Reagan Gomez-Preston Calls Out Romanticizing Of Slavery In U.S. In Response To Bill O’Reilly
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By Rachaell Davis ·

It’s no secret that conservative political pundit Bill O’Reilly’s abrasive and often racially offensive rhetoric knows no limits, but he stooped to a new low with his recent comments about slavery.

First Lady Michelle Obama brought the 2016 DNC crowd to their feet on Monday night when she delivered a raw, honest and powerful speech that included a pointed reminder about how it was the hands of African-American slaves that built the White House. “I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves,” she said firmly. “And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent Black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.” 

O’Reilly addressed the FLOTUS’ comments on his show The O’Reilly Factor on Tuesday, with a response that implied African-American slaves were somehow better off than has been documented and proven throughout the course of history. “Slaves that worked there were well-fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government, which stopped hiring slave labor in 1802,” he said. “However, the feds did not forbid subcontractors from using slave labor. So, Michelle Obama is essentially correct in citing slaves as builders of the White House, but there were others working as well.”

A combination of the FLOTUS comments and O’Reilly’s ridiculed response prompted actress and activist Reagan Gomez-Preston to spark a pointed social media discussion about the skewered historical view America has on the history of slavery in the U.S. Sharing her personal experience with learning about the history of slavery during a tour of the Whitney Plantation in Louisiana, Reagan blasted the idea that slavery wasn’t “that bad” by rehashing stories told to her by the tour guide. 




Her commentary soon sparked an informative Twitter discussion where she referenced an offensive, romanticized slavery animation that went viral in early 2016 and also expressed her surprise to some people being shocked by the comments made by FLOTUS during her DNC Speech.







We’re just about 150% sure that the enslaved African-Americans, who weren’t even legally considered human beings but instead regarded as property, would have much to say to combat the ridiculous idea that they were well taken care of and had “decent lodgings.” Given that these men were stripped of their freedom for decades and FORCED into the labor services they provided, describing their treatment as anything other than inhumane is just simply inaccurate.
 

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