Morgan Freeman paid a visit to CNN last night to speak with Don Lemon about his new show on the Science Channel, Through the Wormhole. But the conversation turned to race issues and income inequality and that’s when things got a little… sigh.
Don Lemon moved the discussion in this direction by pointing out the focus that President Obama and the Democrats have right now on income inequality. When asked if he thought this was a good thing, Freeman said it was “a great idea.”
“We have a much more vibrant society when we don’t have such a vast chasm between the haves and have-nots,” said Freeman, adding that society needs the middle class to buy all the things the rich are producing.
“Do you think race plays a part in wealth distribution?” Lemon continued. “No,” said Freeman, point blank. “Why would race have anything to do with it? We’re proof. Just stick with it. Put your mind to what you want to do and go for that. It’s kind of like religion to me. It’s a good excuse for not getting there.”
The conversation then turns to race more broadly, at which point Lemon says he talks about race because of the “news cycle,” “…”But sometimes I just get so tired of talking about it, I want to just go, ‘this is over, can we move on?’” To which Freeman responds, “And if you talk about it, it exists.”
Race would most certainly be an issue whether we talk about it or not. In fact, taking about what ails society is what forces people to think about bias, inequality and stereotypes in order to correct wrong-headed thinking and injustice. Every day it seems there’s new evidence that shows bias is impacting a person’s ability to get a job, a small business loan, or the pay they deserve.
And as for the two of them being proof that race doesn’t impact wealth distribution, it’s clear that they are the exception and not the rule.
“As for the question of race and inequality, the success of people like Freeman and Lemon notwithstanding, a sharp divide between whites and nonwhites does exist today, and by some measures has gotten worse,” reports Mediaite. “According to census data, in 1967 median household income for white, non-Hispanic households was 43% higher than it was for black households. But 2011, the divide had increased to 72%.”
Feel free to keep the conversation going in the comments.
