Will Smith says Philadelphia police called him the N-word on ‘more than 10 occasions’

Authored by thegrio.com and submitted by firig1965
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Will Smith says Philadelphia police called him the N-word on ‘more than 10 occasions’

While reflecting on his childhood, the Fresh Prince remembered how Mayor Frank Rizzo governed Philly's law enforcement with 'an iron hand'

Two-time Academy Award-nominated actor, Will Smith, opened up to Angela Rye about his experiences with police growing up in Philadelphia.

“I grew up under, you know, Mayor (Frank) Rizzo. He went from the chief of police to becoming the mayor and he had an iron hand,” said the actor, 51. “I’ve been called n— by the cops in Philly on more than 10 occasions, right? I got stopped frequently.”

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“Something as simple as Black. Lives. Matter.” Smith said emphasizing each word, “What’s the f**king point of contention?”

The interview took place on Rye’s podcast, “On One with Angela Rye.”

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Rye asked Smith how he is managing his emotions during the coronavirus pandemic and the protests against police brutality that have both swept the nation.

“For the world to see what we’ve been saying for hundreds of years. My grandmother taught me to be thankful for these opportunities, to be thankful for your pain. The entire globe has stood up and said to the African American people, ‘we see you, we hear you. How can we help?’” Smith said, “We’ve never been there before.”

File – In this Dec. 13, 2017, file photo, Will Smith arrives at the U.S. premiere of “Bright” in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

The lengthy conversation also touched on Smith’s youth attending Catholic schools where his white classmates couldn’t understand his experiences.

“White kids were happy when the cops showed up, and my heart always started pounding,” Smith said. “There’s a part of this that people who don’t grow up in that you just can’t comprehend. You just can’t comprehend what it feels like to feel like you live in an occupied territory.”

Smith also praised those who have been actively protesting. He said that he understands the “rage” that many are feeling, but he is grateful that the protests have largely been peaceful.

“Peaceful protests,” Smith explained, “put up a mirror to the demonic imagery of your oppressor. The more still you are in your peaceful protests, the more clear the mirror is to the oppressor for the world to see and for them to see themselves.”

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stardorsdash on July 10th, 2020 at 15:20 UTC »

When I lived in south-central Los Angeles, and I mean south-central Los Angeles, I lived in a neighborhood that had a lot of murders. This was just three years ago.

Anyway somebody was on the street with a gun threatening his family who are also on the street so I couldn’t get to my car to go to work and had to call my boss and let him know I wasn’t going to be there after calling 911.

This was at 40th Pl. and Normandy if you know Los Angeles. We were two blocks away from the police station, close enough someone could’ve run over there in five minutes to get help.

I told the 911 operator that he was threatening to kill his girlfriend and children and had a gun in the street, after about half an hour he left. After that I left and went to work. I later went back and asked the woman when the police arrived since they had not arrived in that full half hour and she told me they never arrived.

That is what it is to live in a poor black neighborhood in Los Angeles next to one of the richest schools in California, USC.

You can have someone on the street waving a gun threatening to kill people and the police still don’t even bother to show up.

MrCaul on July 10th, 2020 at 14:18 UTC »

I started watching When They Us yesterday.

American police is some disturbing shit.

followyourbliss33 on July 10th, 2020 at 13:43 UTC »

“There’s a part you don’t understand unless you experience it where... when the police come you feel like you live in an occupied territory.”

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that inner city ghettos are run like prisons by city officials and law enforcement. Look at how whenever there are protests within their confines, the police always form a protective shield between the ghettos and the neighborhoods beyond them. This persecution of impoverished black people in our country has been calculated, systemic, and endured for over century now as a perpetual institutional crime against humanity. And it’s right under the noses of the willful ignorant.