rza-clarifies-his-recent-statement-on-police-brutality

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180 Hypes

RZA caught a lot of backlash recently, after a live interview with Bloomberg television where he felt dressing better would prevent African-Americans from police harassment in which he stated:

When you think about some of the brothers who are being brutalized by the police, you also got to have them take a look, and us take a look , in the mirror, at the image we portray. If I’m a cop and every time I see a young black youth, whether I watch them on TV, movies, or just see them hanging out, and they’re not looking properly dressed, properly refined, you know, carrying himself, conducting himself proper hours of the day—things that a man does, you’re going to have a certain fear and stereotype of them. I tell my sons, I say, if you’re going somewhere, you don’t have to wear a hoodie–we live in New York, so a hoodie and all that is all good. But sometimes, you know, button up your shirt. Clean up. Look like a young man. You’re not a little kid, you know what I mean? I think that’s another big issue we gotta pay attention to. Is the image that we portray that could invoke a fear into a white officer, or any officer.

Now, the Wu-Tang co-founder is clarifying his statements. Taking to Twitter, Bobby Digital responded back at critics who felt he was selling out in the Bloomberg interview: “How can a original black man be a coon &sell out? You best look deep into my words &make an assessment. Do you still think pork is healthy?” he wrote. He also continued on with these Tweets:

I don’t expect agreement with everything I say. I speak honestly from my own perspective &evaluation from my space time experience.

— RZA! (@RZA) January 8, 2016

I could never condone police brutality or any form of injustice and oppression. Knowledge of self means studying self to improve self. Peace
— RZA! (@RZA) January 8, 2016