Tyrese, David Banner and Lyfe Jennings became embroiled in a heated discussion at a town hall meeting in Atlanta yesterday (July 12) to the point where Tyrese had to come between Banner and Jennings during a particularly emotional exchange. When Banner suggested that the community force the police to face financial or even physical ramifications for their behavior, Jennings became visibly agitated.
“I’m tired and am glad that black people are fired up. They should be,” Banner told Channel 2’s Matt Johnson.
Held at the House of Hope church in Decatur, the “Real Strategy For Change” event was a town hall meeting organized to discuss race, community and police violence. Among the other notables in attendance were Dr. Bernice King, rappers 2 Chainz and Jeezy, as well as comedian/radio host Rickey Smiley, who served as host.
“We have got to find a way to get on one accord in our approach,” said Dr. Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. “We’re getting a chance to really see what these people have been doing to our people since the beginning,” added Jeezy, who was one of the panelists.
Smiley encouraged everyone to make their presence felt at the polls.
“We’re trying to get people excited about local elections,” Smiley said to WSB-TV.
Shortly after the Alton Sterling shooting, Banner called for black communities to police themselves.
“Policing our own communities can take various forms,” Banner wrote at the time. “One approach is for citizens to simply take their communities back…and by ‘policing’ I’m referring to a comprehensive approach to better the conditions of our environments.”
