Joy Reid Challenges Rep. Byron Donalds on Jim Crow Comments
Joy Reid Challenges Rep. Byron Donalds on His Claim That Black Families Were Stronger During Jim Crow Era
Source: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty
MSNBC anchor Joy Reid recently confronted Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) about his controversial comments suggesting that Black families were better off during the Jim Crow era. At a Philadelphia fundraiser, Donalds remarked, “During Jim Crow, the Black family was together.
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During Jim Crow, more Black people were – not just conservative, because Black people always have always been conservative-minded – but more Black people voted conservatively.” These comments referred to an era when segregation laws restricted the civil liberties of Black Americans.
Responding to the backlash, Donalds argued on CNN that his comments were taken out of context. “All I was doing was referring to the time periods,” he explained, blaming the political climate for the controversy. “Anything I might say or any major surrogate might say is going to be twisted into the lens of race… That was never the point.”
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Reid pressed Donalds on the implications of referencing the Jim Crow era positively. Donalds clarified that he was discussing marriage rates during that period. “If you’re going to use the chronological timeline of America before the Great Society and Lyndon Johnson’s time period, you had unfortunately the Jim Crow era in America. During that time period, the marriage rate of Black Americans was significantly higher than any other time since then in American history.”
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The exchange grew heated when Reid questioned if Donalds believed there was a “golden era” for Black families between 1867 and 1968. Donalds retorted, “See, this is where the gaslighting comes in. I never said that! You’re saying I said it was better back then. I never said that.”
Reid challenged Donalds by recounting historical instances of racial violence and oppression, questioning why he would reference an era where Black men had no rights and could not protect their families. Donalds acknowledged the atrocities, calling them “disgusting and disgraceful,” but maintained that his point was about the higher marriage rates during that period.
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In a final pointed question, Reid asked if Donalds’ own interracial marriage could have existed during Jim Crow. Donalds conceded, “No, it could not, Joy, and we all know that, Joy. That’s why I’m blessed to live in America today as opposed to America during that time. But we cannot ignore the realities of not having fathers in homes. That is important to our Black people today and all people today as we move forward toward a better America.”
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