Jimmy Kimmel Live: Regina King reveals the 'TALK' black parents have with their kids about dealing with police
A year after it hit HBO, Regina King's 'Watchmen' hasn't been more relevant than ever. Be it her attire of costumed vigilante Sister Night or the core tones of racism that the DC Universe story explores surrounding the Tulsa massacre of 1921, the miniseries is a daunting reminder of how times haven't changed and we still have a long, laborious way to go to eradicate systematic racism.
King's appearance on talk show 'Jimmy Kimmel Live from Home' addressed the issue of how "To change the law, we need to change the lawmakers." But before King could get to that, and also quip about how Sister Night's masked costume is our regular attire given the ongoing pandemic, she also opened up about the emotional "talk" black parents have with their kids about how to deal with cops.
The conversation soon turned to the topic of racism that the show also elaborately explored, and Kimmel addressed the practice of this "talk" -- something that has been going around all over pop culture, thanks to several videos of young parents talking to their little wards about the biases of police brutality. The issue refers to the recent murder of George Floyd at the hands of disgraced white cop Derek Chauvin, who held his knee on his shoulder for over eight minutes even as he begged to be let go because he couldn't breathe.
The video of Floyd's murder has caused major unrest worldwide, with riots emerging in most parts of not just America, but also in the UK and France. But King focused on the core reason behind these protests -- racism -- and opened up about how a close friend of hers got emotional upon learning that the talk King had with her son Ian about driving is much different than what white parents have with their sons. King talked about how black parents need to prepare their kids about getting pulled over because they are any day more likely to be dealt with much more brutal force than any other white person.
This made her "girlfriend Patty" very "emotional" as "she had no idea" this is something black parents have to include in the conversation about something as basic as driving lessons. King shared how her son Ian Alexander Jr, now 24, has been friends with her pal Patty's son Brandon since the two boys were five years old, and it crushed her friend that along with a discussion on "ignition" and "turn signals", dealing with cops is also something she had to teach him.
Kimmel also brought up King's costume from the 2019 series that sees her clad in a leather cloak and a black mask covering her face nose down, with black paint sprayed across her eyes. The series sees cops and vigilantes, mostly black people, afflicted by descenders of the Klan, and therefore resort to keeping their faces covered with masks at all times. Quipping about the relevance of 'Watchmen' in terms of both the her outfit and racism, King spoke of her friend Patty, who recently told her "Who knew your costume would be our grocery store attire!"
'Jimmy Kimmel Live from Home' airs every Tuesday to Friday at 11:30 pm only on ABC.