Tag Archives: slavery

The Associated Press reports: Mississippi has used the Confederate emblem in its flag since 1894, when white supremacists in state government adopted it after Reconstruction. Georgia put a large Confederate battle symbol on its state flag in 1956, during a backlash to the civil rights movement. That state purged the symbol from its banner in 2001 — the same year …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump announced Friday that he is rescheduling his first campaign rally in months following criticism that it was set for set for Juneteenth, the observance of the end of slavery in the United States, in a city that experienced one of the country’s worst episodes of racial violence in U.S. history. In a late-night tweet, …

From the military blog Task & Purpose: Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy is now “open” to renaming the service’s 10 bases and facilities that are named after Confederate leaders. “The Secretary of the Army is open to a bipartisan discussion on the topic,” Army spokesperson Col. Sunset Belinsky said Monday. The recent uproar over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis …

The Washington Post reports: In his upcoming memoir, newly appointed Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III describes the private tour he gave President Trump of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, recalling that Trump’s reaction to the Dutch role in the global slave trade was, “You know, they love me in the Netherlands.” Before the president-elect arrived, …

USA Today reports: A New Hampshire lawmaker came under fire this week for claiming American slavery was based on economics, not racism. Republican state Rep. Werner Horn stated his case in a now-deleted Facebook post, then reaffirmed his position in multiple interviews with media outlets. Horn initially drew attention for his comments in a Facebook post by former state House …

The Tennessean reports: Gov. Bill Lee has proclaimed Saturday as Nathan Bedford Forrest Day in Tennessee, a day of observation to honor the former Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader whose bust is on display in the state Capitol. Per state law, the Tennessee governor is tasked with issuing proclamations for six separate days of special observation, three …

“I don’t think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago, for whom none of us currently living are responsible, is a good idea. We’ve tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a civil war, by passing landmark civil rights legislation, we’ve elected an African-American president. “We’ve had waves of immigrants, as well, who have come …

“In the whole period of slavery, I think you had 600,000 people brought to the United States under involuntary servitude, or slavery, and 620,000 died in the Civil War. So, the expiation, I think, was done, you know. But I will say this, I mean, the whole idea of this — this will just rip the country apart. But before …

The Washington Post reports: More than two decades after the Southern Baptist Convention — the country’s second-largest faith group — apologized to African Americans for its active defense of slavery in the 1800s, its flagship seminary on Wednesday released a stark report further delineating its ties to institutionalized racism. The year-long study by the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary found that …

The Miami New Times reports: Florida gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis’ 2011 tome, Dreams From Our Founding Fathers, is terrible. It’s a book-long screed from the then-Tea Party candidate, in which DeSantis screams at President Barack Obama for 286 pages, implies he is a closet Marxist, and at one point writes that Obama has “Muslim roots.” The book sucks because it …

Yahoo News reports: Kanye West has been having a very Kanye West 24 hours. He performed as a giant Perrier bottle on Saturday Night Live, then was cut off at the end of the show during an impromptu pro-Trump speech to awkward silence and a scattered mixture of boos and applause. Which President Trump praised on Twitter. Head spinning yet? …

The Wrap reports: TMZ executive producer and host Charles Latibeaudiere called out Kanye West as “an under-medicated, mentally unstable megalomaniac” after the rapper said slavery was “a choice” in an interview on Tuesday. “Since so many of you asked,” Latibeaudiere wrote in a series of tweets. “Yes, I was pissed about a lot of Kanye’s comments… especially the s— about …

Via Mediaite: Kanye West appeared on TMZ for a live-streamed meltdown on Tuesday, ranting at the online tabloid’s staffers about his support for President Donald Trump, belief that slavery is “a choice,” and opioid abuse that followed a liposuction procedure. Brian Kilmeade noted the controversy surrounding West’s slavery remarks, and Steve Doocy quoted his comments that there is a “class …

Rolling Stone reports: The same day that Kanye West released a reflective two-hour interview with Charlamagne the God, he also visited TMZ for a live interview that appeared to be wildly different. The rapper drew tremendous ire for his flippant comments about the history of American slavery. “When you hear about slavery for 400 years: For 400 years, that sounds …

“He’s getting elected to the Senate. When he gets to the Senate, he’s going to have to vote on things. And slavery’s not going to be voted on in the Senate, and it’s not — neither is homosexuality. And here’s the thing. Let’s be clear because it’s such a slur against him. What he said was families still loved each …

Newsweek reports: Roy Moore, the Alabama Senate candidate under fire for alleged sexual misconduct with teenage girls when he was in his 30s, apparently believes America was a better place at a time when slavery was still legal. At a campaign event earlier this year, an audience member asked Moore for his opinion on when the last time America was …

Politico reports: White House chief of staff John Kelly defended his criticism of Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) on Monday night by continuing to insist she was insensitive and self-congratulatory during a ceremony to dedicate an FBI building in Florida. “Well, I’ll go back and talk about … her comments and at the reception afterwards,” Kelly told Fox News host Laura …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday again weighed into the Virginia governor’s race, arguing Republican nominee Ed Gillespie “will be a great governor” and slamming Gillespie’s Democratic opponent. Trump has previously tweeted support for Gillespie, who is running against Lt. Gov. Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) in the Nov. 7 election. Northam quickly fired back, pointing to service in …

Talking Points Memo reports: Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore said late last year that the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing gay marriage was “even worse” than the notorious 1857 Dred Scott ruling that upheld slavery. Moore, a hard-right former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice, has twice been removed from office for refusing to follow the rule of law — the …

CNN reports: Pro-Confederate activists twice held events to commemorate Alabama’s 1861 secession from the United States at the headquarters of the foundation led at the time by Roy Moore, the new Republican nominee for US Senate. The events, held at the Foundation for Moral Law’s building in 2009 and 2010, promoted a history of the Civil War sympathetic to the …