Denzel Washington: Don't blame the prison system, 'It starts at the home'

[keone]

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Denzel Washington's latest movie is "Roman J. Israel, Esq."
(Taylor Jewell/Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP)
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, November 23, 2017, 7:00 PM
In “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” Denzel Washington plays an idealistic defense attorney whose beliefs are tested when he joins a new law firm.

The Oscar winner says making the film did not make him more cynical about the justice system and, when asked about the prison-industrial complex, the “Malcolm X” star offered a surprising take.

“It starts at the home,” he told reporters at the film’s downtown New York premiere. “It starts at home.”

When prodded to expand on his answer, the 62-year-old Mount Vernon native replied: “It starts with how you raise your children. If a young man doesn’t have a father figure, he’ll go find a father figure.

Denzel Washington’s ‘Roman J. Israel, Esq.’ lacks focus — review

“So you know I can’t blame the system,” he continued. “It’s unfortunate that we make such easy work for them.”

Washington came into the project with an insider’s edge on writer-director Dan Gilroy; he spars at the same gym as Jake Gyllenhaal, who starred in Gilroy’s critically acclaimed 2014 film “Nightcrawler,” and the actor gave Washington a full briefing on Gilroy.

“I got to learn a little bit about Dan in advance, and to see the great collaboration they had together,” Washington explained. “So it was easy, it was seamless and it was invigorating.”


(Washington declined to answer questions as to whether he or Gyllenhaal would win in the boxing ring).

Denzel Washington took novel approach for 'Roman J. Israel, Esq.'

The role of Roman Israel — a legal savant — is certainly a departure for the actor.
The Oscar winner has played a lawyer before (“Philadelphia”), but his reasons for taking on this role weren’t so much because he wanted to return to a courtroom.

“It really didn’t have much to do with that,” he said. “It was just that Dan wrote a good script, a good story, the guy happened to be a lawyer. Law wasn’t the thing that attracted me to the story.”

Roman Israel — a legal savant — is certainly a departure for the actor. Washington told the Daily News that he based the character’s eccentricities on those of a friend’s son who is on the autism spectrum.

“He knew all the laws and everything, so I did a lot of research on Asperger’s, and the spectrum, and went in that direction,” he revealed.

Denzel Washington to star in Broadway’s ‘The Iceman Cometh’

Washington says he is not worrying about what his fans will make of this film.

“I just do what I do,” the “Training Day” star said. “I can’t be concerned. I don’t know what they’re going to think, so that’s not something that comes into my head. . . . If it’s something I’m interested in, then I do it if I can, and we’ll find out what they think about it.”

 

[Simply_Black]

Well, he's partially right BUT he should have expanded further about the fact the too many innocent black men have been imprisoned by the system on false set-up charges. That's obviously one of the main contributing factors of our people being imprisoned.
Love and discipline does start from the home but unless there is a fair system in place there will always be injustice aimed at innocent black people.

 

[Non-StopJFK2TAB]

The movie was fine. He should be nominated for best actor next year.

As for his comments: yeah, okay.

 

[roots69]

Well, he's partially right BUT he should have expanded further about the fact the too many innocent black men have been imprisoned by the system on false set-up charges. That's obviously one of the main contributing factors of our people being imprisoned.
Love and discipline does start from the home but unless there is a fair system in place there will always be injustice aimed at innocent black people.

Right on!!

Tell d washington to focus on acting and leave politics and social issues to those who work in those fields..

 

[N*E*R*D]

 

[Efkie]

Well, he's partially right BUT he should have expanded further about the fact the too many innocent black men have been imprisoned by the system on false set-up charges. That's obviously one of the main contributing factors of our people being imprisoned.
Love and discipline does start from the home but unless there is a fair system in place there will always be injustice aimed at innocent black people.

It pains me to say it but he's got a point.
Everything starts with you. EspeciAlly in a country where the black man is a target.

The system in place is not advantageous towards black people and beyond your control.However you can control yourself.

Sent from iPhone

 

[ORIGINAL NATION]

I have never seen a black mother and a black father have a child and raise it off of breast milk and water. And then when it starts teething feed it only raw organic fruits and vegetables. Then when it starts walking put it on an exercise program. By the time that child is 6 years old you will have a person not controlled by this world. It would be considered an attempted escape. It would be similar to a person in Jonestown no longer controlled by the brainwashing.
What made Jesus different than any other black living at his time was that at an early age he use to wonder out in the desert eating out of bee hives. But at one time all blacks could do what he did and more. This was stated in the bible but we know they are not going to tell the whole story.
What sends blacks to prison is programming of the genes. I seriously believe that the only reason why I was allowed in the military was because they finally thought I was one of them. At one point while I was in something woke up certain whites that I was not totally controlled by a white reality and every since then they did what they could to have me locked up. At Ft. Lewis Washington they even went to great extents to set me up and have me arrested. Luckily I got out of it because I never told anyone about other things that I was doing.
At one time they had pretended that we were animals. Maybe they kept their own away from us until there were signs of us being what they said we were. People can call me names but their has got to something about certain things they have found that they keep from the public. The Roswell incident was not the first or only time something like that happened. The times before that they isolated the incidents so good it never came to the public attention. Since Roswell did they tightened things a lot more.
The technology that they have stolen, some of it is in society and they were able to duplicate or back engineer it some. But the best technology is still being study and worked on 24 hours a day 7 days a week. And their is a lot of technology hid from the pubic that they use. They have some they have finally been introducing to the public but in a white way. An example would be the invisibility cloak.
But anyway only a black messiah can change things. For those locked out of society right now a change is going to come for those who are suffering for being on the losing side of white supremacy. A new nation is rising up. Being locked out of society does not really mean you were completely wrong and the present society was right. That adding on to an artificial world may not be for everybody. The time will come when blacks will return to being themselves and take the earth back from white power.

It took them over 60 years trying to figure this out in secrecy first.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Right on!!

Tell d washington to focus on acting and leave politics and social issues to those who work in those fields..

A fucking reality TV star is president.

What do you do, since you think people's ability to comment should be based on occupation?

 

[Art Vandelay]

As for the comments, many children are fatherless because of the system and many children with fathers have fallen victim to it. So Denzel's analysis is wrong and seems to be disconnected pontificating from a perch of privilege.

That said, I like him as an actor and as a person from what I've seen and I'd like to watch this movie once it hits the internet.

 

[A to Dah K]

It pains me to say it but he's got a point.
Everything starts with you. EspeciAlly in a country where the black man is a target.

The system in place is not advantageous towards black people and beyond your control.However you can control yourself.

Sent from iPhone

Why does the truth pain you?

 

[Emil]

GTFOH!

I wish these celebrities would stop giving their opinions and start learning and spitting facts.

The prison industrial complex and mass incarceration are real. The government is using the prison system to ignore/suppress dealing with real social issues (housing, unemployment, education, etc). Good parenting cannot stop a racist, overzealous cop from putting a bullet in yo ass, or a racist, overzealous prosecutor and judge suggesting and giving you time or more time than a cac because you are black.

On the micro-level can good parenting help? Maybe. An individual can point to him or herself and say that it did. But on the macro-level good parenting can't stop a damn thing. In a white supremacist society, not willing to deal with it's past and present shortcomings, the gauntlet has to fall on someone and america has proven over and over that it chooses to sell out its black population.

 

[Sampson]

Right on!!

Tell d washington to focus on acting and leave politics and social issues to those who work in those fields..

Based on that logic, no one on this board should comment on politics .

 

[4 Dimensional]

It's never just one issue when it comes to us and Denzel knows that.

 

[tallblacknyc]

so when black men had fathers in their home and dressed suited and booted all the time back in the 60's and b4 cops never arrested them, sicked dogs on them, fire hosed them, or faslely imprisoned them..so it's the so called fatherless thing and not the system itself.. guess all these black men that have been released from prison after decades of being falsely accused had something to do with single parenting... guess all them presidents thats been connected to drug trades had great daddies

 

[slewdem100]

I get his point but he, like Cosby, should have explicitly stated that the system is not blameless but the way many of us go about dealing with said system sets us up to fail. His point at least included “It starts with how you raise your children. If a young man doesn’t have a father figure, he’ll go find a father figure" which is one step above Cosby's where it was implied. Can't imply anything when it comes to these kinds of things because your words will be twisted way beyond what you intended,

 

[ORIGINAL NATION]

A fucking reality TV star is president.

What do you do, since you think people's ability to comment should be based on occupation?

Reagan was a movie star. Maybe he got office to help the white house tighten up it's acting skills. Nation building seems to be the last thing on a lot of blacks mind. It is like never even putting leaving the plantation on the mind.

 

[mark115]

Doesn't explain why the young white males who are equally disruptive aren't caught up in the prison system

 

[Uncle John]

Denzel may not have been fully quoted so can't drag him here.

What point is not made in this quote is the numerous factors (systemic racism) that rips apart the black family. Not every family is strong enough to break those chains. Shit is quite real.

 

[BrownTurd]

Man y’all niggas hate accountability and love to take a simple statement out of context just so that you can be the victim.

You can’t control racism and systematic racism. No matter how hard you try, it will have an effect on your life. But damn, y’all niggas can keep your ass out of prison. That is the one thing you can control

 

[A to Dah K]

Man y’all niggas hate accountability and love to take a simple statement out of context just so that you can be the victim.

You can’t control racism and systematic racism. No matter how hard you try, it will have an effect on your life. But damn, y’all niggas can keep your ass out of prison. That is the one thing you can control

Preach

 

[Drayonis]

I think in many of todays cases it's a mixture of both. A system out to capture you and a segment of our society signing up to join.

 

[Famous1]

Doesn't explain why the young white males who are equally disruptive aren't caught up in the prison system

Thread.

 

[BrownTurd]

I think in many of todays cases it's a mixture of both. A system out to capture you and a segment of our society signing up to join.

Bad parenting and influence from a child’s surroundings has them thinking that the only way out of the hood is playing sports or music.

It is much easier to pick up a book and get an education than it is to play sports or make music. Unfortunately, we don’t understand the value of a dollar and entrepreneurship

I always teach young brothers that the prison system was built for them and their is one place a black man should never step into and that is a court room. I tell these young brothas that the court room is not fair to black men so avoid it at all cost. Don’t give a white man a chance to ruin your life.

 

[SKATTA]

Agreed with 90 percent of what he said.

kats will do anything to avoid being responsible.

starting of by being fathers to their damn children.

 

[Better]

I'm not about to sit here and act like I haven't heard many older black people say similar things.

If we want to keep it all the way a buck, in my experience, most 'non-woke' black people, if you let them talk about black people long enough, don't hold the highest opinion of black people in general.

This is why I kind of laugh when people call people like Stephen A. Smith, Barkley, etc .... coons, 'cause I'd bet my bottom dollar, most of us have loved ones who share similar perspectives.

Lets not act like most black people understand the intricacies of the system of white supremacy. They know racists exists, but have a very basic understanding of how it affects the community.

 

[dtownsfinest]

Agreed with 90 percent of what he said.

kats will do anything to avoid being responsible.

starting of by being fathers to their damn children.

Right.....we go so far sometimes just to blame anyone but ourselves. We gotta hold ourselves accountable....we know the system was made for us to fail.......that's why we have to overcome and beat it. Starts at the home.

 

[SKATTA]

Right.....we go so far sometimes just to blame anyone but ourselves. We gotta hold ourselves accountable....we know the system was made for us to fail.......that's why we have to overcome and beat it. Starts at the home.

I hear kats who dont even take care of their kids,not monetarily and not being there for them in person.

these men do not provide them with the tools to their kids to start off their lives,but sit there and want to discuss and complain about the system and white supremacy to me.
i choose not to even entertain the idea of holding these conversations with these men.

am so sick and tired of ppl blaming others for even the most basic and simple things that they can improve upon.


mofos just hate structure.

 

[gtg305h]

As Jason Black stated, only in black society do we hold up our densest and dumbest as shining intellectual examples our community...Denzel is great at acting and not great at the machinations of racial oppression, but who better to ask, right?

 

[tallblacknyc]

the truth of the matter is the prison system has a quota and they need bodies behind them bars..they prefer people of color behind them..every blackman could go out and get a good paying job tomorrow and own a bizz and they'd still find a way to lock your ass up..hell they'll change rules and laws juss to find things u naturallyo do become illegal or mini things that you do thats not so legal become bigger crimes..stream music, movies, sports its a felony now...mandatory drug test you got weed in your system felony..piss in public automatic 30 day jail term(nj law), they'll find a way to get them quota's..so don't believe the hype its juss people being bad naww if them jails get empty they gonna make sure they get filled 1 way or another

 

[Drayonis]

What about these black women though? Like my brothers ex-wife who's done everything possible to ruin my niece's mind? My brother does everything for his daughter, shows up for karate matches, takes her to school, but his daughter has been programmed by a mother who hates him because they arent together.

A lot of issues ain't just simple as "black men don't want to be fathers" some do. The mothers ruin that and they don't even see it.

I hear kats who dont even take care of their kids,not monetarily and not being there for them in person.

these men do not provide them with the tools to their kids to start off their lives,but sit there and want to discuss and complain about the system and white supremacy to me.
i choose not to even entertain the idea of holding these conversations with these men.

am so sick and tired of ppl blaming others for even the most basic and simple things that they can improve upon.


mofos just hate structure.

 

[CADE_BADAZZ]

Not having a father are being raised right is another white talking point that's wrong and repeated by old black men at church and the Barbershop.

I don't care how you raise a child or how many parents are in a kids life. Most kids going to fuck up once or twice. The Yea is blacks pay a heavier price. While the white kid is allowed to get his act together and have a great life

 

[Mrfreddygoodbud]

Well, he's partially right BUT he should have expanded further about the fact the too many innocent black men have been imprisoned by the system on false set-up charges. That's obviously one of the main contributing factors of our people being imprisoned.
Love and discipline does start from the home but unless there is a fair system in place there will always be injustice aimed at innocent black people.

It's just a marketing ploy so he can get Cacs in the theatre to see this film...

Not sayin he don't believe what he said

Just saying he know how most cacs do

If they feel the movie is "Too black"

Especially the older ones..

But your post is batting a thousand
..

He is partially right but ignores facts

Like all the love in the world won't stop

Walking or driving while black...

Or over policing

 

[Mrfreddygoodbud]

the truth of the matter is the prison system has a quota and they need bodies behind them bars..they prefer people of color behind them..every blackman could go out and get a good paying job tomorrow and own a bizz and they'd still find a way to lock your ass up..hell they'll change rules and laws juss to find things u naturallyo do become illegal or mini things that you do thats not so legal become bigger crimes..stream music, movies, sports its a felony now...mandatory drug test you got weed in your system felony..piss in public automatic 30 day jail term(nj law), they'll find a way to get them quota's..so don't believe the hype its juss people being bad naww if them jails get empty they gonna make sure they get filled 1 way or another

Boom!!!!!!!

 

[keone]

the truth of the matter is the prison system has a quota and they need bodies behind them bars..they prefer people of color behind them..every blackman could go out and get a good paying job tomorrow and own a bizz and they'd still find a way to lock your ass up..hell they'll change rules and laws juss to find things u naturallyo do become illegal or mini things that you do thats not so legal become bigger crimes..stream music, movies, sports its a felony now...mandatory drug test you got weed in your system felony..piss in public automatic 30 day jail term(nj law), they'll find a way to get them quota's..so don't believe the hype its juss people being bad naww if them jails get empty they gonna make sure they get filled 1 way or another

yep how many innocent black man are getting freed today because they got wrongfully accused?

 

[Mentor B]

How can anything be "painful" when this is the truth.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/07/politics/blacks-wrongful-convictions-study/index.html