Comedian Chris Rock inflamed internet racial tensions last month with his accurate quip that the Independence Day we all celebrate on July 4 didn’t actually signal independence for much of the population (as slaves weren’t freed for several more decades), but, in a new interview, the popular stand-up and film star speaks on the issue in a bit more of a direct way.

Chris Rock is known for his light yet spot-on treatment of the issue of being black in America today, with a skill for pointing out truths in such a way that you can laugh while appreciating the gravity of the situation. Rock, now approaching 50 (“New Jack City was a loooooong time ago,”) sat down with the men’s mag Details to talk about a few current events and whatnot recently, and Rock explains not every race issue has a funny side.

On the subject of Trayvon Martin, the interviewer asks if Rock thinks it’s too soon to make jokes about the tragedy. Rock opines that the situation is just sad all around and explains:

“There’s no joke there, unfortunately. It’s sad. When you get old, it’s like, ‘Damn it, I’ve seen this.’ I’m from Bed-Stuy. I marched for Yusuf Hawkins, you know? I don’t totally agree with Bill Cosby. He said it wasn’t racial, it’s a gun issue. Well, it’s a gun-racial issue. You know what makes you approach a six-foot-three black guy in the middle of the night? A gun. Paul Blart’s not supposed to have a gun.”

Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren’t free but I’m sure they enjoyed fireworks

— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) July 4, 2012

Rock also addresses Barack Obama’s performance,and suggests that he and the Commander-in-Chief are bros. When asked about talking to a cardboard Obama in his new film, 2 Days In New York, Rock says:

“I mean, if I want to talk to him, I can call him. Dude, being the first black anything sucks. But the country was in shambles, and he’s cleaning it up. If you properly clean a room, it gets dirtier before it gets cleaner. Ever come back to your hotel room before the maids are finished? My God! Republicans are complaining. Romney’s complaining. But Romney’s rich. He doesn’t know shit about cleaning.”

Last month, when we covered the racial tensions unmasked by Chris Rock’s slavery tweet, many commenters expressed that racial strife in the US was by and large an issue of the past — suggesting that discussion of race and prejudice somehow precipitate the conflict rather than the other way around. But Rock recalls a time not too long ago when he experienced a much different America than the one we believe we live in, describing his experiences in school:

“I was [bussed] to a school in Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn in 1972. I was one of the first black kids in the history of the school. There were parents with signs: NIGGER GO HOME. For all intents and purposes, the United States had been practicing apartheid until ’68. I was spit on every day. I had water balloons with piss thrown at me. I was f***ing Carrie.”

Do you think Chris Rock’s view of race in America is the more accurate version, or do you think not talking about racism will somehow magically make it go away?

Chris Rock Talks About Trayvon Martin, Race In America Today is a post from: The Inquisitr

White People’s Day, as we reported earlier, has become the outrage du jour among some white people late this week — following a tweet comedian Chris Rock sent on July 4th, as Americans celebrated Independence Day.

Here’s what Chris Rock had to say about White People’s Day, in the tweet many are now finding so offensive:

“Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren’t free but I’m sure they enjoyed fireworks.”

And white people lost their damn minds.

Immediately, Twitter began lighting up with shock that Rock had dared to mention that black people in America were kept as slaves and treated horribly. And that it wasn’t until we fought a big ugly bloody war to end it so that black people got the right to, you know, not be murdered or beaten or forced to work for years on end with no recompense at all.

Predictably, white people — who, as Rock points out, enjoyed freedom for all the years black people were enslaved — were very displeased with Rock saying something that is both factually true and, may we point out, references historical happenings far more recent than the very event July 4th marks.

In fact, as many white people complain, it is basically as bad as slavery that sometimes black people mention that black people were once slaves. As white people are quick to explain, this is called “reverse racism,” and is equally harmful.

Sometime immediately after the civil war ended, racism was replaced with this newer, more insidious kind of race-based hate that appears whenever anyone mentions that conditions used to be worse for black people in America — a historically correct but inconvenient bit of information for non-black people.

In a time where a black kid can’t walk to the corner store without getting shot at point-blank range right in the chest, won’t anyone think of the white people? Do you know how hard it is to be white nowadays, with all the black people who insist on referring to history every so often?

Many took to Twitter to complain about Rock’s “racism” in pointing out that something that happened actually happened. As a white person myself, I would much rather that than getting shot in the chest at point-blank range when I am just trying to buy a damn iced tea, but I realize that opinion is just me, and far be it from me to speak for all white people, or suggest that the reaction to Rock’s tweet still illustrates we have a long way to go.

But you know, both getting shot and having to hear about a black kid that got shot are bad! Listen to one Conservative on Twitter of the #tcot hashtag, who cries into his tea:

“Chris Rock says ‘happy white people’s independence day.’ Racist lefties keep throwing gas on the fire to keep the hate alive. #tcot #loser”

Yes, you guys! Racism is like Voldemort. We can only summon it by mentioning it, and acknowledging it did exist and still exists, and if we simply pretend it did not happen, and that the kid who got shot right in the chest for going to the store was really asking for it because he was suspended from school (even though George Zimmerman could not have possibly known that), then all racism will not only magically never occur, but it will also never have happened.

User @rodimusprime muses:

“From the Chris Rock backlash I can see that a lot of people have replaced history with the Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter version of slavery.”

Maybe that guy is on to something, because that movie made white people look really noble! The actual historically factual version is just totally reverse racism. Another white person simply sniffs:

“Chris, find a country you like and go there.”

Now see, this guy knows history. Americans don’t have a history of speaking freely about things they don’t like, in order to affect change. No Americans can criticize America without planning to leave the country, as that is the only solution to unfavorable conditions like systemic racism. In fact, I think it is in the Bill of Rights, that all men are created equal, except maybe black people, women and gay folk, and if you don’t like it, leave.

It should be noted that Chris Rock has not deleted his White People’s Day tweet, allowing White People to wear their official outrage at being discriminated against hat for many more days to come.

Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren’t free but I’m sure they enjoyed fireworks

— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) July 4, 2012

White People’s Day: Was Chris Rock Really Offensive in Controversial July 4th Tweet? is a post from: The Inquisitr

Chris Rock may have been aiming for a joke, but his July 4 tweet is creating controversy instead.

The comedian and producer of the FX show “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell” sent a message to his followers that said: “Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren’t free but I’m sure they enjoyed fireworks.”

Some of followers apparently got the joke, with Don Cheadle replying with a simple “Haha,” MSNBC reported. Cheadle later defended Rock by writing, “Where exactly is the bigotry in that joke? Who is the victim? 18th century whites?” Some even chided Rock back, like David Burge who responded, “Good one! I bet your Guatemalan house staff got a good chuckle.”

But many others didn’t find it so funny. His twitter account was bombarded with angry messages and others telling him they would boycott his films for what they considered an unpatriotic comment. Jeff Schreiber, managing editor of the conservative blog America’s Right, claimed that “for @chrisrock to indict the US as he did is inappropriate at best.”

Schreiber also tweeted:

“Slavery existed for 2000yrs before America. We eradicated it in 100yrs. We now have a black POTUS. ‪#Go (expletive) Yourself”

As the Huffington Post pointed out, Rock is no stranger to racially charged commentary. His 1996 special “Bring the Pain” featured a bit called “Niggas vs. Black People,” though Rock told 60 Minutes he has not performed it since then as “some people that were racist thought they had license to say n—–.”

Rock didn’t seem too bothered by the mess he created. His following tweet was about a potential trade for the New York Knicks. But his twitter followers wouldn’t let it go too easily. Lincolntf tweeted to Rock, “White men trading black men amuses you these days, eh?”

Do you think Chris Rock’s tweet was funny or did he go too far?

Chris Rock Stirs Controversy With “White People’s Day” Tweet is a post from: The Inquisitr