Killer Mike Explained Donald Trump’s Victory Before It Happened (Video)

Just minutes ago, Hillary Clinton delivered her concession speech after losing the presidential election to Donald Trump. There is no doubt that today, November 9, 2016, will go down in history as a clearly marked moment in time when, years from now, we will all remember where we were the morning after. As emotions and tensions run high, it is important to remember that life marches on, and for the poor and oppressed, there is little time to be wistful. That’s an attitude expressed frequently by Killer Mike, whose 2016 has been as much a year for political action as it has for music. As a staunch supporter of Bernie Sanders, he made his feelings about how people of color, poor people, and the oppressed should cast their votes very clear. He never wavered, and as the sobering results of Campaign 2016 begin flooding our worlds, his prescient opinions are needed more than ever.

Killer Mike Tells Blacks Don’t Talk About Revolution Because “You Ain’t Ready To Revolt” (Video)

On a recent episode of The Real, the Atlanta, Georgia activist and rapper expressed his less-than-enthusiastic views on Clinton, saying “even though I wasn’t a Hillary supporter, I said publicly ‘I think she’s gonna win, or if she says something directly to my community, I’d jump [on her side]…I didn’t think it would be this close, but I knew people are mad.” For months, he says, he knew that the level of anger in people had reached historic heights, and that seeing Black Americans coming forth in support of Trump was something he never thought he’d see, but that became the painful reality of a disenchanted citizenry. When asked why he thinks people are so mad, Mike minces no words. “I think poor White people are mad because the system that promises you something isn’t ever gonna give you that,” he says, speaking to the disillusionment that comes when self-entitlement is left unsatisfied. “I think poor White people during the Civil Rights [Era] in Mississippi were the least paid White people in the country. They were treated as badly as any Black worker. But simply because of the imaginary line of racism that got put there, and they can still say ‘I’m superior to this person,’ they never joined the Black worker and fought for better conditions for them all. I think they have worked for a party and have voted for a party that used the illusion of patriotism, that used the illusion of military, that used the illusion of being better by skin color or class, to oppress them. And, on the other side, I think the [people who are] Black, Brown, and all the hues in between have been used by a party to the liberal side that, once enacted and once in office, it is not enacted policy that is reflective of stuff that would bring our communities up. So I think poor people got angry.”

In another segment, Mike offered words of advice about what to do now that it’s President-Elect Trump, and his first directive is for folks to educate themselves about who their local and state legislators are, and to set up a meeting with them. Furthermore, he says it’s important to educate oneself about the principles of other political ideologies, and to realize that collaboration is more important than partisanship. “I understand principles so that, when I’m communicating with someone, it’s an actual communication and not an argument.” Lastly, he says, Americans should remember that “this is our country. You vote people in, people get appointed, but it’s all because of your will. This is potentially the grandest republic to have ever existed, and it can keep existing if we realize a republic, like a human body, grows and transforms, and it becomes something else. So what you guys have to do is stay vigilant about making sure of this country’s progress. And we’re definitely going to see a female president in our lifetime.”

In the words of Hillary Clinton, “this loss hurts, but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it.”