‘We gotta have them speaking about reparations’: Rapper Ice Cube set to meet with Biden as US president vows ‘racial equity’
As Joe Biden promises to make racial justice a top priority for his administration, rapper Ice Cube has revealed that he could soon be meeting with the US president to discuss reparations for black Americans.
In a radio interview, the iconic musical artist and actor revealed that Biden’s team had reached out to him and that plans are in motion for a White House visit later this month. He said that while he recognizes that the new administration is “really into helping all minorities,” Biden needed to back up his words by enacting "specialty programs."
“You know me, I’m all about reparations. It seems like a bad word to this administration but we gotta change that. We gotta have them speaking about reparations and add some fairness to this system,” the rapper said.
Ice Cube revealed a ‘Contract for Black America’ in July in response to growing anger over racial inequality in the country following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police. The rapper described the document as a “blueprint to achieve racial economic justice.” Aside from economic initiatives aimed at providing financial assistance to black Americans, the proposal calls for criminal justice and education reforms.
Biden has signaled that his administration is committed to addressing such issues. In a speech on Thursday, he told State Department staff that “racial equity” will be “the business of the whole of government and all of our federal policies and institutions.”
Ice Cube has has been pitching his agenda to both Democrats and Republicans in hopes that his controversial ideas, particularly the idea of compensating black Americans as a form of contrition over slavery, will take root. In October, he defended his choice to discuss his ‘contract’ with Trump officials, noting that he had also been contacted by Biden’s team about the proposal and that he’s open to cooperating with “anyone who will work with me.”
Trump’s administration pushed through criminal justice reform that received support from rappers Lil Wayne and Kanye West. However, the former administration expressed little interest in reparations.
Biden has already begun to reverse many Trump-era policies concerning social justice issues, using a series of executive orders and appointments aimed at promoting racial equality.
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