The main thing
that I was wanting to get across was
to talk about,
you know,
three things,
microaggressions,
of course,
implicit bias and white privilege.
But I think the reason that
that sort of thing can be threatening
to people
or offensive to people is they feel
like they're saying that you should be guilty.
You should feel guilty
that you've done something individually wrong.
Like you got up today
and went out and did something
to victimize a minority.
And that's not what white privilege says.
What it says is
that this world is structured such
that there are beliefs that are
so instilled that says that I can walk into
a Target store and walk around
and look and not be followed.
But you take somebody
in my same size,
my same age,
everything that's black,
they might be followed through that store.
I can, I,
I can drive an expensive car
through Beverly Hills
and the cops drive by me like I'm invisible.
But if I was black,
they, their thought might be,
where did he get that car?
I'm gonna pull over and ask him.
And so I have the white privilege
of being able to drive that car around
without somebody suspecting,
where did I get it?
And you know,
Steve Harvey and I talk about that all the time.
He got a white Bentley he drives around,
you better tint those windows buddy.
So it's just,
it's just built in.
It doesn't mean you've chosen
to do something wrong,
but if you're aware of it
and everybody starts to have
a dialogue about it,
then maybe that cop or
that store manager starts
to unconsciously act and go,
oh wait a minute.
What am I doing?
You know then maybe it starts to change.
And you know,
that's, that's my hope.
And the microaggressions are,
I mean they're astounding.
You know black applicants get shorter interviews.
The interviewer sits further away.
It's all of these things are just built in.
They're just there.
And for people to say that just doesn't exist.
It factually exists.
I'm sorry.
It just factually exists.
You can say that you wish it didn't,
but it does.
And if somebody says (beeping).
I mean,
it's just wrong sorry. (audience laughing)
Well, no, actually it is.
(beeping)
It's just that this,
it's just factual so.
It's not about feeling guilty.
It's about doing something to help change it.
And did you find this show enlightening?
Helpful?
(audience applauding)
I said at the beginning,
I want you to feel better after the show
then before the show.
I don't want you to feel like,
oh you know,
I'm a horrible person.
That's not the purpose.
The purpose is to say,
hey, I learned something today.
I'll think and feel,
and maybe act differently tomorrow.
And this stuff about black people just want
to be victims.
If black people want to be victims,
that'd be sitting home,
hanging their heads.
That's not what they're doing.
They're saying no,
look, let's change this.
Let's fix this.
I want to do,
I want to chart my own course.
I want to make my own way.
You know this young couple from Santa Monica.
What a nice couple,
by the way right. Yeah.
Nice people,
really nice people.
You, you hate to see
and their children have to watch that happen.
Same with Anita,
her children have to watch that happen.
That's terrible.
I hope those companies watch
this show and say,
we better do something to make this right.
And make sure it doesn't happen again.
They need to be doing
the kind of sensitivity training like CBS
and Viacom are doing,
which was good reminders.
Right?
I mean,
I teach the courses and went to it and sat through it.
It's hell if I can do it,
they can do it.
So anyway,
that's a bubble over my head.
(upbeat music)