Will.i.am: Killing Cops Not the Answer, ‘We Gotta Stop Killing Ourselves’

In the wake of the recent ambushes on law enforcement, including the murder of three Baton Rouge police officers on Sunday, hip-hop star Will.i.am says killing police officers is not going to solve the real problems facing black Americans.

“I don’t think that’s what we need, at the same time I feel the pain, but I don’t think that’s what we need,” Will.i.am told TMZ when asked if he agreed with Baton Rogue rapper Boosie’s belief that police killings will continue in retaliation of the police-involved shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rogue and Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minnesota.

“I think we need to put our energies into building up our communities ourselves,”  Will.i.am said.

One week after five Dallas law enforcement officers were ambushed and murdered by Houston New Black Panther Party member Micah X. Johnson, a body armor-clad gunman opened fire near the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters on Sunday and murdered three officers, leaving three more in critical condition.

However, Will.i.am says the solutions to the problems of violence facing black Americans can be found within their own communities.

According to the FBI’s most recently released data (2014), 90 percent of black homicides are committed by black people, while 82 percent of white homicides are committed by white people.

“How do we take accountability for ourselves?” he asked. “We gotta stop killing ourselves and stop destroying our communities when something goes wrong, we need to power up, and build our communities up.”

The Grammy Award-winning music producer and former Black Eyed Peas frontman continued: “I think we need to put our energy on building up our communities ourselves, building our communities to be affluent and thriving… it’s a 20-year plan, we’ve never thought that far.”

 

Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson