Jemele Hill made headlines once again for speaking her mind, and her white counterparts are seeing red.
On Sunday, June 6, Hill took to her Twitter, where she aired her feelings about Sen. Joe Manchin following a post from The Associated Press reporting the West Virginia Democrat would “not vote for an overhaul of U.S. election law, virtually guaranteeing the failure of a top Biden administration priority.” It added, “Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia also restated his opposition to changing the filibuster.”
Manchin’s decision not to vote for the legislation may prove to be costly. The Los Angeles Times reported that one of the many provisions includes a policy that requires states to offer 15 days of early voting and allow no-excuse absentee balloting, which would be significant, especially to those in underrepresented communities. It would also require states to register eligible voters and offer same-day voter registration automatically.
Manchin told “Fox News Sunday” over the weekend that he will not vote for the bill because it is too partisan. He added, “It’s the wrong piece of legislation to bring our country together and unite our country, and I’m not supporting that because I think it would divide us more. I don’t want to be in a country that’s divided any further.”
Politicians shutting down a bill that would aid Black and brown people didn’t shock Hill, who later wrote, “This is so on brand for this country.” The host of “Jemele Hill is Unbothered” added, “Record number of Black voters show up to save this democracy, only for white supremacy to be upheld by a cowardly, power-hungry white dude.” She ended her statement by calling the senator “a clown.”
The white-lash ensued almost immediately. Conservative writer Kimberly Morin accused Hill of overusing the “white supremacy” card, writing, “When you continue to use ‘white supremacy’ and ‘racism’ as a reason for EVERYTHING you disagree with, you lose the argument because neither of those terms mean ANYTHING anymore.” She added, “If you can’t have an honest discussion, you fail and that’s on YOU.” Morin’s garnered over a thousand likes. However, Hill quickly fired back, writing, “Dismantling voting rights and making it more difficult for people to vote is the very essence of white supremacy and always has been. This isn’t even a debate.”
Matt Walsh wrote, “Jemele Hill has gotten wealthy and famous by complaining about ‘white supremacy.’ If we really had ‘white supremacy’ in this country, that would not be a viable business model.”
Outkick also reported on the news, where readers appeared to be just as angry, including one user who wrote, “The standard response whenever Liberals don’t agree with something — racism. People are on to this game.”
“Can’t believe anyone reads/listened to her but other BLM anarchists gangsta-types,” wrote a fourth. “Her inflammatory rhetoric is designed to pour jet fuel on their toxic hatred. … She no doubt achieves her purpose.”
However, several people came to the defense of the former ESPN anchor, including Pastor John Pavlovitz who agreed with Hill, commenting, “If you deny and silence the votes and voices of people of color, you’re a racist. White people, sorry if that’s offensive to your fragile sensibilities. Stop supporting racism and it won’t be.”
“I see no reason why anyone who isn’t a racist would be angered at what Jemele Hill said about Joe Manchin,” wrote another “If one actively works to block voting rights of people of color to benefit their power, they’re a racist, quite a corrupt one at that. Period. Do not excuse it.”
Hill seemingly spent a small portion of Monday afternoon responding to angry white people on Twitter, including asking Walsh when exactly did white supremacy end. “Perhaps I missed it,” she added.
