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Byron Donalds Called Black Conservatives "Jim Crow"
Rep. Byron Donalds makes false equivalencies between Black culture and the horrors of Jim Crow.
Published June 13, 2024 at 5:02am by
Rep. Byron Donalds, a MAGA Republican from Florida and Trump supporter, is under fire for his recent comments in Philadelphia attempting to draw Black voters to Trump. Donalds stated:
"You see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together...more Black people voted conservatively." [...](https://www.inquirer.com/politics/philadelphia/bryon-donalds-philadelphia-jim-crow-20240605.html)
Black Democrats Criticize Donalds
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called out Donalds' "outlandish" claim that Black Americans were better off during Jim Crow.
[https://jeffries.house.gov/2024/06/05/video-leader-jeffries-floor-remarks-on-extreme-maga-republican-attempts-to-rewrite-history/](https://jeffries.house.gov/2024/06/05/video-leader-jeffries-floor-remarks-on-extreme-maga-republican-attempts-to-rewrite-history/) - The Congressional Black Caucus demanded an apology from Donalds for misrepresenting history for political gain.
[https://cbc.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2517](https://cbc.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2517) - Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Florida Republicans, saying they are trying to "rewrite our true history." [https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/10/politics/kamala-harris-byron-donalds/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/10/politics/kamala-harris-byron-donalds/index.html)
The Truth Behind Donalds' Claims
Black Marriage Rates
- PolitiFact experts found some truth to Donalds' claim about higher Black marriage rates during Jim Crow, but critical context such as social and economic patterns was missing.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4850739/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4850739/) - Other factors contributed to family fracturing, including the decline of unskilled manufacturing jobs impacting Black men and higher rates of death and incarceration.
[https://www.brookings.edu/articles/black-women-are-earning-more-college-degrees-but-that-alone-wont-close-race-gaps/](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/black-women-are-earning-more-college-degrees-but-that-alone-wont-close-race-gaps/) - University of Pennsylvania professor Dorothy E. Roberts stated that civil rights enforcement and social welfare programs have strengthened Black families.
[Email interview](mailto:Dorothy%20E.%20Roberts%20interview)
Black Political Motivations During Jim Crow
- Historians agreed that it's difficult to prove how Black Americans voted during Jim Crow, as most were disenfranchised in the South.
- Black voters in the North during Jim Crow supported Republicans due to Abraham Lincoln's legacy, but this doesn't equate to modern conservatism.\
- The association of conservatism with the Republican Party is a more recent phenomenon, and Black voters have historically supported the Democratic Party on racial issues despite conservative social views.\
- University of Pennsylvania historian Mary Frances Berry and Harvard University historian Alexander Keyssar provided historical context for Black voting patterns.
[Email interviews](mailto:Mary%20Frances%20Berry%20and%20Alexander%20Keyssar%20interviews)
Sources:
Read more: Fact-checking Byron Donalds’ ‘Jim Crow’ comments on Black families, conservatism