Nick Cannon (Soletronz/Flickr)
After Nick Cannon drew condemnation for announcing he would not vote in the 2016 election, the actor shared a candid take on racism.
In an interview with The Huffington Post, Cannon said the choice of President-elect Donald Trump has led to people openly acting on their bigotry — and Cannon welcomed it.
“We’re no longer sweeping our dirty secrets under the rug, we’re talking about it on the table,” he remarked. “Trump’s talking about building walls and all types of craziness, and we gotta deal with that. I think all of that stuff is gonna come to the forefront where everybody has to realize that there’s no point of fear-mongering and all of this stuff just to get your point across.”
But the exposure of prejudice, which led to many Black Americans feeling fearful after Trump’s election, is something Cannon got behind.
“I like my racism served right to my face,” the “America’s Got Talent” host said. “I rather you be honest with me and let me know how you really feel about me. I believe the country now is on edge. And I feel like you gotta go through uncomfortable times to actually have growth.”
As for his decision not to vote, Cannon told The Breakfast Club both Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton did not pay attention to improving the Black community.
“I gave that reflection neither Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump was speaking to our community and that localized voting was more important, especially when dealing with criminal justice reform and everything that we’re trying to do to build this education system,”
Additionally, Cannon expounded upon his issues with Clinton.
“Hillary was … think about all of the things they did with Planned Parenthood and all of that type of stuff,” Cannon revealed. “That type of stuff is to take our community, and forget gentrification, it’s real genocide, and it’s been like that for years. This system is not built for us. This is not our land.”
The actor-comedian seemed to allude to Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, whose establishment is reported to be connected to Black genocide. But the reason for the reproductive health organization’s 1916 establishment is disputed. Opponents believe it served to regulate the size of Black families. Meanwhile, defenders state Sanger believed abortion provides an option to women unrelated to race, according to Atlanta Black Star.
However, in 1939, Sanger launched The Negro Project, an initiative designed to eliminate the “Black stain” from American society. The then-60-year-old gained the support of Black leaders to spread the program nationwide.
