Slavery Remarks Spark Outrage
Black And Jewish Leaders Criticize Va. Lawmaker's Comments In Slavery Apology Debate
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GOP Delegate Frank Hargrove, right, told Democratic Delegate David Englin, left, that Englin – who objected to a Hargrove remark as anti-Semitic – that he thought Englin's "skin was a little too thin." (AP)
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Republican delegate Frank D. Hargrove, in comments published Tuesday in The Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Va., said slavery ended nearly 140 years ago with the Civil War and added: "I personally think that our black citizens should get over it."
The newspaper also quoted the 79-year-old lawmaker as saying: "Are we going to force the Jews to apologize for killing Christ?"
Responding to his critics Tuesday, Hargrove, who is 79, told a delegate whose Jewish ancestors immigrated from Nazi-occupied Poland that the delegate's skin is "a little too thin."
Black House of Delegates members swiftly denounced the comments Hargrove made on the holiday commemorating the life and mission of civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
"When somebody tells me I should just get over slavery, I can only express my emotion by projecting that I am appalled, absolutely appalled," said Delegate Dwight C. Jones, head of the Legislative Black Caucus.
Delegate David L. Englin, a Democrat, seated next to Hargrove, spoke passionately about his grandparents leaving Poland "where they were driven from their homes by people who believed that as Jews, we killed Christ."
As he held up a wallet-sized photo of his 7-year-old son, Caleb, Englin struggled to keep his composure as he pondered the possibility that his child might have to cope with anti-Semitic comments.
When Englin sat, Hargrove reached over and softly patted Englin on the arm. Then, Hargrove rose to speak and, looking down at his seatmate, said, "I didn't even know you were Jewish, I had no idea of what your religion, (and) I don't care what your religion is. I don't care."
"I think your skin was a little too thin," he said as Republicans and Democrats gasped and groaned in disbelief.
Such comments by any elected official only add to the anti-Jewish animosity, said David Friedman, director of the Washington, D.C., regional office of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League.
"What he has done is inject his own personal bigotry into a very difficult and heated discussion and in no way, by injecting that, does he do anything to illuminate the debate," Friedman said. "He raised the need for an apology in a manner that I'm sure he never intended."
The controversy hits nerves already sore in Virginia, only a few months after another incident involving a racially-charged comment by an elected official.
At an August campaign rally before a mostly white crowd, then-Senator George Allen pointed into the crowd to a Virginia-born man of Indian descent working as a volunteer for his Democratic opponent and referred to him as a "macaca," a racial slur in some cultures. What had been a comfortable lead held by the GOP incumbent evaporated as the remarks became a campaign issue, and Allen lost to Democrat Jim Webb, by a margin of about 9,000 votes.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



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See all 362 CommentsIf minorities can't cope with the fact that they%u2019re in the minority, and, because of that, many things happened in the past: they should leave. This is America; anyone can be an American citizen as long as you believe in it more than any other country in the world. However, when we have blacks calling Africa "the homeland", and Chinese living in "Chinatowns", they don't deserve recognition as true Americans. Of course, because I'm thinking and speaking critically about something other than America, I'm a terrible person.
It looks like you posted your garbage before other people knew the story was out. Does janem equal ali jameel or jameel ali?
It's a fair analogy - everyone knows it's stupid to blame jews for Christ's death because people who were jewish way back then were part of it - and slavery is pretty much the same thing - no one alive did it nor had it done to them. People who held slaves - they should apologize. But no whole race is guilty of something their ancestors did, no whole race is held back by what their ancestors were alone. And, really, this is something that plenty of black leaders as well have said - different words, but the same meaning. Never mind history, get on with living, growing, and being who you choose to be.
I think he didn't say it perfectly, and people will turn something into a huge insult if you don't say it perfectly - but I think he's got a valid point. Focusing on the past can hold you in the past, focusing on hurts that were done by no currently living person, seeing a world of the past, rather than shaping a world of the future.
Africa Americans cannot get over such an imperative part of their existence any more than Caucasian Americans can "get over" the profit and stature provided to them by way of slave labor. Slavery was only abolished physically; there have been no efforts made to abolish it from the processes of normal, everyday American existence and I don%u2019t see it happening anytime soon.
African Americans aren%u2019t asking for someone to get on a stage and say; %u201CI%u2019m Sorry%u201D to the masses. What we need are all of the necessary opportunities afforded to anyone living here. I mean, what other ethnicity do you know with several generations born into the US having to hyphenate their nationality (African-American)? Does this sound like a society that is willing to embrace the descendant of a slave; where we can%u2019t even be called just an American?
Can anyone remember the last time Republicans missed an opportunity to shoot themselves in the foot?
It is really annoying when someone like Hargrove says, in effect, to a deeply felt issue, "You are not really experiencing what you say you are experiencing." Nonsense.
From this Anglo, I have Korean, Native American, and Black neighbors, and their points of view are not only important to me, they are fascinating. Moreover, I am pretty sure they listen to me better than I have yet learned to listen to them. You have to keep working at it.
"Yes it should be over but truth be told, -we are never going to get over because people like Frank Hargrove won't let us-...."-Posted by josie456
I generally agree with your post, but the clause indicated (-...-) is the part that I fully disagree with. His point, in my opinion, is that in order to get on as a nation, and to get rid of the widespread ethnic differences; we need to forget. Whether or not people are ready to forget is another matter. White people should not have to apologize for what their ancestors did; I'd say the same things about blacks. Nobody should be forced to apologize for what their ancestors did, and that's what I believe made Hargrove say what he did. Not any racial preferences.
Let's not forget about the racist democrats and liberals. Including the illustrious Mrs. Is, who lovingly referred to a Jew as a Jew...I don't think what she called is fit for a public forum. So, the right is not the only side to make "slurs", and this particular statement wasn't even a slur! Former senator Allen was speaking jokingly, in my opinion in regard to the gentleman of Indian descent. Of course there are racist people on both sides, but you can't generalize in this case.
I love the way the left's propaganda arm (CNN, NBC, CBS) does its job. You can say all you want about FOX, but it is fair unlike the already mentioned networks.
What other nationality needs their own ANTI-DEFIMATUION LEAGUE ... NONE.
Think about that....
Former 'Dear Leader' Gerald Ford and his swine flu shots, coincident with his *** "WIN" (Whip Inflation Now) buttons served me well during my teenage years. [LOL] Who the hell is this clown (*** from the grave) to be knocking Carter now?
It's never going to stop, is it?
JohnShaft4:
I suppose you're the type that denies the Holocaust ever happened. Aside from the photos and eyewitness accounts from many common soldiers, the word of some of the most illustrious figures in American history should be enough. Why do you hate them: because you think they're the cause of strife in the world? Did you know that when Palestine was mandated by the U.N., instead of being fair, they gave the entire good half of the land to the Arabs. They didn%u2019t fairly split it. Mandated. From the beginning, the U.N. has played favorites toward the Arabs: proof of their uselessness. It should be proof enough that and it's the Arabs who dropped the ball when they invaded Israel immediately after the Jews declared independence in '48. The first war was one of defense, and after that, the Israelis gained control of land mandated to the Arabs, and tried to settle into harmony. The Arabs were going to invade again, but the Israelis gained intelligence of it, and launched a pre-emptive strike in the Six Day War. The Yom Kippur war, in the 70s, was yet another example of Arab aggression against Israel. The Israelis did not do as well, but managed to survive. We Christians like to call this succession of wins on Israel's part: divine intervention.
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Your premise is none should bear the burden of his ancestry, but should be held responsible for only his own actions. You believe great-great-great grandchildren of slaveowners owe nobody an apology for what their forebears did. Fair enough, as far as that principle goes.
Written by others, this translates into "equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, color, religion, ethnic background..." and it would be hard to argue against Hargrove on that basis. But Hargrove's comment misses the point of the VA resolution, entirely.
That resolution is the sense of the VA legislative body-- and most importantly, of the people it represents-- of recognizing an injustice for what it was. The VA resolution imposes no burden of punishment or guilt, but is a collective statement addressing a collective past, and a most important statement to descendants of slaves.
Hargrove's resistance to apology stirs another question-- whether Hargrove, in fact, is the best argument of all for the resolution. Could it be Hargrove is one of those who once posted the Confederate flag bumpersticker, "H--e--l--l no! I ain't fergitten'!" QED.
Though I generally loathe most Republican politicians, Hargrove did not insult nor demean ANYONE in his statements.
So, yes, GET OVER IT already!
IF you are referring to the SO-CALLED holocaust as a Jew event ... you are wrong ... dead wrong. 62 million people died in WWII ... a few of them were JEWS.
You say the 1948 war was a "war of defense" ... more garbage ... appearantly you completely forgot that the JEWS blew up the King David Hotel in 1947, killing almost 100 civilians and completely detroying the British diplomatic efforts.
You have been reading too much JEW PROPOGANDA...
And if Texas, where I reside, ever gets around to going thru this exercise then I want to be specifically excluded from any apology. My relatives were still in England at the time and I am a descendant of one of that nation's most well known abolitionists, a founder of the Anti-slavery Society.
I suspect that a lot of modern day citizens of Virginia are descended from Unionists and can point to relatives who fought to end slavery. Perhaps Black legislators should ask Virginia to vote them a "thank you."
Anyone who thinks they need an apology should ask themselves whether they would have been luckier had their ancestors remained in Africa so that they could now be enjoying the benefits of being a citizen of Darfur in the Sudan, Somalia, or any one of the other pestholes posing as nations on the African continent.
The 62 million dead in WW2 were from an assortment of nations, and were killed by the forces of war, but the Jews were targeted deliberately, and they lost 6 million people.
Having been born and raised in the South and the State of Virginia I must say you are COMPLETELY and ABSOLUTELY wrong. I normally agree with you on issue's but this one you are off base on. The States to your South, until just a few years ago, wouldn't allow Blacks to eat in the same place, drink from the same fountain, ride a bus or go to a school, for no other reason than they were Black. That was a hold over from their loss of the Civil War and continues as we speak. People thought, just bacause we changed the laws, that Southern Fascist would just go away. That's totally rediculous and to ignore the TRUTH that these people STILL hold the same hatreds and beliefs as those who held HUMANS as slaves is to ignore the bumper stickers that say over the Confederate Flag, Heritage not Hate. Now I do not know how you hate people more than hold them in bondage. NO! You are wrong and if ANY People need to "Just be American's" it's the sick LOSERS who still cling to the Old South and the Confederate Flag.
i agree with your earlier comments. I am a black person who hates the phrase african american. i never have been and never will be african. of course my skin lets me know that's where slaves were taken from. but that was generations ago.
i do think its time most blacks moved on and focused on other things besides slavery. we have black millionaires and businessmen, we even have someone who is a potential presidential candidate (besides that idiot al sharpton)
that doesn't negate slavery or say that it was an atrocity, it just means that it was a long time ago and we've got more pressing issues to focus on, like black on black crime.
He should be kicked out now from any post in the GOP.
But say, Demme Clowns, when are you planning to do the same to KKK Byrd? Slight case of hypocrisy here, isn't it, especially when Steppin' Fetchit Osama, oops, Obama openly admires the white-sheeted bigot.
We'll clean our closet - it is high time that the Neo-Fascists and Plantation Slaves of the Democratic Party did the same to theirs. But they won't because all they know how to do is make noise and advocate surrender.
Race hustlers are always on the look out for public speaking goofs like this %u2013 all in order to stir up racial strife and then use it for their own crass political gain.
I don't owe anyone an apology for slavery. My ancestors (meaning my mom and dad) immigrated to the U.S. in 1950. They were decent, hard-working people, and they had nothing to do with slavery. I will fight tooth and nail if someone tries to make ME pay for any of it. Like Mr. Hargrove said, "Get over it!" It didn't happen to YOU!
I didn't start out prejudiced against blacks, but I'm becoming that way listening to them whine about what happened to their great- great- great- great- great- (and who knows how many more?) grandparents. They use slavery as an excuse for their anti-white behavior, and what amazes me is that people continue bending over backwards to let them get away with it. The last thing blacks needed was a holiday like Martin Luther King Jr. Day to celebrate their anti-white sentiments. They can celebrate "Black Pride," but can I celebrate "White Pride"?
If blacks quit showing prejudice against whites, maybe they'll find that whites quit showing prejudice against them. You can't have equality and "black pride" at the same time. You're either the same as whites, or you're different and should be treated differently. Which is it?
Blacks were not the only slaves, Jews were n0ot the only genocide victims.
I don't owe anyone an apology for slavery. My ancestors (meaning my mom and dad) immigrated to the U.S. in 1950. They were decent, hard-working people, and they had nothing to do with slavery. I will fight tooth and nail if someone tries to make ME pay for any of it. Like Mr. Hargrove said, "Get over it!" It didn't happen to YOU!
I didn't start out prejudiced against blacks, but I'm becoming that way listening to them whine about what happened to their great- great- great- great- great- (and who knows how many more?) grandparents. They use slavery as an excuse for their anti-white behavior, and what amazes me is that people continue bending over backwards to let them get away with it. The last thing blacks needed was a holiday like Martin Luther King Jr. Day to celebrate their anti-white sentiments. They can celebrate "Black Pride," but can I celebrate "White Pride"?
If blacks quit showing prejudice against whites, maybe they'll find that whites quit showing prejudice against them. You can't have equality and "black pride" at the same time. You're either the same as whites, or you're different and should be treated differently. Which is it?
WHAT'S DONE IS DONE. MY UNCLE WAS KILLED DURING AN ITALIAN OFFENSIVE INTO ALBANIA BY THE GREEKS IN THE 30'S. SHOULD I DEMAND REPARATIONS FROM GREECE? POLITICIANS AND RULERS OF COUNTRIES ARE AND HAVE BEEN RUTHLESS MONSTERS WHO CAUSE ALL THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD.....GREED AND POWER DRIVES THEM. THEY AS WELL AS THE HUMAN BEING, WILL NEVER CHANGE UNTIL THE WORLD ENDS; HOPEFULLY REAL SOON AT THE RATE WE ARE GOING.
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