Rapper and actor Common believes that if Donald Trump gets elected as the U.S. president in November, then the country risks going back to a time when slavery and racism were acceptable practices.
“America wouldn’t be taking a step back… we’d be taking 12 steps back [if Trump becomes president],” the Chicago-born musician and activist told Newsweek. “It would be returning to some of the mentality of racism we’ve seen in the mid-Sixties, in the civil rights era. It would be returning to some of the actual racism that existed in slave days.”
Common, 44, has often spoken out on social issues and has publicly backed Black Lives Matter. He praised the girlfriend of police shooting victim Philando Castile at the BET Hip Hop Honors last month. He starred in the Oscar-nominated film Selma, which chronicled Martin Luther King's voting rights marches in 1965, and he won Best Original Song with John Legend for the films "Glory" at the Academy Awards in February 2015.
“There’s a certain mentality that is being put out there [by Trump’s campaign] that it doesn’t seem like it’s for [the good of] everybody,” explains Common. “It doesn’t seem like the intention is to unite people. It is part of the racist mentality that we in America don’t want to be part of, that we’re tired of and want to get rid of.”
Republican candidate Trump has made a lot of controversial remarks during his presidential campaign that has offended women, Muslims, Mexicans, African-Americans and more. Common and other detractors fear he could divide the country.
In no surprise, Common says he will be voting for Trump's rival in the November election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
“My hopes and beliefs are that Hillary Clinton can be elected. I feel like having a woman as president is needed at this point,” says Common. “Let’s bring new energy into it. Our president [Barack Obama] has already done the best he can at getting the country going in the right direction. If Hillary can continue that movement and make things better for the country… that’s my hope. I’m speaking up for Hillary because we can’t allow Trump to get into office. That’s not acceptable.”
If Trump was elected, Common says he wouldn't "desert" America and move away, but adds: “We will definitely have to mobilize and figure out how do we continue self-empower? How do we continue to feed ourselves financially and socially?”
These questions cannot be answered until the next president is elected in November. Until then, Common encourages people to make a difference in their lives for the betterment of the country rather than leave it in the hands of politicians.
“Everybody has an opportunity within us. When you say ‘black lives matter’ or ‘I’m supporting this politician,’ what is your contribution? What are you going to do?” he says. “We all have a part… I utilize my music, my voice [with speaking engagements] and I also utilize programs like Quotes for Education, which can be a positive change for the community that I come from and for young people across the board.”
Source: newsweek.com
