Expounding on themes of racial inequality and nonviolent response, TV personality and author applauded last year鈥檚 national cry for justice during his keynote speech at 天天吃瓜 on Jan. 20.
鈥淲e鈥檝e spent so much of the past year demanding justice for black people in America, demands very similar to what [Martin Luther King Jr.] spent his life making,鈥 罢辞耻谤茅 said before referencing 2014鈥檚 high-profile deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police and the subsequent community responses. 鈥淜ing Day this year was a thrilling show of civil disobedience and activism from coast to coast.鈥
罢辞耻谤茅, the co-host of and author of 鈥淲ho鈥檚 Afraid of Post-Blackness? What it Means to Be Black Now,鈥 made the remarks during Northeastern鈥檚 鈥淏ecause He Lived鈥 tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.
罢辞耻谤茅 spoke for an hour and then answered questions that touched on political and racial bias in the media, and how black artists have responded to ongoing racial disparity.
When asked how the black community can gain the support of other marginalized groups as well as that of the white community, 罢辞耻谤茅 suggested more legal action was needed. Along with petitioning senators and congressmen to stop appropriating military-grade weaponry to local law enforcement agencies, 罢辞耻谤茅 encouraged the audience to organize and mount lawsuits to halt certain police practices, using the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement鈥檚 challenge to New York City鈥檚 controversial 鈥渟top and frisk鈥 program as an example.
鈥淭he legal aspect really forced the NYPD to change,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he unconstitutionality of 鈥榮top and frisk鈥 was laid bare.鈥
鈥淏ecause He Lived鈥 also featured Northeastern student vocal group Imani Na Nia Kwa Umoja, who sang 鈥淲e Shall Overcome,鈥 and a solo performance of 鈥淧recious Lord鈥 by Derrick Hearns, a student intern in the
