The famous rapper T.I., also known as Tip Harris, is speaking out against people of color who meet with Trump following an open letter to Trump published in Rolling Stone magazine. In his letter, T.I. starts by saying that he is hyperaware of the damaging rhetoric that has been thrown around ever since Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president (and long before that) and that he will try his best to be honest but respectful. He says,
“I hope that we can be equally as honest about the prejudice, bias and narrow-mindedness that many of US have felt our nation has been disguising and denying for far too long.”
This climate of denial presents itself in a number of ways and towards a number of subjects, but the denial that people of color suffer because of the ignorance and unwillingness of others to make changes is hurtful to many groups worldwide.
T.I. touched on a number of issues, ranging from Colin Kaepernick’s supposedly un-American act of kneeling during the national anthem to an important question that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. posed in reference to Victor Hugo: “Where there is darkness, crimes will be committed. The guilty one is not merely he who commits the crime but he who caused the darkness.” This is in reference to the darkness surrounding black, poor communities and the crimes that people living in poverty are more likely to commit.
His letter closes with an equally important question aimed at Trump:
“I can’t help but ask one final question man to man. A simple yet profound question recently asked of me. ‘When the stage is dark and the lights and cameras are off … Who are you? And more importantly, who do you want to be?'”
Attn.!!!! Be clear…. There IS an agenda behind all these meetings. I shall explain in detail. Be aware. Be alert. Or
Be Bamboozled!!!! pic.twitter.com/rzP1tZj58m— T.I. (@Tip) January 16, 2017
T.I. went on to post a series of videos to his Twitter page that addressed the celebrities and people of color that are publicly meeting with Donald Trump. In his first video, he informs people that if they meet with Donald Trump, they are just a part of an agenda and that, however positive the outcome of the meeting may seem, it’s all part of a political strategy to boost Trump’s popularity. He warns those intending to meet with Trump that they are being “bamboozled” by the president-elect.
Ok so this how it all breaks down guys…. Be aware Be alert or Be bamboozled. #USorELSE pt.2 pic.twitter.com/WDibYPZqF2
— T.I. (@Tip) January 16, 2017
In the second video, he gets specific about which celebrities and athletes were brought in to encourage a specific set of people to support Trump. For example, many young and black people listen to Kanye West, so they brought him in for a photo-op. Many black women watch Steve Harvey’s show and admire him, so they met with Steve Harvey as well. They also brought in several black football players to reel in people of color that enjoy football, according to T.I. He calls this strategy “divide and conquer.”
Given what's goin on between him & Congressman Lewis…. All y'all looking CRAZY right now!!!! Be Aware, Be Alert, Or Be Bamboozled Pt.3 pic.twitter.com/o7kHsBPxvX
— T.I. (@Tip) January 16, 2017
For his third video, he clarifies that he is not against opening up a dialogue, but that’s not what Donald Trump is intending to do because he has a set strategy that doesn’t involve listening to others. He says,
“There’s nothing wrong with sitting down across from anybody, no matter how different your views may be from theirs or how different your backgrounds may be. As long as they give you the basic human decency of respecting your values, respecting your ancestors’ legacies, and they’re not representing hate groups that are adamantly against your advancement and progression as a people.”
He goes on to tell people of color in the future to be against meeting Trump because it’s setting the wrong example for their followers. By supporting Donald Trump, they’re supporting hate against themselves from horrible groups and a willingness to turn the other cheek when it comes to their own civil rights.
What are your thoughts on T.I.’s observations? Please share, like, and comment on this article!
This article (Rapper T.I. Pens Open Letter To Trump And Warns Followers About Being ‘Bamboozled’) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and True Activist.
