Story highlights
Bill de Blasio says the movement has changed the discussion "for the better"
He appeared alongside his wife, Chirlane McCray, in an interview with CNN's Poppy Harlow
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that the Black Lives Matter movement has changed the discussion on race in the United States “for the better.”
“I think that movement, just the very phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ has changed the national discussion,” he told CNN’s Poppy Harlow on “New Day.” “Now, as with any movement, there are some people that I don’t agree with. But I have to tell you, they’ve changed the national discussion for the better.”
He appeared alongside his wife, Chirlane McCray, who said Black Lives Matter has encouraged a healthy discussion on race relations.
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“Black Lives Matter is a force for good. It’s about peaceful protest. It’s about shining a light on the problems we have in race relations across this country. We’ve had a history of it,” she said. “And it has not gone away, but we haven’t had enough positive action taken on making change and I am very encouraged by the Black Lives Matter movement. I think this is such a force for good.”
De Blasio said he believes the way to fix problems with police across the country are through retraining, helping law enforcement realize there’s “implicit bias” and work to get the bias “out of our systems.”
“I think all of us in ‘white America’ have to understand better that young men of color live in fear all of the time,” he said, adding, “White America’ doesn’t understand the extent of the problem … I actually think ‘white America’ will participate in that change.”
