Jay-Z Blasts Zimmerman, 'Blatant' Racism In America

JAY Z: I was really angry. I didn’t sleep for two days. I was really angry about it that – we all knew there was still a bit of racism in America, but for it to be so blatant was… if you just asked the questions, asked yourself the question, ‘Didn’t Trayvon have a right to stand his ground?’ He was being chased and he fought back. He may have won. That doesn’t mean he is a criminal.

He won. I mean, if you chase me and you try to attack me and I defend myself, how can I be in the wrong? How is that right? This guy went to get some Skittles and go back to watch the All-Star game. He had plans — I’m gonna get this Arizona [iced tea], get these Skittles and I’m gonna watch the game. He had no intentions of robbing anyone’s home. It’s like, again, a reminder [that] we still got a long way to go. It’s beautiful, because this generation right now, they don’t see color in that way. We’re a bit removed from those racist feelings because again, it’s hard to teach racism when your child is out [at] clubs. It’s integrated and the music we listen to is the same. Our feelings and our anxieties are more similar now.