A Democratic congresswoman from Brooklyn appears to believe that slavery existed in her district until 1898.
Against the advice of her party’s leadership, Rep. Yvette Clarke appeared on “The Colbert Report” on Tuesday for one of host Stephen Colbert’s occasional “Better Know a District” segments. After getting in a few digs at Brooklyn, Colbert asked Clarke, who is currently serving her third term in the House, what she would say to her district if she could go back to 1898 in a time machine.
“Set me free!” Clarke said.
“From?” Colbert asked.
“Slavery.”
Trying to hold back his laughter, Colbert said he didn’t realize there was slavery in Brooklyn in 1898. “I believe there was,” Clarke responded.
“Sounds like a horrible part of the country, that kept slavery going until 1898,” Colbert said. “Who would be enslaving you?”
“The Dutch,” said Clarke.
“Those sneaky Dutch bastards,” Colbert said, to which Clarke responded “Exactly.”
The good stuff starts around the three-minute mark. And for those wondering, no, there were no Dutch-owned slaves in Brooklyn in 1898.
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