(ThyBlackMan.com) At an event in Philadelphia designed to help Republican outreach to Black voters, Congressman Byron Donalds made what seemed like positive comments about the Jim Crow era as it related to Black families. The backlash to his comments were strong and swift.
In remarks on the House floor, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called out Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) for his comments:
“It has come to my attention that a so-called leader has made the factually inaccurate statement that black folks were better off during Jim Crow. That’s an outlandish outrageous and out-of-pocket observation. We were not better off when a young boy named Emmett Till could be brutally murdered without consequence because of Jim Crow. We were not better off when black women could be sexually assaulted without consequence because of Jim Crow. We were not better off when people could be systematically lynched without consequence because of Jim Crow. We were not better off when children could be denied a high-quality education without consequence because of Jim Crow. We were not better off when people could be denied the right to vote without consequence because of Jim Crow. How dare you make such an ignorant observation! You better check yourself before you wreck yourself!” said Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Congressman Byron Donalds’ comments were also condemned by the Congressional Black Caucus, the Democratic National Committee Chairman (DNC), Jaime Harrison, the president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, and a host of other Black leaders.
Donalds responded by saying, “Frankly, what’s really happened is that you have, you know, Democrats and you have the Biden campaign, and some of the media want to twist my words for political purposes… The stuff that comes up about Jim Crow and twisting my words saying I was being nostalgic or saying that Jim Crow was good for Black people, that’s all political spin. It’s a lie. It’s gaslighting and that’s truly unfortunate.”
Explaining The Outrage
Perhaps the Transitive Property of Equality can be used to explain why there was such an outrage against Congressman Donalds’ statement that “during Jim Crow, the Black family was together.”
The Transitive Property of Equality says if two things are equal to the same thing, then they are equal to each other.
For example, if A = B and B = C, then A = C.
Here’s how I explained it to my 5th graders when I was teaching elementary school.
Imagine you have three friends: Amy, Bill, and Charlie. If Amy has the same number of pencils as Bill (let’s say 5) and Bill has the same number of pencils as Charlie (also 5), then it means Amy has the same number of pencils as Charlie (still 5). So, if A = B and B = C, then A = C.
How Congressman Donalds’ statement relates to the Transitive Property of Equality will be much clearer by the end of this article.
The Controversial Statement
At an event in Philadelphia designed to help Republican outreach to Black voters, Congressman Byron Donalds stated:
“I grew up with my mom. My dad and my mom, things didn’t work out. As an adult, I look at my father and I say, ‘Bro, I don’t know what happened. You’re my father and I love you.’ I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t there. But I’m going to tell you this. Growing up, the one thing I knew, I wanted to do, and this is not about my father. This is about what I wanted to do, is I wanted to be a father to my sons. And so, one of the things that’s actually happening in our culture, which you’re now starting to see in our politics is the reinvigoration of Black families with younger Black men and Black women. And that is also helping to breed the revival of a Black middle class in America.
You see, during Jim Crow, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together. During Jim Crow, more Black people were not just conservative. Black people always have been conservative-minded, but more Black people voted conservatively. And then Lyndon Johnson. And then you go down that road and we are where we are. What’s happened in America the last ten years, and I say this as my contemporaries, you’re starting to see more Black people be married and in homes, raising kids. When you’re home with your wife raising your kids, and then you look at the world, you’re saying time-out. This does not look right. How can I get something to my kids? It goes back to the conversation of generational wealth.”
On the Joy Reid Show, Congressman Donalds defended his position that having a father in the home is better for the family and that there were more Black fathers in the home during Jim Crow than there are today, “Having the Black man in the home was about first protecting the mom and protecting the kids—incredibly important. It was the leadership in the home, which is incredibly valuable. I think what we’re witnessing the last 30 years definitely through my generation is Black fathers being at home is incredibly important for the success of Black children going forward,” said Donalds.
Clearly, there is no disagreement about the importance of having the father in the home. The importance of a father in the family enriches a family, physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and financially. “Research shows, that a loving and nurturing father improves outcomes for children, families, and communities. Fathers who live with their children are often more likely to have a close, enduring relationship with their children.” But, to reference the Jim Crow era as if it was a nostalgic romantic golden age for Black families, is an insult to the Black community.
Jim Crow was a time of brutal social and political oppression for African Americans. “Jim Crow laws were a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation. Named after a Black minstrel show character, the laws—which existed for about 100 years, from the post-Civil War era until 1968—were meant to marginalize African Americans by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education or other opportunities. Those who attempted to defy Jim Crow laws often faced arrest, fines, jail sentences, violence and death.”
Jim Crow Laws and Customs
African American families were marginalized and oppressed under Jim Crow laws and customs. The Jim Crow era in the United States lasted more than 100 years (1867-1968) roughly from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. During Jim Crow, there were numerous laws and social customs that enforced racial segregation and discrimination, targeting African Americans. Some of the things that were illegal or heavily restricted for Black families during this time included:
- Voting Restrictions: African Americans faced numerous barriers to voting, including literacy tests, poll taxes, and outright intimidation and violence at the polls.
- Segregation Laws: Jim Crow laws mandated the segregation of public spaces such as schools, parks, transportation, restaurants, and even drinking fountains, with separate facilities for black and white individuals. Black families could face legal repercussions for violating these laws.
- Intermarriage: Miscegenation laws prohibited interracial marriage or relationships, making it illegal for black and white individuals to marry or have intimate relationships.
- Occupational Discrimination: Black families often faced discrimination in employment opportunities, with many jobs reserved for white individuals or offering lower wages and poorer working conditions for Black workers.
- Housing Segregation: Black families were often restricted to certain neighborhoods through practices like redlining, which denied them access to housing loans or insurance in predominantly white areas.
- Education: Schools were segregated, with black schools receiving fewer resources and poorer facilities compared to white schools. Black families could face legal consequences for attempting to enroll their children in white schools.
- Mob Violence and Lynchings: African Americans were often targets of vigilante violence, including lynching, which was extrajudicial murder carried out by mobs, often with the complicity or participation of law enforcement officials.
- Freedom of Movement: Black families faced restrictions on where they could travel and socialize, with “sundown towns” enforcing curfews or outright bans on black individuals after dark.
The Great Communicator
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), is a potential vice-presidential candidate for former President Donald Trump. He was pressed by CNN’s Abby Phillip about his comments comparing the status of the Black family during the Jim Crow era to today’s Black family.
“Just to clarify my questioning of you, I understand that this idea that (people are saying) you said it was better—you didn’t use the word ‘better.’ But when you talk about that time period, you are suggesting that because the Black family was together, they were better off than they are now,” said Phillip.
Donalds’ response was, “Abbie, let me put it to you like this. Let’s agree on something. I am obviously one of the better communicators in the Republican Party. I know how to put words together. I do it very, very often. So, I am not going to say something that I don’t agree with.”
With Donalds being self-identified as, “one of the better communicators in the Republican Party,” surely, he knows that words have consequences. He should have known that his comments comparing the Black family during the Jim Crow era to the present-day Black family would generate a firestorm.
The Transitive Property of Equality
As an elementary teacher, during math class, I taught my students an equation known as the Transitive Property of Equality. The Transitive Property of Equality states that if A=B and B=C then A=C.
If you stated that: (A) Black families are better off when Black fathers are in the home, then you stated that: (B) More Black fathers were in the home during Jim Crow, you can therefore conclude that: (C) Black Families were better off during Jim Crow.
Congressman Byron Donalds stated:
(A) Black families are better off when Black fathers are in the home.
Congressman Byron Donalds also stated:
(B) More Black fathers were in the home during Jim Crow.
Therefore, using the Transitive Property of Equality based on Congressman Donalds’ words, one could reach the logical conclusion,
(C) that Congressman Byron Donald’s comments lead one to the conclusion that he believes Black Families were better off during Jim Crow.
Reaching this conclusion is not gaslighting, or twisting his words, or taking what he said out of context, or “Democrats” and “the Biden campaign and some of the media” twisting his “words for political purposes,” but a result of logically and effectively analyzing his statements.
The truth is Black families, by basically every measure, are much better off today than they were during Jim Crow. The irony of Congressman Donalds’ comments about the Black family is the fact that he is in an interracial marriage, which would not have been possible during Jim Crow. One has to wonder, being a Black man and head of his family—does he consider his family, a Black Family?
RJW is a retired Professor of Education. He is a prolific writer and the author of 12 Characteristics of an Effective Teacher.
One may contact him at; RJWalker@ThyBlackMan.com.