Chris Rock: When We Talk About Race Relations, ‘It’s All Nonsense’

Comedian Chris Rock doesn’t think there’s “race relations” in the United States. Rather, white people have acted crazy and today they act less crazy.

“Here’s the thing. When we talk about race relations in America or racial progress, it’s all nonsense. There are no race relations. White people were crazy. Now they’re not as crazy,” Rock said in a Q & A with Frank Rich published in New York magazine. “To say that black people have made progress would be to say they deserve what happened to them before.”

Rock’s argument is that there’s misdirected attention toward how race relations have improved in the United States. It’s not that African Americans have gotten better, it’s that white people have gotten better about how they treat African Americans.

“So, to say Obama is progress is saying that he’s the first black person that is qualified to be president. That’s not black progress. That’s white progress,” Rock said. “There’s been black people qualified to be president for hundreds of years. If you saw Tina Turner and Ike having a lovely breakfast over there, would you say their relationship’s improved? Some people would. But a smart person would go, “Oh, he stopped punching her in the face.” It’s not up to her. Ike and Tina Turner’s relationship has nothing to do with Tina Turner. Nothing.”

Rock also said that former President George W. Bush had an advantage that President Barack Obama does not.

“There’s an advantage that Bush had that Obama doesn’t have. People thinking you’re dumb is an advantage. Obama started as a genius. It’s like, What? I’ve got to keep doing that?” Rock said. “That’s hard to do! So it’s not that Obama’s disappointing. It’s just his best album might have been his first album.”