(This post may contain disputed claims. We make no assertions as to the validity of the information presented by our Opinion Columnist. We are an opinion blog, not a traditional news outlet, and this post should be treated as such. Enjoy.)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), and other top Democrats pulled a political stunt in an attempt to show solidarity with the black community over the death of George Floyd. However, they faced intense backlash for their efforts. You don’t want to miss this.
Congressional Democrats wore a traditional African cloth to announce Monday sweeping legislation that aims to increase the accountability of police officers.
Pelosi, Schumer, and other Democrats wore Kente cloth stoles and knelt on the floor of the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center for 8 minutes and 46 seconds — the time former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee was on the neck of George Floyd — before a press conference announcing the proposed “Justice in Policing Act.”
Kente cloth “comes from Ghana, where people wear it to show patriotism or celebrate a special occasion,” as noted by The Washington Post.
The photo-op moment quickly went viral on social media — but not in a way the Democrats had hoped. Many people from the black community rightfully mocked and criticized the Democrats for their shameful political stunt.
Army combat veteran Jeffrey A Dove Jr., a Republican running in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, said on Twitter, “Does wearing kente cloth and taking a knee mean you are all of a sudden ‘down with the struggle’? This is why people hate disingenuous politicians. Speaker Pelosi was there for the 94 crime bill. She is part of the problem.”
Does wearing kente cloth and taking a knee mean you are all of a sudden "down with the struggle"? This is why people hate disingenuous politicians. Speaker Pelosi was there for the 94 crime bill. She is part of the problem. #VA10 https://t.co/uLbdwOgOoS
— Jeffery A Dove Jr. (@JefferyADoveJr) June 9, 2020
Washington Post Global Opinions Editor Karen Attiah said: “I look at this and think, who is the audience for this performance? Why was this necessary?”
I look at this and think, who is the audience for this performance?
Why was this necessary? https://t.co/RGFoGRCHCi
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) June 8, 2020
Pro-life advocate Obianuju Ekeocha released a scathing video condemning the virtue-signaling Democrats for “ignorantly using the Kente fabric as a prop in their virtue signaling.”
“I was just looking online today like most of you and what did I see? A bunch of Democrat politicians kneeling down, of which I have nothing to say about that because I am not an American, however, they were all having around their necks this colorful fabric which I’m sure they put around their necks as some kind of mark or show of unity or solidarity with black people,” Ekeocha said. “So, in other words, they put in for the Kente material or this colorful fabric they had around their necks as some kind of placating sign or symbol to show that they are not racist and they are together with black people,” she added.
“Excuse me, dear Democrats, in your tokenism, you didn’t wait to find out that this thing that you’re hanging around your neck is not just some African uniform, it’s actually the Kente material,” Ekeocha said. “The Kente belongs to the Ghanaian people, mainly the Ashanti Tribe. Excuse me, Democrats. Don’t treat Africans like we’re children. These fabrics and these colorful things that we have within our culture and tradition, they all mean something to us. I know you look at us and you say, ‘oh Africans are so cute in all your colorful dresses,’” she continued.
“Well, some of those dresses and patterns and colors and fabrics actually do mean something to us,” Ekeocha said. “Some of them belong to ancient tribes and mean something to them. So why are you using it your own show of non-racism or your own show of virtue? Why are you using the Kente material to signal your virtue? Stop it. We are not children. Africans are not children. And leave our tradition and our culture to us and if you don’t know much about it, ask somebody. I’m sure there would have been something else you could have done to show your solidarity with black people instead of taking the Kente material and making a little show of it.”
Watch as an upset Ekeocha gives the Democrats a much-needed education:
I had to say something about the American politicians shameless and ignorantly using the Kente fabric as a prop in their virtue signaling.
*I’m usually more mild mannered than this so please forgive me, I’m upset. pic.twitter.com/aZMjgsHujS
— Obianuju Ekeocha (@obianuju) June 8, 2020
The shameful political stunt was so bizarre and out of touch that some people didn’t even believe it was real.
“I know we are in unexpected times and anything is possible but listen man I did not have ‘Pelosi in Kente cloth’ on the bingo card,” GEN editor Hanif Abdurraqib posted on Twitter. “I was so certain that picture wasn’t real at first that I didn’t even bother to look for proof in either direction. I just mumbled ‘damn people on here are getting real good at photoshop’ and kept moving along.”
I was so certain that picture wasn't real at first that I didn't even bother to look for proof in either direction. I just mumbled "damn people on here are getting real good at photoshop" and kept moving along
— Hanif Abdurraqib (@NifMuhammad) June 8, 2020
Frederick Joseph, the author of “The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person,” wasn’t pleased with the congressional stunt.
“I think that the optics of seeing older white people wearing a traditional African pattern, kneeling for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the time period which George Floyd was killed, it was kind of…a little traumatizing to see white people kneeling the same amount of time as a police officer kneeled on Floyd’s neck,” he explained. “I don’t think anything will change if Nancy Pelosi didn’t understand the tone-deafness of ‘Oh yeah let me definitely put on this cloth.’”
He was also disappointed in the Congressional Black Caucus for providing the stoles.
“I think the Kente cloth thing completely overshadowed something that was trending toward something good,” he said. “The substance here is…actually stopping black people from being murdered.”
This is sad, but it is an election year. Nancy and Chucky, we know exactly what you’re doing. The Democrats are trying to convince black people to once again vote for them. Then, those same people can be forgotten about by the Democrat politicians again — until the next election.
When are people going to wake up and realize Pelosi and her band of fools don’t give a crap about anyone except when it suits them for political gain? These Democrats are a disgrace.
