY
WERE NOT RACIST.
YOU HAVE KU KLUX KLANSMEN SAYING
THEY’RE NOT RACIST.
THE FIRST STEP IS TO ADMIT ONE’S
OWN RACIST IDEAS.
TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TIMES WE’RE
BEING RACIST SO WE CAN TRANSFORM
OURSELVES AND TRANSFORM THIS
COUNTRY.
>> IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY, ALL
OF OURS, TO UNDERSTAND THIS.
IF READING THIS BOOK HELPS YOU
DO THAT, THAT’S THE FIRST STEP.
HE’S THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK "HOW