Jamie Foxx: ‘We’re Going To Have To Have Uncomfortable Conversations About Race’

Jamie Foxx has some ideas about how to help change things, following the events in Ferguson and the Eric Garner case.

“You know what, my thoughts have been, for one, this is very, very tough, and I think what we’re going to have to do is — in order to try to heal — is we’re going to have to have some uncomfortable conversations about race,” Jamie told Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson. “We’ll have to have a real uncomfortable conversation. It’s going to take a minute, and we’re going to have to have an uncomfortable conversation about police protocol. I think what changed in our world is social media. Some of these things that may have gone unnoticed 15, 20 years ago, but now that they’re here, we gotta have some type of dialogue of sensitivity. People died. When a person dies, and I think in the situations, it’s the lack of sensitivity of someone dying. I’ve watched all of this play out and without furthering the divide, we have to be able to look through someone else’s lens.”

The “Annie” star said America has to address what is going on.

WATCH: Jamie Foxx: It’s Time To Have ‘Uncomfortable Conversations’ About Race

“We have to have the uncomfortable conversation. It does not mean we have to be at each other’s throats. It doesn’t mean that, but we do know that we have a problem,” he told Shaun. “If we didn’t have a problem then people like my daughter and her white friends, and Hispanic friends, and Asian friends would not be marching. So we know that we have a problem. Now it’s, ‘How can we get there in the most uncomfortable way?’ But then, once we do it, I think the healing is gonna be great because [of] the young folk coming up.”

The actor said he wants America to “take the politics” out of the dialogue.

WATCH: Jamie Foxx Shares His Police Encounters

“We gotta clear out a lot of things and just get to what is the problem between an officer of the law and a young black male or old black male,” he said. “And once we have that, I think we can start to heal.”

Jamie said talking about it will help change things.

“If we have the uncomfortable conversation and are willing to admit certain things, I think we can get past it,” he said. “But, until we do that it’s gonna keep happening.”

— Jolie Lash