Star of Keeping Up With the Kardashians Kanye West spoke on Black history month in a new interview with Joe Rogan. The Yeezy designer called the month “a programming” for Black people.
In recent months, Kanye has continued his long-shot presidential campaign. After Kanye announced his “2020 Vision” campaign in July, he tried to make it onto the ballot in multiple states but was unable to. Since then he has been encouraging his supporters to write in his name on their ballots. In mid-October, he also released his first official campaign ad. As for his marriage to fellow Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, Kim Kardashian West, divorce speculations have died down as their relationship seems to be going smoothly.
Kanye went in-depth on many of his views in an interview with Joe Rogan on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. At one point, Kanye expanded upon his views of white supremacy and Black history month. He explained how he believes Black history month is “a programming” for Black people so they only know the slavery portion of African and African American history. He opened up about how he feels white supremacy operates and how the mindset villainizes Black people. Kanye explained how his thoughts were shaped by his dad, a member of the Black Panthers. The Civil Rights group advocated against police brutality in the '60s but was villainized by the FBI. In regards to his father being a Black Panther, Kanye explained how the true history of the Black Panthers has been erased and replaced by a narrative created by white people.
The billionaire then explained how the Black Panther, the Marvel blockbuster, was of huge significance to Black communities even though the character was created by white people. Black Panther was first introduced to Marvel comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby the same year the Black Panthers were founded. Kanye cited this as an example of the larger point of how white supremacy has the aim to erase all Black history except for the enslavement portion taught during Black history month. Kanye also mentioned how he was appalled when he heard the people whom the Disney character, Maleficent, ruled over were called the Moors. The Moors is also a name given to Muslims of African descent from the 11th to 17th centuries.
While the comment may come off as shocking to many, Kanye isn’t wrong. To many, the wording is likely off-putting because its seen as a positive that at least some portion of Black history is taught in schools. Kanye made an interesting and much-needed point about how white supremacy shapes the media and messages we consume, but the point will probably be lost on many.
Source: Joe Rogan Experience