Radio advertisements in Arkansas backing a Republican incumbent recently went viral after trying to invoke fear into Black voters by claiming that “white Democrats will be lynching Black folk again.”
Black Americans for the President’s Agenda, a right-wing political action committee who created, paid and released the controversial radio ad are in support of U.S. Rep. French Hill’s re-election campaign for Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District.
(photo credit: Twitter)
The ad which aired in predominantly Black areas, compared Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual assault hearing to lynching, warning Black Arkansans that Democrats winning Congress could call for segregation again.
The ad features a conversation between women who appear to be Black and one woman says, “Our congressman, French Hill, and the Republicans know that it’s dangerous to change the presumption of innocence to the presumption of guilt, especially for Black men.”
She continues, “If the Democrats can do that to a white justice of the Supreme Court with no evidence, no corroboration, and all of her witnesses including her best friend say it didn’t happen, what will happen to our husbands, our fathers, or our sons when a white girls lies on them?”
The second woman replies, “White Democrats will be lynching black folk again.” She later adds, “We can’t afford to let white Democrats take us back to bad old days of race verdicts, life sentences, and lynchings when a white girl screams rape.”
PAC also released a second radio advertisement discussing abortion.
“The Democrats don’t care that Black babies are three times more likely to die in abortion than white babies,” says one of the women. “Girl, please. Sanger’s no hero. Hmmm. She created Planned Parenthood to exterminate Black folks.” The ad was referring to Margaret Sanger the founder of the sexual health care organization.
The overtly racist radio ad circulated on social media and drew a wide array of criticism. One person said it played into “every angry Black woman trope.”
Hill denounced the ad and said it was “outrageous” in a tweet on Thursday.
“I do not support that message, and there is no place in Arkansas for this nonsense,” he stated.
However, Hill’s opponent, Democratic nominee Clarke Tucker, faulted Hill for the radio ad and said he “will have to live with the kind of campaign they’re running.”
“This radio ad is disgraceful & has no place in our society,” said Tucker tweeted. “We won’t let these shameful tactics distract us from our fight to stand up for the people in #AR02 on the critical issues in our lives.”
This is a real radio ad currently running in Arkansas in support of Republican Congressman French Hill on radio stations targeted to the African American community. I don't even have words to describe it. pic.twitter.com/vpzt1nGPlc
— Ben Tribbett (@notlarrysabato) October 18, 2018
