MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: Police Brutality
Interview
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For more let me bring Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. Congressman good to have you with us tonight, I know that you have commented on this extensively. But first I want to get your reaction to the Rams players and as Al Davis said before he passed away that the NFL is such a big part of our culture. You know, we`re about winning and losing in America, and there`s no doubt that the NFL is on a big platform what this players do gets immense attention and these players coming out in St. Louis doing this.
What`s your reaction to what they did and how do you feel about it?
REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER, (D) MISSOURI: Well, you know, back in the 1970s we had professional athletes like Jim Brown, like Kareem Abdul Jabbar and others who became intimately involved with the civil rights movement. Jim Brown started the black economic union and then these guys, Bill Russell they all worked involve and trying to make a more equitable society.I am trilled that there are young athletes, professional athletes now who are going beyond taking up their paycheck and performing on the field or on the basketball court. I think it`s a good thing.
Keep in mind, at least I hope that to understand does not necessarily mean that one aggress and I guess the deep down move in this country right now - - movement in this country with African-Americans is to say, "Look please try to understand our pain. You don`t have to agree just try to understand how we feel when these things like this happen."
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
CLEAVER: And I don`t think there`s a great deal of people -- a great number of people were speaking to try to understand.
SCHULTZ: You know, Congressman there`s been a tremendous amount of conversation on this network about Ferguson. And there`s been a tremendous amount of focus on the peaceful demonstrators. The people in the community who want to make the change. And for these athletes to come out with their hands up, they`re not against the cops, they`re not supporting the violence, they`re making a statement about the statement that needs to be made if we`re going to address race relation in this country.
That`s how I see it. And those athletes were taken a real chance because in the NFL there is the man, there is the owner and they are powerful. They could have seen their careers end by doing something like this. And I think it was a courageous move by these athletes to do this and I hope other athletes do it because the American people pay attention to what goes on to the NFL.
Congressman what are you expectations with the meetings with the President? What can came out of this?
CLEAVER: Well, I think the thing that the President is trying to do is to inspire Americans to do what they don`t really want to do in order to achieve what they really would like to achieve, which is a race-less society. And it`s difficult where -- it`s not the number one job that the President has. But in many ways he is an evangelist. And the meeting at the White House today was evangelistic in the sense that, he`s trying to come up with ways in which we can reduce the tension and then try to move forward to get to another level in this country.
I don`t think there`s anybody except the crazies who feel comfortable right now with what`s going on. And for the President to call a meeting in the White House I think is symbolic of what he what people to do around to the country today is look for solutions. This is not about hating police depart.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
CLEAVER: This is not about attacking police at least that certainly not mine. I put my own life and my family`s life in the hands of police. I was a Mayor of Kansas City for eight years with security from the Kansas Missouri Police Department.
And 99.9999 percent of those guys are good human beings. But like any other profession there are always some who will go hurrah (ph).
SCHULTZ: Sure.
CLEAVER: And these athletes, you hit it on the head Ed, I think. I mean these guys did -- had no idea of what the reaction would be from the ownership. And so I think, to some degree they are courageous and we need more of them to stand out and speak out on issues and become involved in supporting change -- changes in society that they can do probably better than those of us who`ve been elected.
SCHULTZ: Congressman I want to play a clip from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani who now apparently is an expert on race relation. Here it is.
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GUILIANI: I think just as much, if not more responsibility is on the black community to reduce the reason why the police officers are assigned in such large numbers to the black community. It`s because blacks commit murder eight times more per capita than any other group in our society. And, when I assigned police officers with Commissioner Bratton and Commissioner Safir, we did it based on statistics.
We didn`t do it based on race. If there were a lot of murders in a community, we put a lot of police officers there. If I had put all my police officers on Park Avenue and none in Harlem, thousands and thousands more blacks would have been killed during the 8 years that I was mayor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Congressman your response to that.
CLEAVER: Well, first of all, you know, it`s not helpful and the issue of black on black crime is one that African-American needs to address. That`s not -- that`s not the conversation right now. The conversation is about people who have been entrusted with human lives, who are then involved in the shooting that many of us see as unjustifiable, so their apples and oranges.
One issue needs to be eliminated and that is black on black crime. It is far too high and those of us who live in African-American communities can`t afford not to trust the police, can`t afford not to want to work with their police. And so it`s in our best interest to have a police department...
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
CLEAVER: ... that`s respondent.
SCHULTZ: OK, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. I appreciate your time tonight on the Ed Show. Thank so much for joining us.
CLEAVER: Good to be with you.
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