UPDATE: 5:35 PM EST
Russell Simmons has responded to Geraldo Rivera’s comments claiming Hip-Hop music has destroyed black communities.
The prison industrial complex, destroyed the fabric of the black community innocent deseasesd kids get good education in criminal behavior
— Russell Simmons (@UncleRUSH) February 18, 2015
The expression of that reality is not the cause of it. poets, artists say things that get under our skin BECAUSE THEY ARE TRUE REFLECTIONS
— Russell Simmons (@UncleRUSH) February 18, 2015
Silly to respond to a guy who just lost celebrity apprentice
— Russell Simmons (@UncleRUSH) February 18, 2015
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So this happened.
Geraldo Rivera, who we wish we could remember as a ’90s TV host instead of the man who criminalized Trayvon Martin when he blamed his death on a hooded sweatshirt, had some interesting comments about racism and hip-hop that proves he knows very little about the two.
During a conversation with HuffPost Live host Josh Zepps, Rivera said rap music has damaged black communities more than racism.
We wish we were kidding.
“Hip-hop has done more damage to black and brown people than racism in the last 10 years,” Rivera began. The Fox News contributor then challenged anyone to find “a youngster — a Puerto Rican from the South Bronx or a black kid from Harlem who has succeeded in life other than being the one-tenth of one-tenth of one percent that make it in the music business — that’s been a success in life walking around with his pants around his ass and with visible tattoos…”
Rivera, who described himself as a militant moderate during the conversation, continued:
“And I love Russell Simmons,” Rivera continued. “He’s a dear friend of mine. I admire his business acumen. At some point, those guys have to cop to the fact that by encouraging this distinctive culture that is removed from the mainstream, they have encouraged people to be so different from the mainstream that they can’t participate other than, you know, the racks in the garment center and those entry-level jobs, and I lament it. I really do. I think that it has been very destructive culturally.”
How enlightening. A form of music that has largely been used to uplift communities and air frustrations about systemic racism has been destructive to said communities.
But what Rivera conveniently forgot to mention was the racism that has aided in the real destruction. Like how a black woman, man, or child is killed by police or vigilantes every 28 hours. How the life expectancy for a black trans woman is 35-years-old. How black men are five times more likely to be killed by a gun than white males. How hundreds of schools in low-income neighborhoods have been closed. How many black families live in food deserts. And how many black children aren’t afforded the same access to healthcare and education as their white counterparts.
Who knew hip-hop had that kind of socio-economical, government sanctioned reach?
To watch the rest of Rivera’s interview, click here.
SOURCE: Huffington Post | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
