MSNBC host Al Sharpton said on “Morning Joe” Wednesday that claims that former President Donald Trump helped build economic stability in the Black community are “absurd.”
Sharpton said, “Let’s not forget that after Reconstruction was stopped and we got into this era that ended with Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, there was no legal change until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. This is a period that spans almost a century. We are the only race that by law cannot do certain things. We had prejudices against other races that came into this country, but we were designated by law to not have equal rights. And that was my parents, my grandparents. So you’re right. You can’t erase that in one generation because by law you can’t do certain things.”
He added: “It’s absurd to act as if Donald Trump did anything. You know, Joe, I’ve known Donald Trump for 35 years, and I’ve fought with him, I’ve met with him, I’ve tried to get him to do things. I’ve never seen a black employee in Donald Trump’s office. Not one. He always said climbing Trump Tower was like climbing the Rocky Mountains. The higher you go, the whiter it gets. I didn’t see a single black employee at his trial. So what has he done for black people? He didn’t do it as a citizen, and he didn’t do it as president, as Steve Ratner’s chart shows.”
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