Jesse Williams brilliantly addresses the 'angry' black person stereotype

Jesse Williams is tired of the stereotype that black people are angrier than any other people.

Oct 3, 2015

Jesse Williams is tired of the stereotype that black people are angrier than any other people.

“There is zero evidence, zero evidence that black people are more inclined to be angry in vacuum than anybody else,” he said during an interview when he addressed the “angry black man” or “angry black woman” stereotype.

“They are upset. Is being upset bad? Is anger just a negative quality?” he asked. “It doesn’t begin with rage, right. It’s a community that’s f***ing hurting and is really disappointed in itself, in the people that it trusted, in the government it paid taxes to… That is where the frustration comes from.”

He then went on to question the media’s portrayal of the black narrative, especially in the case of Black Lives Matter.

“You’ll find that the people doing the oppressing always want to start the narrative at a convenient part, or always want to start the story in the middle,” he said. “This started with a kid getting shot and killed and left in the street for four hours.”

He questioned the use of the footage of Michael Brown involved in a convenience store robbery as a focus point in the August 2014 coverage and continued to question the coverage in general of the media in the current debate.

The Grey’s Anatomy star who is often compared to legendary actor/activist Harry Belafonte says his childhood dream was to become a civil rights attorney

“That was the plan. It still very well could be the plan. I could still get around to taking the bar. It’s what I love and what I care about. That’s why I wake up.”

Check out his full interview here.