Dee-1 Asks Ben Carson How He Would Help the Black Community if Elected President

The #AllVotesMatter live stream on the BET website paired the unlikely duo of presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson with Christian emcee Dee-1, and the resulting conversation turned out incredible.

Carson is known for being very polished and even-keeled while Dee-1 is very charismatic and, even more, New Orleans twanged in his manner of speaking. The two could not be more different to the eye, but the beauty of the conversation came out through their faith in God and their love for the African American community.

Dee-1 got straight to the point and said many black voters feel Carson is not someone they can “relate” to, according to polls he took on social media. He also said there are people who consider Carson to be a “sell-out.”

With that being said, Dee-1 asked how Carson could change that perception and “What specific policies would you put in place to help the African American communities?”

The doctor said that he provides many opportunities for the black community through his Ben Carson Scholars fund. One of the highlight programs is setting up reading rooms that target title one schools. He said they have a track record for improvement in the communities.

Carson also admitted he doesn’t do all the “cool things” but thinks you have to do what “God gave you talent to do, and do what is right.” However, he may have showed off just how in touch he is with young black voters when he mentioned he doesn’t “go to discos.” This warranted a chuckle from the crowd and a double take from Dee-1.

The next subject was regarding the Flint, Michigan water crisis. Dee-1 speaking passionately said, “Enough is enough, what does consequence and accountability lead to? The damage is done, people have lead poisoning. We already feel like we are the last people to matter in this country.”

The rapper thinks the problem is racial because if this happened in an upscale white neighborhood, it would have been taken care of. He said essentially said the voice and outcry for the inner cities aren’t taken seriously.

“What can we do outside of just having faith in God to make people feel important just because they are simply American?” Dee asked Carson.

Carson said the whole issue is a tragedy and believes the right people will be held responsible for it. He also agreed to an extent with Dee-1 on the inner city.

Carson believes sensitivity issues need to be established to help people succeed when they don’t have a chance. The sense of hopelessness can debilitate people on the simplest of things. He used the example of a moving violation ticket. It is very expensive to pay for in one shot, so people disregard it in hopes that it would go away. It doesn’t and now there are more penalties, fines, and possibly jail. A small circumstance creates a cycle of falling down. One way to remedy this would be put in a payment plan to pay the bill of $5 at a time a week. It is little solutions like this that can go a long way.

“There are not many problems that cannot be solved without common sense if you remove the ego and the politics.”

The next topic of discussion was Stacey Dash’s controversial statements about the BET Network and Black History month fueling division and racial tensions.

Dee-1 understood what she was trying to say, but thought the way she said it was totally wrong. He disagrees whole heartily and thought it was hypocritical because she has “earned several checks” from BET.

“Just because someone looks good, doesn’t mean they are a good spokesperson for our people,” he said.

Carson said Stacey is a friend but agreed that her approach was off. He then tried to clarify her statements.

“I wish we were at a stage where it isn’t necessary to have a black station or black awards, but we aren’t there. That point she didn’t add.”

He is certain this will change with progress and understanding, which will ultimately put the nation in a better place. If there wasn’t a black history, there would be so many important African Americans not being discussed in schools, he said before listing off examples.

While on the discussion of schools, Dee-1 thinks graduating college is too much of a hassle for people who are trying. He thinks it buries them in debt before they have a shot to use that education and Carson agrees.

Carson believes that more funding should be put toward schools and doesn’t have problems with funding things that work. He feels the school system makes it too hard for educators who want to make a difference.

Then in a funny few moments, Dee-1 playfully called out Carson on his campaign rap song.

“It was done by people who had no concept of the Black community and what thy were doing…they stuck it out without me having anything to do with it,” Carson responded.

Other topics discussed on the live stream were Carson’s perception in the public, what he would do to protect Muslims in America, and empowering the black community.

Overall the conversation was very informative and displayed a side of Carson that sometimes gets lost in the media. Neither Carson or Dee-1 were intimidated by each other’s differences and both seemed unafraid to dig deep on a particular subject.

What did you think of Ben Carson’s responses to Dee-1’s concerns?

Watch the entire event here

Justin Sarachik
Justin Sarachik
Justin is the Editor-in-Chief of Rapzilla.com. He has been a journalist for over a decade and has written or edited for Relevant, Christian Post, BREATHEcast, CCM, Broken Records Magazine, & more. He's written over 10,000 articles, done over 1,000 interviews, and is in post-production for documentaries on Danny "D-Boy" Rodriguez & Mario "Machete" Perez. He's the project manager of the upcoming video game Run the Court and of the media brand Crimefaces. Justin likes to work with indie artists to develop their brands & marketing strategies. Catch him interviewing artists on Survival of the Artist Podcast & creating videos on his social media channels.
RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular