Ice Cube pens ‘Contract with Black America,’ calls for ‘second reconstruction’
The NWA rapper issues demand to presidential candidates to make changes in how the country does banking and finance, justice, policing, education, Hollywood depictions, and a system of reparations
Rapper, actor, writer, and director, Ice Cube is diving deep into activism ahead of the 2020 election.
Cube wrote an opinion piece for The Hill demanding concrete results from candidates in a piece called, “The Contract with Black America.”
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The editors made sure to note “the author uses the n-word in this story.”
“The Contract with Black America tries to address the root causes of racism in our society and develop a roadmap for a comprehensive solution,” he wrote.
“Beyond the obvious, we need to focus on the areas of banking and finance, justice, policing, education, Hollywood depictions, as well as a system of reparations. None of these work in isolation, this plan looks at the systemic core of racism as a whole, and only in that way can a true solution be born.”
In the opinion piece, Ice Cube wrote “Black Americans know the great lie that accompanied those words: A country that professed itself to be a beacon of freedom enslaved generations of men, women, and children, transforming us into ni**as to build a country where others, seen as a full five-fifths, could enjoy “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
He noted that this country needs a “second reconstruction” to address systemic inequalities that are deeply rooted in America.
“As a writer, rapper, and producer, I have called out police brutality and other injustices for decades. I have been censored, smeared, slammed, and had my life threatened for my work — for speaking the truth,” Ice Cube wrote.
“As much as my art has contributed, I know that calls for change will not achieve the paradigm shift necessary to address four centuries of racial injustice. I am angry. And I’m not backing down. I want a better world for my children and their children, and platitudes about “progress” won’t produce it. We need a world where hate towards any people is not tolerated.”
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The superstar rapper praised the radical civil unrest and protests taking place across the country.
“It is great that people are in the streets; we are rightfully angry and hurt. But recent history shows that protests are not enough,” he continued,” Will a nation whose people put their own children in bondage ever pay for what they have done to themselves? Only when America admits the Founders’ lies can we begin to heal.”
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