ATLANTA — Rapper and actor T.I. sat down with 11Alive's Neima Abdulahi on Wednesday to discuss, among other things, last week's school walkouts against gun violence.
Hundreds of students walked out of class locally for 17 minutes last Wednesday, both in memory of the 17 people who were gunned down at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last month, and to bring attention to gun violence across the nation. The local walkouts were part of a national school walkout of nearly 1 million students on March 14.
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"To see young people involved with something so important right now – that gives a sense of hope," T.I. said. "The kids – they are going to be the future leaders. So, whatever they're concerned about right now, those are the things that stand the most opportunity for change. Those are the things that 10 years from now, when they are not high school students; they are young lawyers, and they are lobbying and protesting and so on, and so forth – I think that is what we need. I think that is what the future of America is longing for: Young people who actually care about things that matter."
Putting things into a more personal perspective, he spoke further about the matter in relation to the conversations he has had with his own children.
"We have always had a healthy dialogue, and I make sure that they know that the way things are now are the result of many, many, many, many bad decisions that were made by people who were in power far before they were born and far before I was born. This is the result of it," he said. "Any significant change that will come, will come from young people – people in their classes who have the mindset to reshape the world and the way we live in it."
T.I. reprises his role as Dave in the upcoming Marvel Studios motion picture 'Ant-Man and The Wasp' which is set to be released in theaters on July 6.
