Florida Rep. Byron Donalds Controversial Comments on Black Family in Jim Crow Era
Florida Rep. Byron Donalds is making headlines following some controversial comments about th Black family made at a recent Trump campaign event in Philadelphia. The 45 year old New York native and Trump supporter began hosting campaign events for the Republican party along with Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt. Over the course of the party, Donalds made several comments regarding Black male vs Black female voters, what Trump means to the Black community, as well as the Black family.
Writers Julia Terruso and Sean Collins, in their 2024 article for The Philadelphia Inquirer, writes, “two Black congressmen who support Trump held a ‘Congress, Cognac, and Cigars” event near Northern Liberties to ‘garner the black male vote’ …At another point, Donalds said he is starting to see the ‘reinvigoration of Black family,’ which he described as younger people forming nuclear family units and ‘helping to breathe the revival of a Black middle class in America’. You see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together. During Jim Crow, more Black people were not just conservative — Black people have always been conservative-minded — but more Black people voted conservatively,’ he said.”
His comments seem to have caused quite a stir as several media outlets have picked up his interview and shared across their news feeds. But Donalds is steadfast in his comment being rooted in fact rather than opinion. In an interview with Fox News, where Bill Hemmer asked him about his comments surrounding the Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program, Donalds states, ““Let’s be clear, it’s not about belief—it’s the empirical fact,” Donalds said. “The marriage rate in Black America declined rapidly after the passage of a lot of the Great Society policies.”
Donalds’ comments surrounding the Black family being “better” during the Jim Crow era, a time where his own interracial marriage could not exist, is something also worth noting. In an interview with MSNBC anchor Joy Reid, when asked if his family could have thrived during the Jim Crow era, “No it could not… we all know that. But that’s why I am blessed to live in America today, as opposed to America during that time,”
Statistically, divorce rates skyrocketed after the Jim Crow era. Donalds clearly is arguing that the Black family seemed to have been stronger and represented a “golden era” in America. However, just because a family stays together does not mean they are happy. Just because a person comes from a two parent household does not guarantee them an easier life or a privileged life. His relating this issue to being a key pillar to Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is a poor attempt to appeal to the family values of conservative voters and families alike.
It is evident that with only a few months left until the election, there are a lot of topics that are up for grabs in terms of appealing to the voters. Only time will tell which issues will translate in a vote.
