During his appearance on The Breakfast Club on Thursday morning, Killer Mike got into an animated argument with DJ Envy over the merits of public and private schools.
Envy, who sends his kids to private schools, feels they build all sorts of networking opportunities and a better education overall. The Atlanta rapper did not agree.
“I feel like in my heart of hearts places like that are hostile towards black people,” Mike said. “You should not send your children to school with white children until they’re 13.
“I don’t care if I was a C student, I had a sense of pride that most Black students don’t because they didn’t have that circle of community,” he added. “I was already prepared”
—Sacramento Sheriff sued for censoring Black Lives Matter leaders on Facebook-—
Envy offered his rebuttal, saying that the experience has been beneficial to his kids. He also noted that teachers in public schools are facing a different reality.
“It’s been known that a lot of those public school teachers are overworked, not getting paid and some of them aren’t putting in work,” Envy said. “My daughter goes to one of the top private schools in New Jersey but she’s already taking college courses in what she does.”
“It’s no longer 30 kids in one classroom, there’s eight,” he said. “My son is a little different because my son goes to private school but he does other things. But that education he gets is way better than anything I could ever get and most kids don’t get.”
Mike responded by seemingly taking a shot at Envy being a DJ as proof that a private school education doesn’t matter.
“You’re a rich n—a, you got white folks money,” he said. “With all that great education you got, you turned out to become a DJ and a real estate investor, your investment comes from your talent, what you invested in, what you chose to pursue so your children will do the same.”
“You’re not directing your children to HBCUs (not you), that education isn’t teaching you that Egypt is in Africa, it’s not teaching anything good about yourself– it just teaches you how to take tests well,” he added.
Mike, who dropped out of Morehouse after one year, said that HBCUs should be supported by the community.
—Zeta Phi Beta’s Founders’ Day mural defaced with racist graffiti at University of Virginia—
“Yeah, the [private] schools seem better but why aren’t we supporting our own, why are we not supporting our own HBCUs? That’s where our heroes went,” he said. “I don’t have no problem with you loving your children, but my children go to public schools because I pay taxes and the schools are named for Black people.
“Either you’re gonna choose to be excellent,” he added, “and you’re gonna do better or you’re gonna sit your chump ass down and say good things weren’t given to you.”
More Stories
Historically Black colleges and universities fight to make up funding deficits – CBS News
Back to School: 11 Books Every Black College Student Should Read – BET
Why Are Black People Stereotyped as Bad Tippers? Examining the Myths – EBONY