Journalist and former MSNBC host Touré Neblett confronted Virginia GOP Senate candidate Corey Stewart for saying “people are sick and tired of talking about race all the time.”
Touré, joining Stewart and guest host Rev. Al Sharpton during Saturday’s edition of “AM Joy,” challenged Stewart on his comments, saying that race was part of “everything” in the U.S.
“This is a white supremacist country and we have to deal with that in every way — in how we relate to the police, in how we relate to jobs, how we relate to the criminal justice everything — everything,” Touré said.
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“And when you talk about how we are obsessed with race, what we hear is ‘I don’t want to deal with race. I want to not talk about it. You should not talk about it,’ ” he continued.
Touré told Stewart that his comments were offensive, adding that Stewart will only have a “sliver” of the black community voting for him with his rhetoric.
“Stop telling me to stop talking about it. This is an incredibly important thing that affects my life and I understand that as a straight white male, that doesn’t affect your life,” he said. “But if you want to represent other people, including black Virginians, then you need to deal with what is affecting their lives,” Touré continued.
Stewart responded that Touré didn’t know much about him or his time chairing the board of supervisors in Prince William County.
Sharpton challenged Stewart to name black leaders who have openly endorsed his campaign.
“Name me the black leaders in Virginia — since you have such a great record in your county — name the black leaders that are supporting you with the Senate,” Sharpton said.
Stewart said he would not name specific individuals.
“You’ve talked about all of these leaders you’ve talked to,” Sharpton said. “Name we three black leaders. Name me one.”
“Here’s the thing, Reverend, you’re back in the 1960s,” Stewart said.
Sharpton then said he was talking about “right now in 2018.”
“Corey Stewart is running. He has said on national TV he has been voted on several times by blacks in this county and I’m asking him for the third time to name me one black leader that’s supporting you for the Senate,” Sharpton said.
Stewart did not comply with Sharpton’s request.
Stewart has drawn controversy throughout his campaign with his defense of Confederate monuments and for his alleged ties to white nationalists. Stewart also told told Hill.TV earlier this year that he didn’t believe the Civil War was about slavery, but about states’ rights.