MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: Reaction to Police Situations

Interview

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SCHULTZ: Joining me tonight on a Rapid Response Panel, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson Professor at Georgetown University and MSNBC Political Analyst, also with us tonight Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York, gentlemen great to have you with us.

Congressman you first, how is the President handling this crisis of justice? I mean, there`s very little he can do other than to give interviews that would impress people because he just doesn`t hold the legislative power to change things or do you see it differently?

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES, (D) NEW YORK: Well, this is a national moment of opportunity to really get something done on an issue that has been plaguing America for generations. And I think that the President has stepped in with excellent leadership convening folks at the White House and the immediate aftermath of Ferguson.

And that`s a momentum that should continue now with a lot of folks continued to be focused on this problem particularly given what took place with the Eric Garner situation and the failure of the grand jury to indict.

I think the Democrats and Republicans and people in blue states and red states and progressives and conservatives who are prepared to have a real conversation that leads to action now on this problem of young, unarmed, innocent African-American being killed by the excessive use of force.

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SCHULTZ: Yeah. Congressman, President Obama is always very measured in his demeanor, but what if he sounded like Michael Eric Dyson just right there? What is the President came out and did what Dr. Dyson just said and approach it that way? Would it make a difference?

JEFFRIES: Well, I think the President was very passionate in his response in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin situation. And I think he has taken a more measured approach although his reason to believe that that`s justified based on the fact that you`ve got ongoing Justice Department Investigation both in Ferguson as well as, as it relates to the Eric Garner situation. And he can`t be accused of prejudicing those investigations when he appoints the Attorney General who`s going to lead the Department of Justice.

But to Dr. Dyson`s point, this is a moment where we do need an all hands on deck approach, and presidential leadership, passionate informed, engage leadership is important. Now, the President has said Ed, that this time will be different. And I think that`s an important contribution...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

JEFFRIES: ... because he asked the question and answered it by saying, because he`s involved and so he`s got two years to deliver on that promise.

SCHULTZ: Congressman, do you think LeBron James and other NBA players and some NFL players make a difference?

JEFFRIES: Absolutely. And, you know, as I indicated, we need athletes, we need entertainers, we need college students, we need the President, we need Congress, we need academics, we need all hands on deck to solve a problem that has impacted America for generations without us being able to something about it.

And in the great tradition of this country, you can look at Jesse Owens when he went to Germany and defeated Adolf Hitler proving that the Aryan race wasn`t superior. You can look at Jackie Robinson when he broke the color barrier in America`s pastime. That was before Brown V Board of Education, that was before Rosa Parks, that was before the march on Washington. It was an important moment in a Civil Rights Movement.You can look at Muhammad Ali`s courageous stand against the Vietnam War.

He was a popular athlete. He helped to elevate...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

JEFFRIES: ... the importance of that discussion.

LeBron James can do the same thing.

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