Sonnie Johnson warns GOP to stop 'talking down to Black America', help 'fix the issues' in urban areas

Conservative radio host Sonnie Johnson called out Republicans on "Fox News Primetime" Friday, telling host Lawrence Jones people on the right need to quit being "sanctimonious" and start implementing policy that can fix inner-city issues.

JOHNSON: I want to start this by premising that you [Jones] are putting a lot at risk by having these kind of conversations, by bringing people like my brother Maj [Toure] on, and me on, to actually have these conversations because we are not going to stick to the normal paradigm that is set. And that is to have one side that says, "There is no racism. It doesn't exist. You are playing victim", and then to have the other side that is completely in pure identity politics based on no substance or no policy. 

The thing with Democrats is they are never going to talk about this issue. Because if they do, they will have to be held accountable for what they have done to our communities [for] sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, one hundred years in some areas. They will have to be held accountable. They are not going to put themselves in a position where they have to be held accountable.

 I brought this message seven years ago to Republicans, to conservatives. We can talk about this. We can go out there, we can win people. We can win hearts and minds. I was told to sit down, to shut up. I was told that calling Black people slaves on a plantation was more beneficial than actually offering them policy that fixes the issues that plague them under these Democratic-controlled cities. I was told it was not an important conversation. I was told that our voice had no weight and constantly, over and over again, these messengers who choose to berate and belittle Black Americans were constantly put to the forefront.

Where are the people that want to have these conversations about Black on Black crime? Where are the people that want to talk about the things that are going on? We are right here. We have been bringing these conversations to the right for years. You never want to have these conversations with us until this moment arises. So, please, they can save the sanctimonious stuff and let's actually get the policy that can fix the issues in these areas.

...

It is your right as an American citizen to be armed, but it is also a responsibility. With that responsibility comes certain knowledge and certain training. Instead of approaching it from that situation, where we are teaching young boys not only is it your right, but it is also your responsibility and the weight that comes with that responsibility, that subject is never broached. Instead they are approached by their 16-year-old cousin saying, "Here, point and shoot." We can be the responsible voices in these areas and for some people who don't even know their Second Amendment right is available to them. So that's why it's so great when you bring people like Maj [Toure] on from Black Guns Matter. So when he goes in and he teaches gun safety, he goes in and he teaches the laws and regulations at the local area, he also teaches deescalation and ways to solve problems without it resorting in violence. So the work is being done. It would be really, really nice if people on the right recognized that instead of continuously talking down to Black America.

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