CNN’s Don Lemon got a history lesson on Monday after he tried to tell royal commentator Hilary Fordwich that the royal family needs to pay reparations for colonialism.
The activist anchor was left utterly speechless when Fordwich reminded him that slavery centuries ago was first abolished by the British.
Fordwich also mentioned that 2,000 Royal Naval men died on the high seas “because the African kings were rounding up their own people.”
She then suggested that the descendants of men who died fighting against slavery also deserve these reparations.
The Royal Navy saved an estimated 150,000-200,000 people from slavery from 1808 to 1863 in what was ” by far the most significant human-rights action at sea during the 19th century,” according to Maritime Executive.
Fordwich again asked, “who was rounding up their own people and having them handcuffed in cages?”
Totally unprepared, Don Lemon ended the interview by saying, “it’s an interesting discussion.”
It was hilarious! Someone should check on Don Lemon.
Lemon: Well, this is coming when you know, there’s all of this wealth, and you hear about it comes as England is facing rising costs of living, a living crisis, austerity budget cuts, and so on. And then you have those who are asking for reparations for colonialism, and they’re wondering, you know, $100 billion, $24 billion here and there, $500 million there. Some people want to be paid back, and members of the public are wondering, why are we suffering when you are, you know, you have all of this vast wealth? Those are legitimate concerns.
Fordwich: Well, I think you’re right about reparations in terms of if people want it, though, what they need to do is, you always need to go back to the beginning of a supply chain. Where was the beginning of the supply chain? That was in Africa and across the entire world when slavery was taking place, which was the first nation in the world that abolished slavery? The first nation in the world to abolish it, it was started by William Wilberforce, was the British. In Great Britain, they abolished slavery. 2,000 Naval men died on the high seas trying to stop slavery. Why? because the African kings were rounding up their own people. They had them in cages, waiting on the beaches. No one was running into Africa to get them. And I think you’re totally right. If reparations need to be paid, we need to go right back to the beginning of that supply chain and say, who was rounding up their own people and having them handcuffed in cages? Absolutely. That’s where they should start. And maybe, I don’t know, the descendants of those families where they died in the high seas, trying to stop the slavery, those families should receive something to I think, at the same time.
Lemon: It’s an interesting discussion…
The same could be said about descendants of the 360,222 Union Soldiers who died fighting to end slavery in the American Civil War.
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