Charles Barkley: ‘Unintelligent’ black people are 'brainwashed' to hold back successful black men

The former NBA star told a Philadelphia radio station that members of the black community are ‘brainwashed to think, if you’re not a thug or an idiot, you’re not black enough.’

 Charles Barkley has spoken out about a “dirty, dark secret in the black community.”

When asked about a report that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson isn’t seen as “black enough” by some of his teammates, the NBA Hall of Famer went on a rant about how “unintelligent” black people believe they have to hold successful African-Americans back.
“For some reason we are brainwashed to think, if you’re not a thug or an idiot, you’re not black enough,” he said in an interview on CBS Philadelphia 94 WIP’s “Afternoons with Anthony Gargano and Rob Ellis.” “If you go to school, make good grades, speak intelligent, and don’t break the law, you’re not a good black person.”

 

Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images Charles Barkley said black people will criticize other black individuals of being ‘too white’ or ‘not black enough’ if they do well in school.

“There are a lot of black people who are unintelligent, who don’t have success,” he continued. “It’s best to knock a successful black person down because they’re intelligent, they speak well, they do well in school and they’re successful ... It’s just typical B.S. that goes on when you’re black, man.”
vtaylor@nydailynews.com