Before Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders began his campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia, supporter Michael Render - a.k.a. Killer Mike - conversed with him at The Swag Shop on Edgewood Avenue. In a six-part series entitled Talking Shop With Bernie Sanders, the two men discussed everything from prison reform (Bernie: "Look, what is happening to the young male - and female - African-American community is a tragedy almost beyond words") to a nationwide Bernie Sanders barbershop tour. Read excerpts from the interview below:
On economic freedom: "To be truly free, you need economic rights as well. So you can go out and give a speech but you don't have any food in your stomach, you don't have a house [or] a roof over your head [and] if you don't have any education, are you really free? And I think that in the richest country in the history of the world, Mike - which is what we are right now - we can do infinitely better in providing economic rights to our people. So when I talk about Democratic socialism, this is what I say: you have a right, regardless of your income, to healthcare - I believe that. Whether you're rich, whether you're poor, you're old, young, Black [or] White, you have the right to healthcare."
On Donald Trump's controversial remarks: People are angry and they are frustrated. So somebody like Trump comes along, and what does he say? He says 'You're angry and you're frustrated? It's that Black guy there. That's the guy...Or you know what? It's the Muslim across the street. You know the woman that has the thing on your head? that's your enemy right there!'...This is the oldest story in the book. you got a lot of people out there who feel certain ways, and then you see somebody whose running for President say these things...You're right, it is scary.
His stance on guns: You know how much gun control there is in the state of Vermont? None. Virtually none. In my state, what a gun means is you go out hunting...So you [have] a lot of hunters, a lot of guys who do target practice. So here's the story: do people have the right to own weapons? Of course they do. But what don't people have a right to do? Should somebody who has a criminal record or has a record of beating up his wife, should they be able to get a gun? I don't think so. So what you need is enforced and strong instant background checks.
Why he's different: "...I didn't get into politics to figure out how I could become President or a Senator. I got into politics because I give a damn. Because I do think it is an outrage that we have people sleeping out on the streets in this country. That 51% of young African-American kids are unemployed or underemployed. That millions of people don't have any health insurance. That's what I feel in my gut, and that's what I'm fighting to change."
Watch the presidential candidate and the rapping activist chop it up in all their-fist-pumping glory above.
