White Politician Tells NAACP Her White Father Was a White Slave

I’m just gonna’ get right into it: In an attempt to defend a trash bill that would force public colleges and universities in Kentucky to get rid of their diversity departments, a 68-year-old white elected official told a predominantly Black audience that her white father was a white slave. Not even Armando Iannucci would write a scene this stupid and unbelievable.

“My father was a slave, just to a white man and he was white,” Rep. Jennifer Decker (R) recently told the audience at a NAACP event. Her father (who, again, was white) was born on a dirt farm in the 1930s and his mother was the illegitimate child of “a very prominent person,” according to the Courier Journal. The very prominent person was apparently “kind enough” to let the poor white family work “for him as slaves.” The situation doesn’t sound great, sure, but Decker still made two major historical errors here. 1) Slavery was abolished in 1865, close to seven decades before her father was born. And 2) Her father was *checks notes for the 200th time* white.

Decker’s the sponsor of Kentucky House Bill 9, a state education bill that would get rid of DEI (diversity, education, and inclusion) initiatives, which she believes makes secondary education “divided, more expensive, and less tolerant,” according to Louisville Public Media. She was invited to the NAACP event in early February to, essentially, discuss what the fuck she’s talking about. During a Q&A portion, an audience member asked Decker if her family played any role in the slave trade, and instead of saying “no” or “I don’t know” or nothing, she went with, “Well my white dad was a white slave.”

The Courier Journal’s Metro Columnist, Joseph Gerth, summarized her comment beautifully:

It was a moment that, in many ways, proved how badly diversity, equity and inclusion programs–this year’s chosen bogeyman of Kentucky’s right-wing politicians–are needed in Kentucky’s schools.

If HB9, which was co-sponsored by 19 other white Republicans, passes, the state’s public colleges and universities would have to get rid of any DEI departments, positions, or coursework by June 30. And any students who’ve taken courses that the bill defines as promoting “discriminatory concepts” would no longer be allowed to use those credits towards their degree.

“Too many of our Republican legislators like to say outrageous bigoted things for attention then refuse to own it when called on it,” Kentucky education advocate Rob Mattheu wrote on Twitter. “Jennifer Decker is a truly abhorrent and stupid person.”

Decker did slightly, barely walk back on her remarks, later admitting to the Courier Journal that she “probably overstated.” (Probably?!) Gerth wrote that he asked Decker about her comments on Friday, to which she replied: “Irrelevant, irrelevant. My father’s past poverty is a great equalizer.” (Huh?) When he pushed further, she said, “Was I saying that it was kidnapping and abuse the same as the slaves? No.”

Decker’s office did not immediately respond to Jezebel’s request for comment. Hopefully, she’s busy making up all her failed 3rd-grade history homework.