Former NAACP Assistant Director Michael Meyers said Wednesday that the 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls who embraced reparations were “pandering to black voters.”
Meyers made the comments during a segment of “The Daily Briefing” with Dana Perino on Fox News, adding that the argument for reparations was not a practical policy. (RELATED: ‘Blame Whitey Movement’ — Former ACLU Exec Slams Reparations ‘Buffoonery’)
WATCH:
Citing a recent poll on reparations, Perino began by quoting one descendant of slaves who was opposed to the idea. “The idea for having reparations, all Americans polled at 29%. For black Americans it polls at 73%,” she said. “Michael, there’s a quote here from a descendant of slaves, Fred Lincoln. He said my ancestors were robbed of everything, their history, their identity, their culture. Giving me money is an insult to my ancestors suffering and all of my suffering. I don’t know if that’s your position. But maybe describe how you approach this.”
“My position is that this reparations debate is old,” Meyers shot back. “It’s passe. It’s a scam. It’s a hustle. It was brought up in the 1960s by people who wanted reparations from the churches. And then again from political leaders, from government. It’s fake. I remember in 1990 there was a million youth march in Harlem. There weren’t a million people there. Reparations. They call for reparations. They had maybe 20, 25 people there.”
Meyers went on to say that part of the problem was that there was no amount that was sufficient to compensate people who were enslaved. “Besides, they’re gone,” he added. “They’re dead. The people are in the graves. The present generation, what are they talking about? If you had a reparations pot, everybody would be lined up. I want my reparations. I want my check.”
Perino cut in then, reminding Meyers that about a dozen of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates had come forward to support reparations in one form or fashion, but Meyers pushed back on that as well.
“Those Democrats are not mainstream. They’re pandering to black voters,” he said.
“Cory Booker, you would not say he is mainstream?” Perino pressed.
“No. He is pandering to black voters. He’s trying to get a percentage of people who are voting for Biden,” Meyers concluded.