Citizens of Mississippi are calling for a state elected official to resign as supervisor board president or be fired completely after he made racist remarks about Black people while discussing his vote for the relocation of confederate statues to a local newspaper.
On Monday, state officials failed to win a vote in favor of moving Confederate statues to a local cemetery. During an interview with The Commercial Dispatch on Tuesday, Lowndes County Supervisor Harry Sanders said black people were “taken care” of during slavery. “In my opinion, they were slaves, and because of that, they didn’t have to go out and earn any money, they didn’t have to do anything. Whoever owned them took care of them, fed them, clothed them, worked them. They became dependent, and that dependency is still there. The Democrats right here who depend on the black vote to get elected, they make them dependent on them,” said Sanders.
Sanders told the Clarion-Ledger that his comments were made off the record but that he stood by them. “We haven’t had slavery in the United States for 150 years. Why is it still an issue?” He questioned during his discussion about the statues. Sanders then compared the terrorism white America inflicted on the Japanese community to American slavery. Japanese American citizens were later paid reparations after being forced into internment camps during World War II.
“We didn’t do the Japanese right here in World War II, we put them all … in a concentration camp and everything and nobody said a damn word about it today,” he said. “Are the Japanese all upset about that, burning stuff down and all that? No, they’ve (been) assimilated into the country, and they are doing fine. The only ones that are having the problems guess who? The African Americans.”
On Tuesday morning, Sanders said that while he can see how his words are offensive, he feels that the newspaper misinterpreted him. “I certainly do but, look, you can’t change history. Am I not supposed to talk about what happened 150 years ago? Am I not supposed to talk about what happened in World War II with the Japanese? Am I not supposed to talk about any of that? It comes off (as racist) because of the way they put it in the newspaper, that’s not the way I said, it, but that’s OK,” Sanders said.
Amongst Sanders on the voting board are three whites, including Sanders, and two Black people. Lowndes County is 46 percent, Black. Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom condemned Sanders’ words and said they are a part of the same rhetoric that the KKK uses to dismiss and minimize the effects and evilness in the American slave trade. “Supervisor Sanders’ ignorant and vile comments have it backwards,” Colom said. “Slave owners depended on beating, rape, separation of families, and fear to maintain free labor. These are the types of lies the KKK depend on to promote white supremacy. He should be ashamed of himself.”
In response to how Black residents of Lowndes County would feel about the statue staying up, Sanders said, “The Black people aren’t acknowledging how white people feel. They say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ white lives matter too, Chinese lives matter…they tore down Christopher Columbus’ statue. George Washington owned slaves. Do you want to change the name of the Washington Monument, do you want to change the name of our capital? You want to change the name of Jefferson Davis County, do you want to change the name of Lee County, change the name of Forrest County? There’s got to be a stopping place someplace.”
On Wednesday, there was a press conference with the NAACP to call for Sanders’ resignation. But, Sanders says, “Hell no, I’m not going to resign.” Sanders is a state elected official.
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