Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke took an unconventional approach to reaching out to African-American voters Friday, meeting with a small group representing a community of slave descendants in South Carolina and saying white Americans do not know the full story of slavery.
O’Rourke spent Friday at a Baptist church in Beaufort, S.C., where the former Texas congressman met with leaders of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, a culture of coastal slave descendants whose separation from the mainland allowed them to retain much of their African heritage, including a unique dialect and skills such as cast-net fishing and basket weaving.
BETO O’ROURKE BACKS OFF OPPOSITION TO REPARATIONS
“White Americans do not know this story,” O’Rourke said after a tour of the church’s grounds, where he learned that anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman had lived in the area.Video
The former Texas congressman also addressed reparations, which he supports, though he was not clear about the specifics of what they’d entail.
“The answer is yes. We must repair this country from its very founding, kidnapping peoples from West Africa, bringing them here in bondage to literally build the wealth of the United States,” O’Rourke said. “The path there, though, has to come through learning and telling this American story with everyone. Then, I think, we define what reparations look like.” – READ MORE