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Dr. Rashad Richey

National TV Political Analyst, Talk Radio Host, Univ. Prof.

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Opinion

Nikki Haley gaffes show her lack of understanding about racism

Jan 19

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Nikki Haley, GOP presidential candidate and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has drawn attention recently for her comments on issues like racism, slavery and the U.S. Civil War. In a recent interview on Fox News, she stated that the United States has “never been a racist country.” Those comments followed a previous town hall where she told an audience the Civil War was about what governments can and can’t do, without mentioning the word “slavery.” Haley, standing accused of whitewashing U.S. history, has since clarified some of her comments and explained to reporters that she was just trying “to do the right thing” and send a positive message.

Straight Arrow News contributor Dr. Rashad Richey discusses the candidate’s recent gaffes, asserting that her apparent lack of awareness regarding racism renders her unfit for leadership.

America has never been a racist country? Already the debate about America not being racist, being racist today, is contextualized through the experience of those who have experienced it, meaning racism. To deny that racism exists is to deny the experiences of individuals who have gone through it.

For example, we cannot deny that murder exists. We cannot deny that violence and robbery exist. But all of a sudden, we can deny that racism even exists? What you’re really denying are those who have been the victims of this systemic oppression.

Let’s do this. Let’s go back to the original founding documents of this nation and the sentiment of the Founding Fathers who believed that only rich white men who own property could actually participate in democracy. That’s not only racist, it is sexist. And naturally, we will call that an oligarchy today. But I digress.

There’s a reason why some of our declarative documents say things like Native Americans are savages. Would that not be considered racist? Well, let’s fast forward. How about the federal law that once was called the Chinese Exclusion Act? That was once an actual federal law and it did exactly what it sounds like. All right.

Racism has been something we fought against. If racism is not a real thing, meaning America according to Nikki Haley has never, never been a racist country, what did Dr. [Martin Luther] King march for? What was he assassinated for?

Former governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, who wants to be president of the United States. Opposition that requires truth, integrity, being able to stand up when others may disagree, do the right thing no matter what she has struggled to understand this thing called racism. The first gaff on the campaign trail, was when a man posed the question, why was the Civil War fought peace? What was the cause of the United States Civil War? Oh, don’t come with an easy question. Right. I mean, I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do.
The former governor of South Carolina did not want to answer it later claimed that was a plant, really a plant. That means people will will literally plant someone to ask you simple asked questions that a fourth-grader can answer.
And then she corrected it later, during a more thoughtful Townhall. She said I should assess slavery. And then on Fox News recently, she says, not only is America not a racist country, that America never has been a racist country. What?

NIKKI HALEY: We’re not a racist country, Brian, we’ve never been a racist country. Our goal is to make sure that today is better than yesterday. Are we perfect? No. America has never been a racist country.

Already, the debate about America not being racist, being racist today is contextualized through the experience of those who have experienced it, meaning racism, to deny that racism exist, is to deny the experiences of individuals who have gone through it. For example, we cannot deny that murder exist, we cannot deny that violence and robbery exist. But all of a sudden, we can deny that racism even exist, what you’re really denying, are those who have been the victims of this systemic oppression.

Let’s do this. Let’s go back to the original founding documents of this nation. And the sentiment of the founding fathers who believe that only rich white men who own property could actually participate in democracy. That’s not only racist, it is sexist. And naturally, we will call that an oligarchy today. But I digress. There’s a reason why some of our declarative document, say things like Native Americans are savages would then not be considered racist. Well, let’s fast forward. How about the federal law that once was called the Chinese Exclusion Act? That was once an actual federal law. And it did exactly what it sounds like. All right. Racism, has been something we fought against. If racism is not a real thing, meeting America, according to Nikki Haley has never never been a racist country. What did Dr. King march for? What was he assassinated for? You see is not a denial of a concept is a denial of a community. When we can say things like racism never existed without being summarily challenged on that ridiculous notion, but highlight how we have experienced personal racism, because that’s what Governor Haley did. In that same interview, she pivoted back to the racism she experienced as a Native American.

NIKKI HALEY: I know I faced racism when I was growing up. But I can tell you today is a lot better than it was then.

Which one Is it governor? Does it exist? Or is it a fictional thing? Does it have true systemic impact? Or is it all in our head? You have to make a decision at some point, because Madam, if you’re not able to answer simple questions like this, why would anyone expect you to go toe to toe with the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a major oil tycoon? This is not simply about winning a race. This is about setting the agenda

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