Former NBA star Charles Barkley has never been shy about either his political beliefs or his thoughts about what the ‘black community’ should do in the wake of riots and protests over police shootings.
Barkley waded into the issue of Black Lives Matter activism a couple weeks ago, when he told ESPN’s “The Dan Le Batard Show”:
VIDEO: POLICE REPORTED SHOT AT DALLAS PROTEST
“The cops have made some mistakes; black people have made some mistakes.
We have to sit back and be honest with each other. The cops have made some mistakes, that don’t give us the right to riot and shoot cops.”
Barkley got plenty of hateful responses on his remarks, but he shrugged it off during a follow up interview on Sirius Radio’s The Bleacher Report:
“Black people only like you when you say what they want you to say. I’m a big boy. I can handle the heat.”
Talk about heat. Barkley waded straight into the fire:
“If it wasn’t for the cops we’d be living in the wild, wild west. It’s not as simple as that ‘it’s always the cops fault’. We as black people have made some mistakes. We’ve got to do better.”
He wasn’t done:
“Cops are important, they’re very significant. We as black people have to do a better job of policing ourselves. The cops have made some mistakes, I think everybody has to admit that, but we can’t as black people, every time something goes wrong think ‘it’s the cop’s fault.’”
And then Barkley had one question for ‘activists’ who have battled with him over his remarks:
“The only problem with black people you got too many black people acting like they’re activists and they’re not doing anything to help the black community. They’re part of the problem, not part of the solution. Don’t just get on TV and say you’re an activist.
What have you done to actually enhance the black community?”
So how does he answer his own question? Barkley explained how he got into it with an activist recently and answered that very question:
“I told this guy, you don’t even want to get into what I’ve done cuz I’m just going to embarrass you. I said I’ve given like $13 million out of my own pocket. He said ‘what?’ I said ‘Yeah, but don’t you worry about it. You ain’t never gonna have that much to give away.’ And he tried to counter me and I said, ‘you can go check my bank account, brother.’”
Then he ticked off his gob-smacking checklist:
“I gave a million dollars to my high school to send black kids to college.
I gave a million dollars to an all black high school in Alabama to send kids to college.
I gave Auburn two million dollars.
I just gave Morehouse in Atlanta a million.
I just gave Wounded Warriors a million.
I gave Hurricane Katrina a million.”
Barkley’s parting shot was, “Don’t tell me about being black. I say what the hell I want to say. My track record speaks.”
he is right you know. If you want change in your life, home, or neighbor hood. then work for it. teach the younger kids how to help each other and respect each other. respect given does come back to you. go to school, study, be what ever you want to be. Robbing, steeling, guns, shooting cops, is only get you into trouble or jail, worse still DEAD. this also goes for white people. have some pride in yourself. Charles Barkley says it can be done, he did it. and has something to be proud of. Danzel Washington, afew yrs. back built a hospital for our vets that came and are still coming back so that they can have a hospital to get treatment ad help from. you all know that there is a big shortage of hosapitals and Dr. in North America. be proud of who you are. Give life a chance. the older black generations 1800 took a chance to fight for freedom with the white people from the north to help them. Be proud of who you are, and show the great great grandparents what you have done with freedom that fought to give you. and the whites back off and let them try. I am white by the way. God bless us all. ALM
I know MANY whites who help blacks-me included, so folks realize we all live by the same GOD, make HIM proud to be called HIS children—LOVE EACH OTHER NO MATTER WHAT…ain’t none of us perfect