House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is being called out for a racially charged college newspaper editorial he wrote in 1992 that compared Black conservatives to slaves.
In the essay titled “The Black Conservative Phenomenon” in the Binghamton University newspaper, Mr. Jeffries wrote that the rise of the Black conservative “threatens [to] sustain the oppression of the Black masses.”
“The House Negro of the slavery era and the Black conservative of today are both opportunists interested in securing some measure of happiness for themselves within the existing social order. In both cases, the social order has Blacks occupying the lowest societal echelon,” wrote Mr. Jeffries.
Criticism of the newly resurfaced editorial came from Black conservatives including Rep. Byron Donalds, Florida Republican.
“Should Hakeem Jeffries apologize? Obviously, for what he wrote in that essay, 100%,” he said on Fox News.
“Here’s the bigger thing. I’m kind of over the phony apologies,” he said. “Let’s have a real debate about Black conservatism versus Black liberalism. Let’s actually have a real, honest conversation about whose policies are actually going to unleash not just Black America but all of America, because I think that’s the debate that the American people need to have right now today.”
The Washington Times reached out to Mr. Jeffries but did not hear back.
Mr. Jeffries, New York Democrat, penned the editorial in response to President George H.W. Bush’s nomination of Judge Clarence Thomas, a Black conservative, to the Supreme Court.
He also wrote in the essay that the “problem with the Black conservative politician of today” is that their agenda does not include “the upliftment of their people.” He accused Black conservatives of being “right-wing opportunists” who spout conservative ideology and in exchange are “elevated to positions historically reserved for whites.”
Days after the editorial ran, his uncle, Black studies professor Leonard Jeffries, who had lost his job over making antisemitic remarks, spoke on the college campus.
The younger Mr. Jeffries has since claimed to have only a “vague recollection” about the antisemitism controversy surrounding his uncle.
Mr. Jeffries has told reporters he wasn’t keyed into the news about his uncle, saying that’s understandable because there wasn’t non-stop Internet news at the time.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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