As a Black woman from Texas, I’ve seen firsthand how attempts to erase our history are nothing more than a modern-day continuation of systemic oppression. Rep. Jasmine Crockett stood up on Capitol Hill and called out the nonsense that some of my home state’s GOP representatives are trying to push through.
Let me break this down: They’re not just talking about removing diversity programs. They’re trying to wipe out the very narrative of our lived experiences. Crockett’s powerful words cut right to the heart of the matter when she challenged her colleagues to explain their bizarre claims of white oppression.
“You tell me which white men were dragged out of their homes. You tell me which one of them got dragged all the way across an ocean and told that ‘you are going to go and work. We are going to steal your wives, we are going to rape your wives’ — that didn’t happen [to the white community]. That is oppression,” she declared. And she’s speaking a truth my grandparents and great-grandparents knew all too well.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) calls out Republicans trying to redefine “oppression” to say white people are being oppressed:
“It is white men on this side of the aisle telling us, people of color on this side of the aisle, that y’all are the ones being oppressed. pic.twitter.com/MGAfzz4QwV
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) November 20, 2024
When Crockett says, “We didn’t ask to be here. We not the same migrants that y’all constantly come up against. We didn’t run away from home, we were stolen,” she’s speaking for generations of Black Americans who’ve been fighting for recognition and respect.
The irony isn’t lost on me. The same folks who talk about “taking back” America are the ones trying to erase the very history that shows how this country was built. Donald Trump’s plans to crack down on diversity initiatives? That’s not progress. That’s a step backward.
Crockett’s most powerful moment came when she challenged her colleagues directly: “So yeah, we are going to sit here and be offended when you want to sit here and act like — and don’t let it escape you that it is white men on this side of the aisle telling us, people of color on this side of the aisle that y’all are the ones being oppressed.”
Her final statement is a call to action that resonates with every Black person who’s ever been told to “get over” our history: “Diversity works, and until you can show me data that says otherwise, I think that we need to go back to being a country that listens to experts and gets out of our feelings and recognizes again that racism is real in this country.”
As a Black Texan, I say: Preach, Congresswoman. Preach.
