Ice Cube arrives at the LA Premiere of "xXx: Return of Xander Cage" at TCL Chinese Theater IMAX on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP)
It’s no secret that Ice Cube is unapologetic in advocating for Black people. He’s also pro-reparations, as evidenced in the “Contract With Black America” introduced in 2020 by the hip-hop and Hollywood icon.
Despite his intentions, Cube’s activism has landed him in hot water in the past. Some Black people were particularly upset after it was revealed that Cube was in talks with Donald Trump’s team before the 2020 election.
At the time, Ice Cube said that then-candidate Joe Biden’s team refused to engage him, stating they would meet with him after the election.
After more than a year in office, the Biden administration seems to be keeping its word based on statements from Cube in a recent interview with “Ryan Cameron Uncensored.”
“Yesterday they reached out to me,” Cube said during the Feb. 3 show. “We haven’t talked yet. We’re just starting to figure out when we can have this meeting and how we’re gonna have it. Cube added that he believed it would “go down sometime this month.”
During their conversation, Ice Cube reiterated that his political activism was focused on improving the lives of Black people and he was pro-reparations.
“I’m singularly focused. I’m only worried about our community at this point as far as politically and trying to get ahead,” Cube told Cameron. “I think when you’re a politician you gotta be thinking about everybody, but I need to focus on our community because we’re so far behind in this society and it’s so many obstacles up against us.”
He echoed the sentiment of many people who feel that lumping Black people in with all people of color when creating government policy won’t produce the necessary outcomes.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 74: Jamarlin Martin
Jamarlin returns for a new season of the GHOGH podcast to discuss Bitcoin, bubbles, and Biden. He talks about the risk factors for Bitcoin as an investment asset including origin risk, speculative market structure, regulatory, and environment. Are broader financial markets in a massive speculative bubble?
“I know this new administration is really into helping all minorities but I believe Black people in this country are in a unique position so I think there needs to be things as far as specialty programs,” Cube said. “You know me, I’m all about reparations, which seems like a bad word to this administration but we gotta change that. We gotta have them speaking about reparations and add some fairness to this system.
“I know at the end of the day, whether a Democrat or a Republican is in the White House, they’re still not looking at our agenda in the right way so it really don’t matter,” Ice Cube frankly said. “We still gotta get them to acknowledge and remedy the situation. Right now, they like to acknowledge but nobody wants to do what it takes to remedy the situation.”
Ice Cube also called out Democrats for being more focused on Black symbolism than implementing policies that help Black people, specifically, despite the overwhelming support they receive from Black voters.
“We always show up. We show up for one party right now mainly,” Cube said. “Do they show up for us as a whole? Not just appointing Black people to positions but actually giving them the power and incentive to do something for all of us?
“I feel like there’s a lot of symbolism going around but there’s not a lot of tangibles going around so it’s really up to us to say, ‘You know that’s a nice gesture but in America you need cash,’” Cube continued.
Ice Cube encouraged Black people to be their own advocates by recycling the Black dollar in the Black community, keeping homes in the family to build generational wealth, and “figure it out ourselves and not depend on politicians to figure it out.”
When he meets with the Biden administration, Ice Cube said he hopes to be able to bring in some members of his team.
“I would love to bring some people in. I work with some great people, some great experts who know the root of the problem better than me. I would love to bring in the specialists I have to see what we can do to start moving this ball down the field,” Cube said. “I’m available. I’m gon’ make myself available. Whenever they’re ready, I’m there. Whatever needs to be done, I’m down to do it. I’m hoping everything will be positive.”
