Retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, who is pondering a 2016 run for the White House, is set to participate in a town hall on race relations along with attorney Benjamin Crump on Monday, Martin Luther King Day.
The Monday evening town hall with Dr. Carson and Mr. Crump will include a discussion with an audience on how to move forward on race relations in America.
Mr. Crump is the attorney for the family of Michael Brown, whose shooting death in Ferguson, Mo. last summer at the hands of a white police officer sparked national protests and triggered a renewed debate on race relations in the country. Bernice King, daughter of the late Martin Luther King Jr., is scheduled to give an opening 3-minute package.
Mr. Carson, who writes a column for The Washington Times, is fresh off addressing the Republican National Committee’s winter meetings in San Diego and making moves that suggest he’s laying the groundwork for a presidential run in 2016.
He said at a luncheon Thursday that while the Islamic State terrorist group has the wrong philosophy, they, like colonists in the Revolutionary War, are willing to die for what they believe in — also offering a real-time critique for what the press would write about the remarks.
“A bunch of ragtag militiamen defeated the most powerful and professional military force on the planet. Why? Because they believed in what they were doing. They were willing to die for what they believed in,” Mr. Carson said, according to NBC News. “Fast-forward to today. What do we have? You’ve got ISIS. They’ve got the wrong philosophy, but they’re willing to die for it while we are busily giving away every belief and every value for the sake of political correctness. We have to change that.
“Now I recognize that there’s press here and some of the press will say, ’Carson said that ISIS is the same as the United States,’” he added. “They are just so ridiculous, so ridiculous.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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