Sparks flew on Sunday’s Meet The Press when former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani sparred with professor and author Michael Eric Dyson when discussing violence in the black community.
The duo were part of a panel discussion on the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, which led to civic unrest earlier this summer. A grand jury is expected to soon on whether it will indict the white officer, Darren Wilson, who shot Brown, an unarmed black teenager. Wilson has maintained he was acting in self-defense.
Giuliani said that there was too much emphasis being made on the incident, and not enough to “black on black” violence.
“Why don’t you cut down your crime so so many white police officers don’t have to be in black areas?” Giuliani asked. “Ninety-three percent of blacks in America are killed by other blacks. We are talking about the exception here [in Ferguson]… I would like to see the attention paid to that — that you’re paying to this.”
“Black people who kill black people go to jail,” said Dyson during the exchange. “White people who are policemen and kill black people do not go to jail.”
“It’s hardly insignificant. It is the reason for the heavy police presence in the black community,” Giuliani said. “Why don’t you cut it down so that so many white police officers don’t have to be in black areas?”
“Your attitude reinforces the problematic perspective that prevails in the culture,” Dyson said.
“What about the poor black child who kills another black child? Why aren’t you protesting that?” Giuliani asked.
