SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Senate candidate Roy Moore shared his nostalgia for the days of slavery at a campaign rally in September, claiming families were united before the practice was made illegal in the U.S.--despite historical accounts of families being torn apart as they were auctioned off as slaves. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Trump-Endorsed Roy Moore Condemned for Reminiscing Fondly About 'Great' Era of US Slavery
Alabama Republican candidate Roy Moore claimed that "families were united" before slavery was outlawed
Dec 08, 2017
Trump critics on social media were stunned Thursday night when comments that the president's pick for Alabama's Senate race, Roy Moore, made about slavery in September resurfaced online.
At a rally in Florence, Alabama, Moore told an African-American audience member that the last time America was "great" was when slavery was legal.
"I think it was great at the time when families were united," Moore said. "Even though we had slavery, they cared for one another...Our families were strong, our country had a direction."
The Republican candidate's comments were the subject of a tweet by former Obama Justice Department official Eric Columbus. The post garnered thousands of retweets within hours.
\u201cCan't make this up -- Roy Moore said in September that the last time America was great was when we had slavery. (h/t @reckonalabama)\nhttps://t.co/NMF4BCQ6ZS\u201d— Eric Columbus (@Eric Columbus) 1512676367
Many on social media denounced Moore's revisionist framing, noting that many families were forcibly separated to suit the desires of white households before slavery was outlawed.
\u201cRoy Moore says the last time America was great was during slavery\u2026when families were \u2018together\u2019\u2026what he fails to point out is the families of slaves were split up and sold separately.\n\nThe only thing Moore deserves is termination\u2026extreme.\u201d— GStuedler\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\udde7 (@GStuedler\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\udde7) 1512741052
At the same rally, Moore referred to Native Americans and Asian-Americans as "reds and yellows."
The Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump have officially backed the former judge, who made the comments weeks before the first of nine women publicly accused him of sexual misconduct. Two of the women have stated that he molested or sexually assaulted them when they were 14 and 15 years old and he was an adult.
As of Tuesday, Moore's Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, was leading him by four points in a poll by Big League-Gravis. But the same poll also found that 34 percent of about 1,200 Alabama voters did not believe the allegations of sexual abuse by Moore while 24 percent were undecided.
The White House has attempted to play both sides of the issue, with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling reporters that the allegations were "very troubling," while Trump called Moore on Monday to offer his official endorsement.
On Twitter, some argued that Moore's outrageous claims about slavery and his racist rhetoric are exactly in line with Trump's agenda to "Make America Great Again."
\u201c@EricColumbus @pixelatedboat @reckonalabama What did y'all think MAGA referred to?!\u201d— Eric Columbus (@Eric Columbus) 1512676367
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Trump critics on social media were stunned Thursday night when comments that the president's pick for Alabama's Senate race, Roy Moore, made about slavery in September resurfaced online.
At a rally in Florence, Alabama, Moore told an African-American audience member that the last time America was "great" was when slavery was legal.
"I think it was great at the time when families were united," Moore said. "Even though we had slavery, they cared for one another...Our families were strong, our country had a direction."
The Republican candidate's comments were the subject of a tweet by former Obama Justice Department official Eric Columbus. The post garnered thousands of retweets within hours.
\u201cCan't make this up -- Roy Moore said in September that the last time America was great was when we had slavery. (h/t @reckonalabama)\nhttps://t.co/NMF4BCQ6ZS\u201d— Eric Columbus (@Eric Columbus) 1512676367
Many on social media denounced Moore's revisionist framing, noting that many families were forcibly separated to suit the desires of white households before slavery was outlawed.
\u201cRoy Moore says the last time America was great was during slavery\u2026when families were \u2018together\u2019\u2026what he fails to point out is the families of slaves were split up and sold separately.\n\nThe only thing Moore deserves is termination\u2026extreme.\u201d— GStuedler\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\udde7 (@GStuedler\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\udde7) 1512741052
At the same rally, Moore referred to Native Americans and Asian-Americans as "reds and yellows."
The Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump have officially backed the former judge, who made the comments weeks before the first of nine women publicly accused him of sexual misconduct. Two of the women have stated that he molested or sexually assaulted them when they were 14 and 15 years old and he was an adult.
As of Tuesday, Moore's Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, was leading him by four points in a poll by Big League-Gravis. But the same poll also found that 34 percent of about 1,200 Alabama voters did not believe the allegations of sexual abuse by Moore while 24 percent were undecided.
The White House has attempted to play both sides of the issue, with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling reporters that the allegations were "very troubling," while Trump called Moore on Monday to offer his official endorsement.
On Twitter, some argued that Moore's outrageous claims about slavery and his racist rhetoric are exactly in line with Trump's agenda to "Make America Great Again."
\u201c@EricColumbus @pixelatedboat @reckonalabama What did y'all think MAGA referred to?!\u201d— Eric Columbus (@Eric Columbus) 1512676367
Trump critics on social media were stunned Thursday night when comments that the president's pick for Alabama's Senate race, Roy Moore, made about slavery in September resurfaced online.
At a rally in Florence, Alabama, Moore told an African-American audience member that the last time America was "great" was when slavery was legal.
"I think it was great at the time when families were united," Moore said. "Even though we had slavery, they cared for one another...Our families were strong, our country had a direction."
The Republican candidate's comments were the subject of a tweet by former Obama Justice Department official Eric Columbus. The post garnered thousands of retweets within hours.
\u201cCan't make this up -- Roy Moore said in September that the last time America was great was when we had slavery. (h/t @reckonalabama)\nhttps://t.co/NMF4BCQ6ZS\u201d— Eric Columbus (@Eric Columbus) 1512676367
Many on social media denounced Moore's revisionist framing, noting that many families were forcibly separated to suit the desires of white households before slavery was outlawed.
\u201cRoy Moore says the last time America was great was during slavery\u2026when families were \u2018together\u2019\u2026what he fails to point out is the families of slaves were split up and sold separately.\n\nThe only thing Moore deserves is termination\u2026extreme.\u201d— GStuedler\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\udde7 (@GStuedler\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\udde7) 1512741052
At the same rally, Moore referred to Native Americans and Asian-Americans as "reds and yellows."
The Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump have officially backed the former judge, who made the comments weeks before the first of nine women publicly accused him of sexual misconduct. Two of the women have stated that he molested or sexually assaulted them when they were 14 and 15 years old and he was an adult.
As of Tuesday, Moore's Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, was leading him by four points in a poll by Big League-Gravis. But the same poll also found that 34 percent of about 1,200 Alabama voters did not believe the allegations of sexual abuse by Moore while 24 percent were undecided.
The White House has attempted to play both sides of the issue, with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling reporters that the allegations were "very troubling," while Trump called Moore on Monday to offer his official endorsement.
On Twitter, some argued that Moore's outrageous claims about slavery and his racist rhetoric are exactly in line with Trump's agenda to "Make America Great Again."
\u201c@EricColumbus @pixelatedboat @reckonalabama What did y'all think MAGA referred to?!\u201d— Eric Columbus (@Eric Columbus) 1512676367
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.