Jesse Jackson vs. Ben Carson: Ferguson, Race and Being Black in America

The pair discuss the role race played in Brown's death.

Head to Head - In a lively debate on Fox News on Aug. 24, civil rights veteran the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Tea Party favorite Dr. Ben Carson debated the role that race and race relations played in the fatal police shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown and their role — past and present — in African-American life. —Joyce Jones (@BETpolitichick)(Photos from Left: Christian Petersen/Getty Images, T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images)

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Head to Head - In a lively debate on Fox News on Aug. 24, civil rights veteran the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Tea Party favorite Dr. Ben Carson debated the role that race and race relations played in the fatal police shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown and their role — past and present — in African-American life. —Joyce Jones (@BETpolitichick)(Photos from Left: Christian Petersen/Getty Images, T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images)

A State Execution - "[Michael Brown] was shot, shot unarmed, and shot six times. And it's a pattern, whether it was the killing of Trayvon Martin or the killing of (inaudible), the killing of Diallo in New York, shot 41 times, the police walked away free. The Oscar Grant case in Oakland or the case of Rodney King in L.A. At some point, we require and need to meet — we need to have a sense of justice. All we do know about Michael Brown is really he was shot unarmed six times," said Jackson. "And even in the worst scenario, if he had hit him in the face, does that require at a distance, I was there where he'd been shot, about 20 feet, does that mean you shoot him six times, four times at point-blank range? I don't think so."(Photo: Robert Cohen-Pool/Getty Images)

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A State Execution - "[Michael Brown] was shot, shot unarmed, and shot six times. And it's a pattern, whether it was the killing of Trayvon Martin or the killing of (inaudible), the killing of Diallo in New York, shot 41 times, the police walked away free. The Oscar Grant case in Oakland or the case of Rodney King in L.A. At some point, we require and need to meet — we need to have a sense of justice. All we do know about Michael Brown is really he was shot unarmed six times," said Jackson. "And even in the worst scenario, if he had hit him in the face, does that require at a distance, I was there where he'd been shot, about 20 feet, does that mean you shoot him six times, four times at point-blank range? I don't think so."(Photo: Robert Cohen-Pool/Getty Images)

What's Race Got to Do With It? - "I've seen police [use excessive force while] living in inner-city Detroit and inner-city Boston. But I've seen a lot more situations where the police saved the situation. And I'm not sure that this is a police versus black community issue," Carson said.(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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What's Race Got to Do With It? - "I've seen police [use excessive force while] living in inner-city Detroit and inner-city Boston. But I've seen a lot more situations where the police saved the situation. And I'm not sure that this is a police versus black community issue," Carson said.(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The Bigger Picture - "As a youngster," Carson said, "I had anger problems also. But for the grace of God, I wouldn't be talking to you today. I tried to stab another youngster with a knife. A belt buckle saved him. You know, anger issues get in the way. And if you take race out of the issue altogether, and you take a group of young men and you raise them with no respect for authority, not learning to take on personal responsibility, having easy access to drugs and alcohol, they're very likely to end up as victims of violence or incarceration. It has nothing to do with race. So, yes, is there racism? Are there problems? Yes. … But we need to start looking at bigger issues here."(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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The Bigger Picture - "As a youngster," Carson said, "I had anger problems also. But for the grace of God, I wouldn't be talking to you today. I tried to stab another youngster with a knife. A belt buckle saved him. You know, anger issues get in the way. And if you take race out of the issue altogether, and you take a group of young men and you raise them with no respect for authority, not learning to take on personal responsibility, having easy access to drugs and alcohol, they're very likely to end up as victims of violence or incarceration. It has nothing to do with race. So, yes, is there racism? Are there problems? Yes. … But we need to start looking at bigger issues here."(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Different Strokes - "It seems to me that when blacks kill whites, which is rare, it's swift justice. When whites kill blacks, it's rebellion, when it's black on black, there's a shrug of the shoulders,"Jackson said, when asked if Ferguson's protesters were focused on the wrong issue. "Guns in, drugs in, jobs out. Racial disparity and alienation and mistrust are very combustible formulas, factors."(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Different Strokes - "It seems to me that when blacks kill whites, which is rare, it's swift justice. When whites kill blacks, it's rebellion, when it's black on black, there's a shrug of the shoulders,"Jackson said, when asked if Ferguson's protesters were focused on the wrong issue. "Guns in, drugs in, jobs out. Racial disparity and alienation and mistrust are very combustible formulas, factors."(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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No Excuses - Carson acknowledged that if he lived in Ferguson, he would likely be targeted by the local police. "It would be a big problem. And people in Ferguson and in all of the cities, I think, need to get more involved in the process. What percentage of people in Ferguson voted in the last statewide election? I think you'll find it was less than 20 percent of the black community. We need to get people involved in what's going on, without question. That will make a huge difference in what goes on," he said.(Photo: AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Curtis Compton)

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No Excuses - Carson acknowledged that if he lived in Ferguson, he would likely be targeted by the local police. "It would be a big problem. And people in Ferguson and in all of the cities, I think, need to get more involved in the process. What percentage of people in Ferguson voted in the last statewide election? I think you'll find it was less than 20 percent of the black community. We need to get people involved in what's going on, without question. That will make a huge difference in what goes on," he said.(Photo: AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Curtis Compton)

What It Is - The Moral Week of Action is an offshoot of the North Carolina NAACP's Moral Monday movement. Beginning Friday, Aug. 22, activists in 13 states are organizing around different social justice issues each day. In addition to state house rallies, activities include town hall meetings, press conferences and teach-ins. There also will be daily voter registration canvasses.(Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

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Be the Master of Your Domain - Carson added that people must control their own destinies. "It's not the environment, and it's not somebody else. Do those things play a role? They do. And if you want to focus on them, you can have a life that is completely controlled by others. But you can take control of your own life. These are messages that we must get across to people. We must reinstill the can-do attitude in America, not the what can you do for me or what have you done to me attitude," he said.(Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Free But Not Equal - "Culture is a big factor in our behavior. There's a culture here of racial harassment of black people. We have three times the unemployment rate in the country. Number one infant mortality, number one in short life expectancy, number one in unemployment," said Jackson. "We were separate and not equal. Now we are free and not equal. We must have a kind of White House conference on jobs, justice and equality, I'm convinced."(Photo: AP Photo/John Minchillo)

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Free But Not Equal - "Culture is a big factor in our behavior. There's a culture here of racial harassment of black people. We have three times the unemployment rate in the country. Number one infant mortality, number one in short life expectancy, number one in unemployment," said Jackson. "We were separate and not equal. Now we are free and not equal. We must have a kind of White House conference on jobs, justice and equality, I'm convinced."(Photo: AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Same Side, Different View - "We really are not on different sides of this issue. Maybe we come at it from different points of view. But I think we all want the same thing. We want people to move up in our environment, not to be satisfied and not to be dependent," Carson concluded. "We're going to have to remove some of the issues that are depressing the economy so that we can create the kinds of jobs and the kinds of right situations so that people have the kinds of options that they need. We need to talk in the black community about the trillion dollars of resources that exist there and how they need to learn how to turn over dollars in our own community before we send them out to develop wealth and how to reach back and pull others up."(Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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Same Side, Different View - "We really are not on different sides of this issue. Maybe we come at it from different points of view. But I think we all want the same thing. We want people to move up in our environment, not to be satisfied and not to be dependent," Carson concluded. "We're going to have to remove some of the issues that are depressing the economy so that we can create the kinds of jobs and the kinds of right situations so that people have the kinds of options that they need. We need to talk in the black community about the trillion dollars of resources that exist there and how they need to learn how to turn over dollars in our own community before we send them out to develop wealth and how to reach back and pull others up."(Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)