"When asked why my hometown in Mississippi did not suffer the same racial violence when I was a young man that accompanied other towns' integration efforts, I accurately said the community leadership wouldn't tolerate it and helped prevent violence there. My point was my town rejected the Ku Klux Klan, but nobody should construe that to mean I think the town leadership were saints, either. Their vehicle, called the 'Citizens Council,' is totally indefensible, as is segregation. It was a difficult and painful era for Mississippi, the rest of the country, and especially African Americans who were persecuted in that time."
According to some people, this statement should be enough. We should just move on. You know, forgive and forget.
Hell no! First of all, his brief statement is not an apology. It is merely a feeble attempt to justify his earlier remarks. Obviously, he issued the statement to protect his career and presidential aspirations.
Also, his earlier statement is a part of a disturbing pattern. Remember, this is the same man who had no problem with the State of Virginia omitting any references to slavery from its ridiculous proclamation recognizing Confederate History Month. According to him, that controversy did not amount to diddly.
Barbour is either racist or completely oblivious to issues impacting African Americans. For him, the historical suffering of black people is simply an afterthought. As far as he is concerned, black people are virtually invisible. Someone like him should not be a governor or the head of the Republican Governors Association.
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