Founding Director of the Racial Justice Initiative Dr. Yohuru Williams spoke with CBC News about the incident between Chris Rock and Will Smith at the 94th Academy Awards.
In the interview Williams commented on the incident by saying that, "There are those who see this as racial uplift. And the problematic nature of two men of color of this stature engaging in this type of altercation on a global stage. The reality is that people are looking at Will Smith and Chris Rock and asking the question, 'Was this necessary? Could Will Smith have found another way to express his discontent with Chris Rock's joke?' There are also the pernicious stereotypes that this reinforces about people of color, particularly African Americans and their propriety for violence and this type of behavior. So that was troubling and I think a lot of people are fixated on that in the aftermath of this."
