"America is a white supremacist society" - Civil rights activist on George Floyd protests

31 May 2020, 08:27

Reverand Jesse Jackson on Minneapolis protests

This American civil rights activist told LBC that black people in will always be mistreated unless there is police reform in the country.

Reverend Jesse Jackson is an American civil rights activist and politician. He joined Maajid Nawaz to address scenes in the USA as protests intensify after the death of George Floyd while in police custody.

Maajid told the minister that the situation in America "has descended into really unfortunate scenes" and wanted to know Reverend Jackson's view on the protests.

He referenced the deployment of the National Guard on the streets of Minneapolis when telling Maajid that "when black skin is a sin, it doesn't surprise so much." Reverend Jackson rationalised the actions of the police by telling Maajid that the current demonstrations in the US "embarrasses the white narrative of themselves" and such is why the police are coming down tough on protesters.

The civil rights activist told listeners that "the killing of blacks has been a long lasting sport, it has to end now." Maajid wanted to know the minister's view on President Trump's handling of the situation so far. Reverend Jackson said that "blacks have been the object of this vitriol and the President should be dealing with the fact a man was lynched before the whole world."

Maajid wanted to get to the root of the American problem. He referenced the shooting of a young black man in Georgia just weeks earlier when asking Reverend Jackson why this keeps happening. He was quick to tell listeners that "America is a white supremacist society."

Reverend Jackson told Maajid that the officer who has been arrested for the alleged murder of George Floyd "should have been fired a long time ago" and he went further to say that every officer on the scene at the time should be held responsible.

He went on to share the fear black people in the USA have as they go about their lives, as police officers usually don't live within the community. "They come into the city as occupants every day" he said and this adds further to the threat they pose to black Americans.

Maajid asked the Reverend what solutions he is looking for in America and for civil rights in the country. He argued that "police have a cushion, they should not have a cushion between them and the people" in the sense that they are protected from legal action right up until the case of what happened to George Floyd and that is not good enough.