A former senior NAACP official accused a dozen 2020 Democratic presidential candidates of “pandering to black voters” on the issue of reparations.
New York Civil Rights Coalition President Michael Meyers appeared Wednesday on Fox News’ The Daily Briefing with host Dana Perino and fellow guest Richard America, a former professor at Georgetown University. Perino began the discussion by pointing out that at least 12 Democratic presidential candidates have endorsed a study on reparations for black Americans who are descended from slaves.
America began by saying that the inequality between black Americans and others in poverty rates, education, and housing can be attributed to centuries of oppressive policies.
“It’s 400 years in the making, and it’s important to recognize and quantify, account for slavery, segregation, and many forms of discrimination over the last 400 years,” America said. “When we do that, we come up with the beginnings of an understanding of the symptoms, and that can lead to useful solutions.”
Meyers served as an assistant director at the NAACP from 1975 to 1984. He argued against giving reparations for black Americans to atone for the oppression of their ancestors.
“My position is that this reparations debate is old. It’s passé. It’s a scam. It’s a hustle,” Meyers said, hearkening back those who demanded them in the 1960s. “There is not enough money to compensate for people who were enslaved. Moreover, they’re gone. They’re dead. The people are in the graves.”
Meyers also asserted that reparations is a fringe issue, though 73% of black Americans support it.
Perino pushed back, pointing out that most Democratic presidential candidates are open to considering reparations, which would imply that it has become a mainstream issue.
“Those Democrats are not mainstream,” Meyers shot back. “They’re pandering to black voters.”
