Zach Braff and Donald Faison on Black Lives Matter: ‘It’s not enough to say you have a black friend’

Former co-stars and longtime friends spoke about their different perspectives on race amid Black Lives Matter protests

Scrubs stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison have spoken about their friendship and how important it is to be willing to learn when it comes to issues of race.

The actors appeared in an interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, during which Braff pointed out that white people have a responsibility to educate themselves.

“I think this conversation is new for me in a sense, because as I’m listening to everyone who’s speaking, I know that I, too, have lots to learn,” Braff, 45, said.

“It’s not enough to just to say, ‘Oh, my best friend is a black man.’ It’s not enough to say, ‘Oh, I grew up with a diverse population.’"

Noting how he grew up in diverse neighbourhoods in New York and New Jersey, Braff said he felt he had a “leg up in a sense”, but realises he still has more to learn.

“I can’t just sit back and go, ‘Oh no, I’m cool, I have a black best friend.’ That’s BS,” he said. “There’s plenty of ways that I haven’t been proactive in my own life and my own privilege, and I’m really learning that now.

“I’m taking this opportunity to really listen and to really learn and to see how I can improve my way of being as well.”

Faison pointed out that hate and bigotry are learnt behaviours, not inherited.

“When you’re a kid, you don’t look at colour,” he said. “Your friends are your friends. It’s not until your parents get into your head or outside influences get into your head and tell you that people are different than you are.”

“It’s very, very scary to be judged by the colour of your skin,” he added. “It’s happened to me quite a bit my whole life."

He continued: “Even how people describe me on Scrubs. I’m ‘the black guy from Scrubs’. You know, I’m not even one of the actors.”

“Racism is everywhere,” he said. “It never left. It’s always been here. It’s not a surprise that this is going on right now, it’s finally coming to a head, is what’s happening. Once you don’t take that for granted, and you recognise racism is out there, you’ll start checking yourself.”

Braff and Faison are currently releasing new episodes of their podcast, Fake Doctors, Real Friends.