Rev. Al Sharpton Checks Rep. Byron Donalds On Saying Black Families Thrived Under Jim Crow

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Rev. Al Sharpton is known for his direct line of questioning and no-nonsense approach as the host of his PoliticsNation program. Recently, Rev. Al Sharpton welcomed Rep. Byron Donalds to the program to challenge the Republican Party congressman about his recent quip regarding Jim Crow and Black families but was frustrated in the process.

Rep. Bryon Donalds, who represents Florida’s 19th District, was a guest on PoliticsNation which came after the congressman joined MSNBC host Joy Reid on her program where he defended the explosive claims that Black marriage rates were better under the time of Jim Crow, ignoring the oppressive and racist policy altogether.

More alarming was Rep. Donalds made this statement during a Black voter outreach event in Philadelphia in support of Republican Party presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump. What Reid attempted to do when she spoke with Donalds was allow him to explain the correlation between Jim Crow and stronger Black families but it appeared that the congressman couldn’t effectively connect the two.

Donalds again joined MSNBC over the weekend to speak with Rev. Al Sharpton and much like his appearance on The Reid Out, Donalds bobbed and weaved but would not explain why he thought things were better for the Black family unit under Jim Crow despite the fact many of these Black families did not enjoy rights that white families freely enjoyed.

At one point, Sharpton asked Donalds how he could live with himself after making such claims and Donalds became exasperated as he tried to dance out of the question by trying to suggest that all he meant was the Black marriage rate was higher but not that Jim Crow was better for them.

Both appearances by Rep. Byron Donalds on MSNBC can be viewed below.





Photo: The Washington Post / Getty