Last week Ben Carson was confirmed
as the new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development,
or, as President Trump calls him,
"The Secretary of Blacks."
Now, as is customary,
the secretary gave his first official speech
to lay out his vision.
And, you know, normally, a Ben Carson speech
is a bedtime story in a suit,
but after
NEWSMAN:
The housing secretary under fire for comparing slavery
to immigration.
That's what America...
is about.
A land of dreams and opportunity.
There were other immigrants who came here
in the bottom of slave ships,
worked even longer, even harder for less.
That's one way to describe slavery.
Makes them sound like they work at Walmart.
Uh, the problem with slavery wasn't that they were
it's that they
It's not like they got to the interview and were like,
"All right, now let's talk about my salary,"
and the guy's like, "Ooh...
No one told you about that?"
"I'm not getting paid? I'm leaving!"
"Ooh, no one told you about that part, either?"
Look, I love Ben Carson, but calling slaves immigrants...
is like saying: "It's not kidnapping,
that person just got a free vacation in a basement!"
NOAH: So obviously, everyone jumped on Ben Carson for this,
and, like a surgeon who forgot his sponge in someone's stomach,
last night Ben Carson went back in.
Okay, Ben Carson.
Challenge accepted.
Let's look up the word "immigrant."
(laughter and applause)
Siri.
Is a slave an immigrant?
SIRI: Oh, hell, no.
Look, the dictionary defines immigrant
as "a person who comes to a country
to take up permanent residence."
A person.
Firstly, slaves weren't considered people,
they were considered property.
Secondly, they didn't come to America.
They were brought here by force.
Eddie Murphy came to America.
Kunta Kinte was brought.
Big difference, people, big difference.
And look, I get where Ben Carson is coming from.
He grew up in the ghetto,
and against all odds, he went on to become
one of the most respected brain surgeons of all time.
And then he joined Trump,
and surgically separated himself from his reputation.
But that's not the point.
The point is he believes you can do anything
if you put your mind to it.
And it's seductive to believe that African Americans
share in the American immigration story.
It's nice to try and sell unity, and Carson's not the first
prominent black politician to go there.
In fact, President Obama
said something similar in 2015.
Certainly, it wasn't easy for those of African heritage
who had not come here voluntarily,
and yet, in their own way,
were immigrants themselves.
See, you could tell before he said that part,
he was thinking, "Damn, my speechwriter (bleep) up."
(laughter)
But, still, he said it.
And the truth is, it doesn't matter who says it.
Slaves weren't immigrants,
because an immigrant has choice.
They choose the country they're going to,
because they hope it will bring them a better life.
Saying that slaves are just another group of immigrants
erases how black people were uniquely oppressed in America.
It helps justify blaming African Americans
for their hardships, you know?
You can't do that, you can't ignore the deficit.
It's like judging white people for bad twerking
without acknowledging that their asses
are historically disadvantaged, people.
We have to acknowledge this pain.
(cheers and applause)
Look, everyone has to admit, African Americans
weren't originally part of the American dream.
And no one should deny that.
To have a future together doesn't require us
to pretend that our pasts are the same.
I mean, look at
She's a French peasant,
and he's a less-hairy Steve Bannon,
but they're gonna make it work.
They're gonna make it work.
I will say this, as much as I disagree
with Ben Carson's philosophy on this, you must admit,
it must be a wonderful way to see the world.
I wish Ben Carson made a slave movie.
I mean, why wish?
We made it ourselves.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR:
he came to America
with only shackles and a dream.
But he got a whole lot more than he bargained for.
From the revisionary mind of Dr. Ben Carson,
comes the involuntary journey of one man's self-discovery.
I will not fall into despair!
NARRATOR:
you don't get to choose your own adventure.
The adventure chooses you.
12 Years A New Guy In Town.
It's just not the same.