Cardi B is never scared to speak her mind, and she’s making it clear that she knows whose shoulders many immigrant communities stand on.
Ahead of her headlining performance at ESSENCE Fest, Bardi chatted with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen for a wide-ranging conversation that turned to race, immigration and the legacy of Black Americans’ fight for equality.
Source: Erika Goldring / Getty
According to Complex, the “Bodak Yellow” rapper opened up about her deep respect for older generations of African-Americans who spearheaded the civil rights movement. As a proud Afro-Latina of Trinidadian and Dominican descent, Cardi B made it clear that the advancement of modern Hispanic and Caribbean immigrants is entirely tied to the historical sacrifices of Black Americans.
“I mean, I feel like the reason why Caribbeans like me, [my] family and Latinos and Hispanic people, the reason why they could thrive in this country is because Black African-Americans fought for everybody to be equal,” the rapstress stated. “If it wasn’t for them, it wouldn’t be no Caribbeans thriving here. They were the ones that fought for this.”
The rapper further emphasized the absolute necessity of keeping these specific historical facts alive inside American classrooms, noting that there is an ongoing, systematic effort across the country to erase Black history from school curricula.
“So I’m always going to be thankful and grateful for that,” she continued. “It’s important for the history and it’s important to give flowers because somebody wants to erase the history out of these schools, but you got to keep these histories alive. Let me not get too political. I might get in trouble.”
Cardi B Doubles Down On The Impact Of Black Americans, Talks To BOSSIP
Cardi’s comments mirror a statement she made earlier in the year. During a March stop on her Little Miss Drama Tour, Cardi B shared a nearly identical message with her sprawling fanbase, telling the crowd that her Latino supporters “couldn’t be living comfortably in this country if these African Americans didn’t fight for us.” Throughout that 35-date tour, the Grammy winner actively used her platform to protest nationwide ICE raids and the deportation of undocumented migrants.
Hours after her statement, the rap icon backed up her heavy words with an absolutely highly acclaimed headline set at the Superdome. Closing out a massive opening night lineup that featured the likes of Latto, Kehlani, and an hour-long mainstage conversation with former First Lady Michelle Obama, Cardi B officially took the stage just before midnight.
Her performance came after she spoke with BOSSIP backstage at ESSENCE Fest and teased what fans should expect.
