Black conservative radio host Shelley Wynter outraged many when he split the black male electorate in the US into “home African Americans and field African Americans” during an appearance Wednesday on CNN.
Wynter told NBC News on Thursday that he knew his comments would be “a bazooka blast” but that he still stood by them.
On CNN News Central, Wynter discussed with co-host Sarah Sidner whether black people will vote for the Democratic presidential candidate, as they have done in the past, or vote Republican in greater numbers.
“Let me boil down this election in the African American community to something very simple: I will refer to the great Malcolm X,” he said. “This race is between House African Americans and field African Americans, and field African Americans vote for [Donald] Trump.”
During slavery in the US, “house slaves” worked in the main house and generally performed indoor tasks. ‘Field slaves’ worked hard in the fields and lived in decimated neighborhoods.
The invocation of slavery seemed to baffle Sidner and guest Michael Blake, a former adviser to Barack Obama. The comment also set off an avalanche of criticism on social media aimed at Wynter, whose radio show “The Shelley Wynter Show” takes place in Atlanta.
At the same time, Wynter’s comments highlighted the intensity surrounding the Black male vote and how influential it could be in November.
“I was shocked not only by the choice of words, but also conceptually by what was said,” said Lesley Mac, an organizer and activist from Brooklyn. Mac added that the closeness of the race has made the black vote a coveted bloc, drawing more attention from both candidates than in the past. “This year it kind of reached a fever pitch,” she said.
Rashawn Ray, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, said Wynter’s comments “speak to a growing social class divide between the haves and have-nots among black Americans.”
“These are the types of comments that often happen behind closed doors within the black community.”
Wynter said he expected the response — and was unimpressed by it. “I’m a radio show host,” he said. “If I choose the Jets over the Giants, I get criticized. No matter what I say, people won’t agree with me.”
In this case, however, Wynter doubled down and said he used part of a famous 1963 speech by Malcolm X. In “The Race Problem in America,” Malcolm X equated modern black people who did not want to separate themselves from the power of power. white society to house slaves; he then made a connection between black people seeking racial liberation and enslaved people working in the fields, seeking ways to escape, and openly “hating his master.”
Wynter said anyone who has a problem with invoking Malcolm X and slavery is “overanalyzing it.”
“There is an argument that we are all technically slaves to this system, whether you are Democrat or Republican,” he said. ‘No one is called a slave. It uses an analogy in the context of what it was used, the same as when Malcolm was explaining something, and he didn’t call black people slaves when he gave that speech.
“He said this was a matter of attitude. There are people in the black community who, when they are close to power – that is, masters – take over the traits and defend that power. And that is what we see now with this race.”
Wynter said the black men he interacts with every day support Trump in real life. “They are construction workers and electricians who don’t watch the mainstream media,” he said. “Their lives are just about living every day, trying to get ahead and take care of their family.”
Mac sees it differently. She said Wynter’s comments were misleading. “Given Shelley’s own profession, I think it’s just wild to use the language of our oppressors for political gain,” she said. “It’s a disservice to all of us, both as voters and as Black Americans. Malcolm criticized America’s systemic oppression and did not support an alt-right, authoritative agenda like Donald Trump represents. It is an insult to Malcolm’s legacy and lifelong struggle for the empowerment of Black people against structural racism.”
She added that Wynter’s inflammatory comments were strategic. “He’s kind of exposing this Republican strategy of reducing Black voters, even conservative ones, to simplistic stereotypes that perpetuate division, rather than actually addressing the things that our community needs.”
Ray said Wynters’ comments were “problematic” but also revealing in a deeper sense. “There is nothing that compares to slavery in the United States or for Black Americans,” he said.
But, he added, Wynter’s choice of phrasing speaks to class differences, colorism and other divisions within Black communities, and is openly stated.
“The main problem is that they rarely venture into the public sphere where other people can listen and also criticize and respond to those specific feelings that often occur in barbershops, on ball fields, at dinner tables, and hanging out with friends.” Ray said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
