‘Red Table Talk’ discusses ‘atonement,’ voting with Van Jones, Ice Cube and Brandon Marshall
theGrio has an exclusive clip of the latest episode of the 'Red Table Talk' featuring Van Jones, Ice Cube and Brandon Marshall
The Red Table Talk doesn’t shy away from much-needed conversations and with the election less than a month away, the importance of voting is front and center. theGrio can exclusively share a clip of today’s episode where “atonement” is deemed necessary as the way forward for Black America.
Hosts Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Jones are seated at their now iconic table. They are joined by football wide receiver Brandon Marshall, political commentator Van Jones, and rapper Ice Cube who appear virtually for the episode entitled “Acknowledge What Happened.”
Read More: Condola Rashad on social media, Gen Z and the importance of voting in Black community
“If we as a nation can acknowledge what has happened, what has been done to Black people in this country, I feel like then it would help us move on a bit easier. As long as we in a nation stay in a state of denial, it makes the struggle more difficult,” Pinkett Smith says.
Her mother makes it clear she needs more of a commitment.
“What I need is atonement. I need action,” Banfield-Jones maintains.
“Oh yea, that’s part of it,” Pinkett Smith agrees.
Ice Cube, who is advocating for politicians to sign his Contract with Black America before gaining support, believes that society is following its leaders. He doesn’t expect the public to evolve if elected officials are not willing to admit there is an issue.
“At the end of the day, if the powers that be that run this country don’t feel that it’s fit to apologize then the citizens are going to take that as a cue,” Ice Cube states.
Read More: 6 states where low Black voter turnout helped Trump win in 2016
The table responds with approval.
“It has to be done in a ceremonial manner,” Ice Cube says.
He emphasizes the point Banfield-Jones made and adds, “Atone. Actually do something.”
In a clip that was recently released, Ice Cube discusses how the death of George Floyd impacted him. Floyd died in May while in the custody of Minneapolis police. Now former police officer Derek Chauvin placed a knee on his neck for more than eight minutes.
Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter. All four officers were fired.
“It kind of shook me to my core. Seeing a man face down on the ground like that with this white officer, looking into the camera and taking a Black man’s life,” he says. “Having a man scream for his Momma. It reminded me of stories I heard of when a slave would get out of line and they would pull everybody around to show everybody the discipline, made everybody watch and live that horror.”
The new episode of Red Table Talk will be available at 9am PT / 12pm ET, on Facebook Watch.
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