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Dem Lawmakers Ripped for African Garb Stunt
Some of Congress’ highest-profile lawmakers, led by Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, once again appeared out of touch on Monday. As the two most powerful Democrats in their respective chambers of Congress, Schumer and Pelosi have struggled to stay relevant in a party that they no longer seem to represent in terms of race, ideology, or age. On Monday, they possibly thought they’d break this perception. They did this through a vibrant show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement by wearing African garb.
During a meeting of Congress’ Black Caucus, Schumer, Pelosi, and other Congressmen wore scarves with the Ghanan Kente pattern. Leaders of the Black Caucus handed out the scarves to all lawmakers who attended the meeting. The meeting took place to propose police reform legislation.
The Kente pattern is very important to the culture of Ghana. It was used as a way for predominantly white lawmakers to connect with their black constituents in a show of solidarity and understanding. To understate, the gesture then didn’t go over well.
Twitter Reacts
https://twitter.com/super_von/status/1270381549205090305
The reaction on Twitter featured some laughter, mockery, and even some outrage from progressives and black leaders. However, there was very little support for the move.
Singer John Legend saw the irony of the decision, as he’d recently acted in a skit mocking just the decision. The song, called “Add Some Kente”, satirically suggested that in order to mend racial wounds, white people should just add some kente patterns to their cars, clothes, and even Klan robes. The idea, of course, is that it’s both condescending and meaningless to don a bit of African garb in the interest of bridging racial divides.
QuestLove, the drummer for the rap group the Roots, tweeted, “Everyone was texting me these Kente Cloth photos, I had to come here to make sure the Roots weren’t pranking me. I just…”
Jordan Peele retweeted a photo referencing “Get Out,” his famous movie. The image was of the white couple from the film wearing the Kente scarves. He accompanied the image with the caption “Democrats Today.”
While many chose to simply poke fun at the lawmakers’ choice of scarf, some reacted with anger.
Elizabeth Warren’s former national surrogate, Frederick Joseph, tweeted, “I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that they draped these white people in kente cloth to ‘honor' him[George Floyd]. This has to be hell.” He said African Americans are “being pandered to, and ultimately, disrespected.”
“How is this not cultural appropriation?” Tweeted African American commentator Hotep Jesus.
Democrats Struggle to Connect with Black Voters
African Americans have long given the overwhelming support for the Democratic Party. In recent years, however, more and more black citizens are questioning whether their monogamous relationship with the Democratic Party has truly been beneficial.
Recently, during an interview with black news host Charlamagne Tha God, Biden told viewers that “you ain’t black” if they are undecided between himself and Trump. Naturally, Americans took umbrage with a white politician qualifying the blackness of voters, and with implying that he’s really the only choice African Americans have in 2020.
The sentiment that African Americans are taken for granted by the Democratic Party has grown during the protests. Regardless, however, black voters still vote overwhelmingly for Democrats. Democrats enjoy a level of support from African Americans. This is almost unmatched among any racial group in any democratic country. This also creates natural friction as Democrats feel less pressure to earn their vote.
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