Trevor Noah Asks Whether Segregation Better ‘Solution’ Than Integration

Comedian Trevor Noah asked whether integration was really the right thing for black people in America during the Feb. 13 episode of his podcast, “What Now? with Trevor Noah.”

Speaking with Princeton professor Ruha Benjamin, he said, “I found myself wondering, and this applies to America, and maybe it will go to other places in a different way because Finland ties in — do you think that integration was the right move?”

He and Benjamin both appeared to question whether that means of diversity was best for the U.S.

“Like — and now I’m separating two things. Because I know in America people are, ‘well, of course, there was racism and there was segregation.’ And I go, ‘yeah, no, no, no, I’m separating them.’ Let’s separate someone being oppressed and someone not being able to get a job and someone not being able to get a bank loan. Let’s take all of those, the negative things away,” Noah said, then reiterated an earlier point by Benjamin about the success of Finland in educating its youth and preparing them for the future.

Noah then went on to imply there may be advantages to a more “homogenous” population, saying that Finland was an example. “I think part of the reason Finland is able to do it is because — have you been to Finland? I’ve been to Finland. Do you know who’s in Finland? Finnish people. That’s it — that’s it!” He said.

Noah went on to tout the commonalities people felt when surrounded by others that were a reflection of them and segregated from other cultures.

“And because they’re all Finnish there’s an idea of, like, we’re all heading in the same direction, we all know what our actions mean, and that’s a really powerful thing I’ve learned in communication with other people,” Noah said.

He drew on his own personal experiences to demonstrate his mode of thinking.

“When I’m in a room with black people, already there’s an implicit trust because we know what certain actions, words and vibes mean,” Noah said.

“And then you’re a room with another African — ah, already — now, even if you shout at me, I know what your shout means, the same way an Italian knows what an Italian shout means,” Noah said. (RELATED: Black Queer Actress Cynthia Erivo Cast As Jesus Christ In ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’)

“I would love to know if you think integration was the right solution, maybe, on the other side of civil rights,” Noah put forward, acknowledging that it was “a loaded question.”

“No, I don’t,” she replied.

“And I don’t think it’s actually that controversial if you understand that segregation and integration weren’t the only options,” the professor claimed, arguing that black Americans were being integrated into a “supremacist culture.”

“Why are we being integrated into that, and so part of it is to question what we are being invited into. And so, again, when you think about the example of Finland being homogenous, nation-states were imagined,” Benjamin argued, saying society needs to find better means to “engender the sense of solidarity.”