Ice Cube’s decision to meet with the Donald Trump Administration to talk about his Contract With Black America did not go over well with many liberals, social justice activists, and African-American voters. The rapper/actor was accused of “selling out” or “being used” by the Trump campaign just weeks before Election Day.
Black progress is a bipartisan issue. When we created the Contract With Black America we excepted to talk to both sides of the isle. Talking truth to power is part of the process.
— Ice Cube (@icecube) October 15, 2020
Veteran journalist Roland Martin invited Cube onto his daily digital show to discuss the alliance with Team Trump. During the interview, which got testy at times, Cube explained he is willing to work with either political party in order to implement changes that will positively impact the Black community.
At one point, Martin asked Cube to show which objectives in Trump’s Platinum Plan mirror his own Contract With Black America. Cube struggled to give an answer before Martin stated that the so-called $500 billion investment laid out in the Platinum Plan is not explicitly for African-Americans.
Additionally, Martin pointed out to Cube that the Platinum Plan does not actually offer any concrete guarantees that will fundamentally change the system. He also informed the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and his audience that the Congressional Black Caucus has several bills that are more closely aligned with Cube’s CWBA than Trump’s Platinum Plan.
Let me be REAL clear: I have read @realDonaldTrump's "Platinum Plan." This $500 billion for Black America is a farce. It isn't real. There is NO substance behind it. "The inside story of how @IceCube joined forces with Donald Trump" https://t.co/REY9OaScqA via @politico
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) October 16, 2020
When asked for a response to the fact that CBC’s police reform and anti-lynching legislation has already passed in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives and ignored by the Republican-controlled Senate, Cube answered, “My thing is: keep up the good work. Keep going at it. We got to get it passed. There’s going to be a lot of overlap because we got good ideas.”
Black Lives Matter and Black Voters Matter co-founder Alicia Garza was also a guest on Roland Martin Unfiltered. She specifically challenged Cube on how he can associate himself with an administration that has allegedly been targeting Black organizations and threatening to jail Black protestors.
Cube responded, “Both candidates have their record of what they’ve done to Black people. You can look at them and see them out. I don’t think Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization. That’s what I think. What the president thinks about Black Lives Matter that’s his personal problem.”
The RMU segment ended with Roland Martin, Ice Cube, and Alicia Garza agreeing that Black activists and Black organizations need to unite in order to effectively passed legislation at all levels of government. Garza closed out by saying, “I think accountability requires a movement. It’s not done over a board room table. It’s done by bringing folks with you.”