Democrats made reparations for slavery a new policy priority.
Congress held a hearing on this controversial issue.
And what Megyn Kelly said about reparations for slavery will leave you speechless.
Democrats are uniting around reparations for slavery as an election year rallying cry.
Multiple top-tier Presidential contenders endorsed Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s bill to set up a commission to study the idea of the government paying reparations to the descendents of slaves.
The next step in moving this issue to the forefront of American politics was Congresswoman Jackson Lee holding a hearing on her bill.
But Republicans got to invite witnesses to the proceedings as well.
And GOP members of the committee brought Quillette columnist Coleman Hughes to testify.
Hughes – who is black – shredded the idea of reparations for slavery.
“Black people don’t need another apology. We need safer neighborhoods and better schools. We need a less punitive criminal justice system. We need affordable health care. And none of these things can be achieved through reparations for slavery,” Hughes began.
Hughes also noted that he’s never voted for a Republican in his life and is a Democrat, so this was not some partisan attack on Jackson Lee’s bill and the idea of reparations for slavery.
He continued by explaining that his opposition to reparations was due to the fact that if the government granted him reparations, it instantly made him a victim.
“Reparations by definition are only given to victims, so the moment you give me reparations, you’ve made me into a victim without my consent. Not just that, you’ve made 1/3 of black Americans who poll against reparations into victims without their consent, and black Americans have fought too long for the right to define themselves to be spoken for in such a condescending manner,” Hughes continued.
“The question is not what America owes me by virtue of my ancestry, the question is what all Americans owe each other by virtue of being citizens of the same nation,” Hughes declared.
“And the obligation of citizenship is not transactional. It’s not contingent on ancestry. It never expires, and it can’t be paid off. For all these reasons, bill HR 40 is a moral and political mistake.”
Megyn Kelly highlighted Hughes testimony on her Twitter account and applauded his remarks.
“@coldxman is a brilliant guy – thoughtful, open-minded, ideologically non-dogmatic. We met months ago and bonded over a lot. I admire and respect him and – whether you agree with his pov on reparations or not – you should too,” Kelly wrote.
This surprised many observers.
Kelly had been fired from NBC after backlash over her stating that people used dressed up in blackface for Halloween and no one would get offended.
So many expected her to take a more apologetic approach if she were to step into this minefield.
But she did not.
And that left many media watchers stunned.