Chance the Rapper reflected on his passion for political activism in an interview on “The View” Thursday, but said that he would never run for public office.
“I guess I’ve thought about it. I would never do it though,” the rapper said. “I could never do it. … Politics is the reason why a lot of stuff doesn’t get done. There’s a lot of limitations.”
In March, the three-time Grammy Award winner announced that he would donate $1 million to Chicago Public Schools to “support arts and enrichment programming” after a disappointing meeting with Republican Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, who announced cuts to school funding in February.
The debate is also happening on the national stage as President Donald Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos faces mounting backlash over her support for school choice. Supporters of school choice say it’s a chance for parents to have better control over the type of education their child gets, but critics say it’s an attempt at privatizing education that funnels money away from already strapped public schools.
“We’ve had an under-funded public education system for a while. We have over-policed neighborhoods and terrible relationships between the community and officers,” Chance said, also lamenting the segregation and racial disparities in Chicago.
Asked whether he thinks Trump will be able to help Chicago, the rapper said, “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him in Chicago before. … I don’t know if he knows what he’s talking about.”
Chance credited members of his own family for instilling a spirit of activism in him, including his great grandmother whom he said marched for civil rights with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his father, Ken Williams-Bennett, who worked in the Obama administration.