It was one of the first moments in the Washington spotlight for junior congressman Mike Johnson. In 2019, the Republican from Louisiana was the ranking member of a U.S. House subcommittee discussing the controversial subject of slavery reparations. The lawmaker and his wife, who are white, “took custody of Michael and made him part of our family 22 years ago when we were just newlyweds, and Michael was just 14 and out on the streets and nowhere to go and on a very dangerous path.”
“liking” has nothing to do with it, acknowledging that someone in power has generations of privilege that enabled them to get there that others don’t and which exists on their backs (and very much did not end when slavery was
abolishedprivatised), and how that impacts society is merely stating facts.The facts that these facts make you uncomfortable is the issue, not the reality, and that’s for you to work out for yourself.
Systemic racism isn’t real