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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) dismissed reparations for descendants of slaves as unnecessary, citing a questionable reason on Tuesday.
McConnell's comments came the day before a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on the issue—the first hearing of its kind in over ten years. They also came the day before Juneteenth, which celebrates the anniversary of former slaves in Texas learning of their freedom two years after winning it.
Judging by McConnell's comments, we don't think he'll be celebrating.
Watch below:
McConnell repeated the irrelevant claim that "none of us currently living are responsible" for slavery, before continuing:
"We've tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a civil war, by passing a landmark civil rights legislation, we've elected an African American president. I think we're always a work in progress in this country, but no one currently alive was responsible for that."
McConnell's comments were criticized far and wide for a multitude of reasons.
First of all, the African-American president to whom he's referring—former President Barack Obama—was obstructed by McConnell at nearly every turn.
What's more, many pointed out that Obama wasn't elected as a form of reparations, nor was the Civil Rights bill adopted for that reason.
Some weren't surprised.
For more reliable information about reparations, you can watch the The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties hearing on H.R. 40 here. H.R. 40 would allow for research into possible reparation proposals and their eventual consideration.