WATCH: What Newt Gingrich Thinks About Police Killings May Stun You

Every now and then someone surprises you. Newt Gingrich, who lost relevance for a while, but now has his name being bandied about as a possible vice presidential pick for Donald Trump, told Van Jones something true and striking in its vulnerability as the two discussed the five police killings in Dallas and and the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile by police officers.

“It is more dangerous to be black in America,” he said. “It is more dangerous in that they are substantially more likely to end up in a situation where the police don’t respect you and you could easily get killed. And sometimes for whites it difficult to appreciate how real that is and how it’s an everyday danger.”

Indeed.

In an effort to bring about reconciliation for the country, Van Jones called for every American to have a gut check.

“If you cried tears yesterday when that young man was bleeding out in the car, but you did not cry tears today after those cops died–that is a big signal that we are moving apart. We are losing common humanity. Similarly if you cried today and were outraged by the cops falling, those heroes who were shot down by a racially motivated bigoted terrorist, but you had a little bit of closed heart toward some of these black videos, that is also a signal. When you are one country and you are one people, you cry at every funeral.”

Jones and Gingrich have history, having appeared on the television show Crossfire together in the past. They also seem to have a genuine respect for one another. This thoughtful discourse and exchange of ideas between two people who are clearly on the opposite ends of the political spectrum is a small glimmer of hope in a bleak period of time for our country. More importantly, Gingrich seems to have really listened to blacks who obviously spent some time trying to get him to understand the plight of the  black American.

“It took me a long time, and a number of people talking to me through the years, to get a sense of this: If you are a normal, white American, the truth is you don’t understand being black in America and you instinctively under-estimate the level of discrimination and the level of additional risk,” Gingrich said Friday.

Gingrich is generally not considered a friend of the African-American community. In 2012, he made incendiary remarks linking blacks to food stamps and public aid, leading the NAACP to denounce him.

Featured image courtesy of Newt Gingrich Facebook page.