Reagan had a blackface performance at his inaugural celebration

[Larry Lambo]

What yall think about this tho?

 

[Gains]

My uncle used to always talk about how much he fukking hated Ben Vereen. Called him a tap dancing Uncle Tom. This performance has to be what he was talking about

 

[alpo]

I think Jackie Robinson is definitely in the wrong here and calling this c00ning in hindsight is appropriate.

But there is an interesting dynamic it seems existed between younger black people who were growing up during the civil rights movement and those who grew up before.

Jackie Robinson was very much a pro-military guy, having served himself, all his life and before Vietnam, there was this naive ignorance that American military adventures were "good vs evil" with the Nazi's in WW2 sort of setting this dynamic in American minds regardless of the ethics and debatable actions of the "west" even during WW2.

Vietnam was really a water shed moment where you have more politicized and activist black folks speaking out against this shyt for what it actually is and breaking free of American military propaganda and older heads who grew up who wanted to serve their country not only for the "got to beat the nazis and communists" rhetoric but an understandable reason for black men to want to participate because it allowed them to make more claim to America when you can argue that you're entitled to that claim when you are fighting and dying for it. Jackie was definitely the latter and viewed the military through those lenses. So, this is probably is where he is coming from even though when you take a bird's eye view of the situation, he is totally wrong.

negro please!!!! the excuses

 

[King Static X]

I never even knew that this shyt happened. WTF?

Reagan was an even bigger piece of shyt than he already was. I hope that he's burning in hell or wherever.

 

[King Static X]

before my time and I wasn't aware



I can't even put a name to the guy speaking at the beginning

It was before my time as well. However, you've never heard of Johnny Carson?

 

[88m3]

It was before my time as well. However, you've never heard of Johnny Carson?

couldn't put a name to the face*

Thanks

 

[King Static X]

couldn't put a name to the face*

Thanks

You're welcome.

 

[Berniewood Hogan]

this shyt is super offensive man. why did dude agree to do that?!?

he agreed on the condition they air the entirety of the performance, where he apparently breaks down why this is bad and the audience should feel bad

nonetheless, insane that anybody gave this the green light.

 

[Ill Lou Malnati]

Wild and disgusting.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

its baseball.

what'd you expect?

 

[Wargames]

I learned about this shyt yesterday and I am still fukking livid thinking about this happening.

 

[jerniebert]

Worst president ever

 

[Dameon Farrow]

Speechless.

He's still among great actors to me but this was beyond defense.

 

[superunknown23]

*Reagan kicked off his 1980 campaign in Philadelphia, Miss., which at the time was known for only one thing: the Ku Klux Klan murder of three civil rights workers. Reagan, using the code words of the day, said, "I believe in states rights." (just like George Wallace, Orval Faubus and other white southern politicians before him).

*Reagan was opposed to the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 (a referendum on Jim Crow).

*He was also opposed to the Fair Housing Act, saying: "If an individual wants to discriminate against Negroes or others in selling or renting his house, he has a right to do so"

*As president, he actually tried to weaken the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (he called it a great insult to the South).

*He tried to veto the Civil Rights Restoration Act passed by Congress to overturn a Supreme Court ruling (Grove City v. Bell) that limited the remedies available to the federal government when going after discrininatory private organizations that receive federal subsidies. The democratic-led Congress overrode Reagan's veto.

*He tried to get rid of the federal ban on tax exemptions for private schools that practiced racial discrimination (Bob Jones University). Congress blocked it.

*In 1988, he opposed a bill to expand the reach of federal civil rights legislation. The democratic Congress overrode the veto.

*Reagan also opposed the imposition of sanctions on the apartheid regime in South Africa. The Democratic Congress overrode that veto, too.
After one of Reagan's pro-apartheid speeches, the normally mild-mannered Bishop Desmond Tutu said: "I found it quite nauseating. I think the West can go to hell! Your president is the pits as far as blacks are concerned. He sits there like the great, big white chief of old"

*He referenced to black women as "Cadillac-driving welfare queens" (nevermind that most welfare recipients are white)

*When MLK was murdered, he argued that he had it coming. Reagan said it was just the sort of "great tragedy that began when we began compromising with law and order, and people started choosing which laws they'd break."

*He opposed the MLK holiday: When John Conyers introduced the bill with the backing of the NAACP, Reagan vowed to veto it.
He only signed it after the democratic Congress passed the law with a veto-proof majority. All 22 senators who opposed it were conservatives.
Reagan signed the law grudgingly, noting he did so because "Congress seemed bent on making it a national holiday" (yet, republicans try to give him credit for it today).

He also held up funding for AIDS research for 3 years after it was initially called a "gay disease" by Jerry Falwell and the Christian right.

 

[Berniewood Hogan]

And this is the guy Republicans hold up as their idol.

And the media never really talks about any of this.

And the Democratic party says he was an honorable man they were happy to serve with.