Ben Carson has not been a favorite of many in the Black community since joining the Trump administration as Housing and Urban Development Secretary, and the retired neurosurgeon’s take on reparations won’t endear him to the growing number of people who are for it. He gave his arguments against reparations during an interview recently and the reporter wasn’t letting him off easy, KNX1070 Radio reported.
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During an interview on CBS This Morning with CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan, Carson was asked: “When you think about the conversations that have happened regarding reparations, do you think that’s something worth considering when you look at the inequity with African American wealth versus [that of] white Americans?”
Carson replied, “What I would say about reparations is, you know, show me a mechanism that works. You know, I did my DNA analysis. OK. I’m 77 percent sub-Saharan African, 20 percent European, 3 percent Asian. So how do you proportion that out to everybody?”
Duncan pressed and asked, “If you can prove you’re a descendant of a slave, though, do you think it’s worth having a conversation?”
To which Carson answered, “Yeah, but what percentage of money do you get? What percentage of reparation? No one is ever going to be able to work that out…Proportionately, you’re not going to be able to figure it out. And where do you stop it? It’s unworkable. So, I would much rather concentrate on how do we provide the opportunities for people to get into a better economic situation now.”
“The issue of reparations has received renewed interest this year with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) introducing a bill in the House that calls for the establishment of a commission to study the impact of slavery and the continued discrimination against Black people. before the commission makes recommendations on reparations. And Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful, introduced a similar measure in the Senate this spring,” The Grio reported.
