Former MSNBC host Touré Neblett called Condoleezza Rice a "soldier for white supremacy" in a scathing op-ed on Friday over her criticism of critical race theory.
"Condoleezza Rice’s recent appearance on The View was offensive and disgusting for many reasons but she was who we thought she was: a soldier for white supremacy. Her thoughts on Critical Race Theory are completely white centric, as in, they revolve around the thoughts and needs of white people," Neblett, who goes by his first name, wrote for The Grio.
Rice grew up in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, and went on to be the first Black woman to serve as secretary of state. In an appearance on "The View," Rice decried the teaching of critical race theory, which in a broad definition examines how institutions and power structures affect racial minorities, as needlessly divisive.
"One of the worries that I have about the way that we’re talking about race is that it either seems so big that somehow White people now have to feel guilty for everything that happened in the past – I don’t think that’s very productive – or Black people have to feel disempowered by race," Rice said.
"I would like Black kids to be completely empowered, to know that they are beautiful in their Blackness, but in order to do that I don’t have to make White kids feel bad for being White," she said.
Proponents of CRT frequently accuse its opponents of opposing the teaching of slavery, Jim Crow and other historic atrocities and injustices.
Neblett, who co-hosted MSNBC's daytime opinion show "The Cycle" from 2012 until its cancellation for poor ratings in 2015, blasted Rice for what he said was too much concern for White children at the expense of Black ones.
"[W]hite children and adults should absolutely feel bad about the past atrocities committed by white Americans," Neblett wrote. "They should feel guilty. They should cringe at what their ancestors did. They should also understand that modern white power is directly related to those atrocities."
"On The View, Rice suggests that learning about America’s racial history could make Black children feel disempowered by race but it had the exact opposite impact on me. Just because the stories are hard to hear does not mean that it will damage the listeners," he added.
RealClearPolitics' Tom Bevan slammed Neblett's take as "absolutely disgusting."
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Critical race theory and its implementation in schools has been one of the top cultural issues in the United States this year. It's even played a role in the Virginia gubernatorial race, with Democrat Terry McAuliffe decrying GOP opposition to it and calling even its mentioning a racial "dog whistle."