It seems that The ReidOut never fails to display the extreme hypocrisy of the left. On Thursday’s show, host Joy Reid brought on Tulsa Race Massacre descendent Christy Williams to talk about the 100th anniversary of the heinous attack, but Williams also went on a bizarre tangent about how white people like historian Scott Ellsworth “profit from” the “pain and oppression” of African-Americans despite his four decades writing about racism.
Reid began with a desperate plea for critical race theory and history as a cautionary tale, not a bedtime story to make you feel good. Without evidence, she unsurprisingly attacked white conservatives for wanting American history to be treated like a bedtime story that makes them feel good. She also slammed them for fighting the error-laden 1619 project and to shut down the “intellectual pursuit”: critical race theory.
Cross Connection host Tiffany Cross echoed Reid but took it a step further: “White people can have an important role in this conversation.” According to Cross and Reid, white Tulsans have failed to acknowledge their position as descendants who brutally murdered the black community in Greenwood, Tulsa.
What they failed to acknowledge, however, was the fact that not everyone living in Greenwood is connected to this event, which happened 100 years ago. It should be obvious that people move to and from communities and generations change. But for the liberal media, these people are all still responsible and must acknowledge their family’s involvement.
The plain hypocrisy didn’t stop here, Reid turned to Williams who is a descendent of the Tulsa Massacre and part of the Mass Graves Committee. Seconds after the push for white involvement in the conversations about this event, Williams slammed white author Scott Ellsworth even though he’s spent over four decades researching and writing about the Tulsa Race Massacre. Isn’t white people discussing this event what Reid and her guests wanted? Apparently not (click “expand”):
And you know even Scott Ellsworth who’s on this panel with us tonight, and no offense but he has done some great research about the history of Greenwood and has written many books. So you see a lot of white people who still profit from our pain and from our oppression. And as I serve on the Mass Graves Committee, the Mass Graves Investigation Committee with Scott Ellsworth, they listen to him more than they listen to us. So it is still those white people who are in power, and it's important that we control our own history, we tell our own history, and that, you know, we have to make it clear that what we want for our community.
And as we honor our ancestors, we have this Greenwood Rising History center coming up. But they never did engage with the community on what kind of history is in that museum. Our museum has always been the Dreamwood Cultural Center, and that has been taken from us. And the community feels really slighted on this.
Ellsworth defended himself. While remaining civil, he pointed out Williams frequently speaks at committee meetings, and her ideas are in fact heard. He concluded by emphasizing the importance of both sides working together because “it’s not just a black story, it’s a white story as well.”
It seems that for the left, the black community has the exclusive right to talk and write about their history, but white people still need to talk about and learn this issue and somehow have a role in the conversation. How can they learn and talk about these issues when they get slammed for doing so? And what does this mean for critical race theory and history lessons taught in schools- can only black communities who have ties to these events teach? Perhaps the left is more concerned with controlling the narrative.
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Below is a transcript of the segment, click “expand” to read:
MSNBC's The ReidOut
05/27/2021
7:53 p.m. EasternJOY REID: And Christy, you are a descendant. So, what do you make of that? I mean the fact is you’re living among people who did this to your community and they have all the power still.
CHRISTY WILLIAMS: Yes, they still have all the power. And you know even Scott Ellsworth who’s on this panel with us tonight, and no offense but he has done some great research about the history of Greenwood and has written many books. So you see a lot of white people who still profit from our pain and from our oppression. And as I serve on the Mass Graves Committee, the Mass Graves Investigation Committee with Scott Ellsworth, they listen to him more than they listen to us. So it is still those white people who are in power, and it's important that we control our own history, we tell our own history, and that, you know, we have to make it clear that what we want for our community. And as we honor our ancestors, we have this Greenwood Rising History Center coming up. But they never did engage with the community on what kind of history is in that museum. Our museum has always been the Dreamwood Cultural Center, and that has been taken from us. And the community feels really slighted on this. And then you know I'm also a Creek Freedman descendant. So, you know the Creek Nation kicked the black people out of the tribes in 1979. My family had over 460 acres of land, and we lost that when Oklahoma became a state.
REID: Right
WILLIAMS: And the first law was Jim Crow and they lorded white guardians over our property.
REID: Right, yeah.
WILLIAMS: So you know it's --- it’s --- it’s a double-edged sword for a --- for a descendant like me
REID: Yeah.
WILLIAMS: And for a lot of descendants in Tulsa and these stories are just not being told.
JOY REID: Yeah, what --- what are your thoughts on that Mr. Ellsworth, because that I mean that's just sort of real talk, but what do you—what do you have to say about that?
SCOTT ELLSWORTH: Well, I mean I know Christy. Christy is a member of the public oversight committee who actually directs my committee and the work our scientists are doing. So, you know, she speaks often at the meetings, who’s always welcome to hear from her. But the idea that just because I'm somebody who's written about this that I have some larger sway, that's an issue for your group. But, look, I think there's a couple things here. First of all, there's no question whites in Tulsa don't want to discuss this. That's been the case. I've been writing and researching about this for 45 years. That's the simple fact of the matter.
REID: Yeah.
ELLSWORTH: But the other issue here is that, look, the Tulsa race massacre is the [sic] part of American history.
REID: Yeah, absolutely
ELLSWORTH: You know, it is not just a black story, it's a white story as well
REID: Absolutely
ELLSWORTH: And, you know, that’s why it’s a part of all of our pasts
