Raven Symoné finally gets it right with ‘Blacks Lives Matter’
By Kacie Whaley
Raven Symoné has said something news-worthy on The View again, but this time, it isn’t infuriating.
The actress and television host was talking with the panel about the recent publicized killings of Black men by police officers. When Symoné chimed in, she offered a possible solution to the injustice and a call to action that has been heavily discussed among the Black community lately.
“We have to find some way or somebody to help with the organization of this change – this revolution that needs to happen,” she said. “And I was talking to my mom yesterday, she said, ‘You know, let’s take for instance, the tragedy that happened in Miami and in North Carolina.’ What did people do? They went for the pockets! They went for the wallet!”
Symoné, who in recent years has been criticized for denouncing herself as African-American and making racially insensitive remarks, acknowledged that her words tend to upset some people.
“And I’m not an organizer whatsoever – people get mad at me for the things I say, but if I was to make any kind of change … I would say, ‘You know what? Put your money in other companies that support who you are as a person. That support what your color is,’” she continued. “I can’t believe I have to say that in 2016 – ‘That support your color.’ It’s said that by 2017, there is going to be $1.3 trillion buying power in the Black community alone. If you took that away from certain people, don’t you think they would make change?”
During the year that Symoné has been a host on The View, she’s made comments that has made many Black Americans feel that she was not a good representation of Black people. There was even a petition once calling for her removal from the show. But maybe she’s finally changing her tune.
