A longtime civil rights activist with a history of working with conservatives has defended controversial comments from a Black Republican congressman who recently lamented that the Jim Crow era was better for Black families in the U.S.
Bob Woodson, whose notable civil rights resume includes stints at the NAACP and the National Urban League before founding the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, spoke out days after Florida Rep. Byron Donalds’ expressed nostalgia for a time in history when racial discrimination was legal sparked a widespread backlash.
In case you missed it, Donalds spoke his mind last Tuesday night at an event in Philadelphia meant to galvanize Black male voters around the Republican Party.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Donalds used language loaded with racial and gender tropes by suggesting Black people can’t make electoral decisions on their own without being told how and for whom to cast ballots by their families. It was in that context that Donalds had more to say about Black families.
Speaking about the prospects of the “reinvigoration of Black family,” Donalds later said: “You see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together. During Jim Crow, more Black people were not just conservative — Black people have always been conservative-minded — but more Black people voted conservatively.”
The words from Donalds – who is not married to a Black woman – suggested that Black families living under racial segregation were better off than current Black families.
While Donalds’ comments were immediately ripped by the likes of the Congressional Black Caucus – which responded in kind with a scathing rebuttal thoroughly debunking his claims – Woodson took a decidedly different tact.
In a video interview, Woodson defended Donalds and Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt – also a Black Republican who appeared alongside Donalds at the “Congress, Cognac and Cigars” event – from critics.
Woodson – who was…
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