Mandela Barnes comments on teaching of slavery and founding of country draw fire from Republicans

Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, is coming under fire for comments he made nearly a year ago about the teaching of slavery and the founding of the country.

"Imagine being so ashamed of how we got to this place in America that you outlaw teaching it," Barnes said in an apparent reference to slavery.

"You know, and things were bad," Barnes said in a video clip of an Aug. 19 event in Portage that was posted on Twitter by conservative talk-radio host Dan O'Donnell of WISN (AM-1130).

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"Things were terrible," Barnes said. "The founding of this nation? Awful. You know, but we are here now and we should commit ourselves to doing everything we can do to repair the harm because it still exists today.

"The harm, the damage, whether it was colonization or whether it was slavery. The impacts are felt today and they're going to continue to be felt unless we address it in a meaningful way."

The Barnes campaign defended the remarks.

“Painting the Lt. Governor’s comment as anything other than a condemnation of slavery is a sad GOP attempt to distract from Ron Johnson trying to literally overthrow the government of this country and strip reproductive rights from millions of Americans," Barnes spokeswoman Maddy McDaniel said.

McDaniel's statement apparently alludes to a report that Johnson's office tried to give a list of fake electors to then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the Capitol insurrection. Johnson has disputed the reports.

McDaniel said that Barnes recalled saying to the group in Portage that Wisconsin has always led the way in doing the right thing. She said he recalled referencing that Wisconsin was the first state to declare the Fugitive Slave Act as unconstitutional and was the first state to pass the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote.

Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who is running in the Republican primary for governor, called on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to repudiate Barnes' remarks.

Kleefisch tweeted: "I love America and our founding principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Evers needs to call out his lieutenant governor for these awful comments about our great nation. Unless of course he agrees…"

Kleefisch has aligned herself with conservative candidates in local school board races who have raised concerns about the perceived teaching of "critical race theory," a framework for understanding systemic racism.

In February, Evers vetoed legislation that would have barred Wisconsin schools from teaching students and staff lessons on systemic racism and sexism — a bill written as part of a national effort by conservatives to scrutinize critical race theory. 

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In a statement, the Republican Party of Wisconsin's rapid response director Mike Marinella said: “Barnes' comments prove why Democrats are advocating for policies that would fundamentally dismantle our country. Our elected officials need to fight for America — not the fringe-left.”

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Barnes is locked in a tight primary. In the latest Marquette University Law School Poll, Barnes held a narrow lead over Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, with state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson further behind.

Barnes recently received the backing of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat from New York.

Barnes has also received endorsements from U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey and U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, of South Carolina.

More: Bice: New super PAC pours more than $450,000 into Senate race after Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes begs for help

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mandela Barnes' comments on slavery, nation's founding draw GOP fire