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One week ago, O'Shea "Ice Cube" Jackson celebrated the 30-year anniversary of his first foray into film, Boyz N' The Hood. Over the last three decades, the Los Angeles native has expanded his film and television footprint through Barbershop, Ride Along, Friday and 21 Jump Street. Not to mention, his music has been featured in everything from New Jack City to Us. Having spent a good amount of time in and around Hollywood, he's come to have a few criticisms of the film and television industries. During a recent interview, the actor went as far as to say that Hollywood is complicit in perpetuating racism throughout the country.
“I think Hollywood is [complicit] in this too. They done put out so many images that teach the police how to do us. If you’re a 12-year-old kid watching TV and you grow up, you probably done seen hours and hours of how Black people are treated in this country. So by the time you become a cop, it’s already etched in your brain, from watching these dumb shows – ‘Oh, this is how you treat them,'” he told The Breakfast Club.
“Hollywood is helping the racism flourish.”
As the interview progressed, the Big 3 co-founder began discussing the progress he's made with his highly publicized "Contract With Black America." The entrepreneur explained that he's spoken with senior adviser Cedric Richmond and plans to move the contract's focus from the public sector to the private sector.
“We heard from Cedric Richmond a couple of times. We’re still waiting for a follow-up on some things we were trying to get set up,” he added.
“The first half of the Contract With Black America, when the election was going on, was really focused on the public sector. Now, since the election, we’re focused on the private sector. We got some interesting things we’re going to announce as soon as they fully develop.”
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