Lauren London has opened up about gun violence and police brutality in a powerful discussion on Red Table Talk.
The actress, who was Nipsey Hussle’s longtime partner, discussed the rapper’s death, her own experiences growing up around gun violence in Los Angeles, and how she educates her two sons about interactions with police officers on Wednesday’s episode of the Facebook Watch series.
“What I instill in them is more about the police. How to handle yourself when you get pulled over. That’s more of my education, protecting them from being black men in America,” London said.
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When asked about her own personal experience dealing with gun violence, she said: “Just growing up in L.A., in the area that I was around. In high school, a lot of the boys were in gangs, and I remember that a lot of our friends, by summertime they were gone. They had transitioned from gun violence. So you kind of got… I don’t want to say numb, but used to hearing it.”
On Nipsey’s death and legacy, London told host Jada Pinkett Smith: “I love to meet people that Nip has really inspired, because it feels like he’s still here – even though he is in a way. But it’s like his purpose, that was completely outside of any of us… He’s touching people still, and I find that when I run into people that tell me how he’s changed their lives, what they’re doing with their life right now, like it fills me up. He would have loved to hear that, you know?”
Hussle, real name Ermias Asghedom, was killed outside his clothing store by a gunman in south Los Angeles on March 31, 2019.
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The episode opened with Pinkettt Smith reflecting on the countless lives lost to gun violence as well as the civil unrest across the country.
“As we are witnessing our black men being murdered in the streets, very rarely do we talk about the women who are left behind grief-stricken and shattered. George Floyd has a six-year-old daughter, a sister, a girlfriend. Ahmaud Arbery [has] a mother, a sister. Both men have countless heartbroken women — aunts, cousins, friends — in their lives who love them. We are dedicating this Red Table Talk to how gun violence affects women,” Pinkett Smith said.
Also joining the conversation were Jada’s co-hosts, daughter Willow Smith and her mom Adrienne Banfield Norris, along with activist Erica Ford, and gun violence survivors Rain Stippec and Dani Robinson.
Watch the episode here:
