Donalds suggests black families were stronger during the Jim Crow era

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida) suggested that black families were better off during the Jim Crow era while speaking at a campaign event for former President Trump.

Donalds, who is on the shortlist for Trump’s potential vice presidential pick, was campaigning for the former president in Philadelphia at a “Congress, Brandy and Cigars” event aimed at turning out black male voters. the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

During the conversation, the freshman lawmaker said he is starting to see the “reinvigoration” of Black families, adding that this is “helping breathe the rebirth of a Black middle class in America.” Donalds also claimed that the nuclear family — or one with a mother, father and children living under the same roof — and its values ​​were eroded by Democrats and lost among black voters after they supported the party that followed the Civil Rights Movement, reported the vehicle. .

“See, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together. During Jim Crow, not only were more blacks conservative — blacks have always had a conservative mindset — but more people voted conservative,” Donalds said.

The Hill has reached out to Donalds’ office for clarification on his statement.

The Inquirer also noted that the event’s attendees were mostly black, but about half of those who listed addresses on the event’s registration sheet indicated addresses outside of Philadelphia.

Biden’s campaign criticized Trump’s effort to mobilize black voters.

“Donald Trump spent his adult life, and then his presidency, undermining the progress that black communities fought so hard for – so in effect this indicates that his campaign’s ‘black reach’ is going into a white neighborhood and promising to bring America back to Jim Crow,” Biden-Harris spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika wrote in a statement.

Chitika said Trump and his campaign are showing black voters that they will take away their freedom and economic opportunities.

“From releasing his photo to selling fake sneakers, Trump and his campaign have shown Black Americans how little they think of us,” she said, adding: “Black voters are about to show Trump how little they think of him, his allies and their allies.” your racist agenda in November.”

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson asked Donalds in a post on the social media platform X whether he would have been a member of Congress in the Jim Crow era.

“@ByronDonalds Do you think you would maintain your current position under Jim Crow? Asking for the rest of Black America,” Johnson said.

During a speech on the House floor, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) also criticized the Florida Republican for his “factually inaccurate statement.”

“That’s a strange, outrageous, out-of-pocket observation,” Jeffries said.

The Democratic leader argued that the black community was no better off at a time when they could be lynched, “brutally murdered,” sexually assaulted, and denied education or the right to vote without consequences.

“How dare you make such an ignorant remark,” he said. “You better check yourself before you destroy yourself.”

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story