In a unique gesture, presidential candidate Marianne Williamson asks whites to apologize for past ‘crimes’
Presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson's racial approach came during an event in Houston when she asked white members of her audience to apologize to Blacks for racial injustice
Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, who said she supports reparations during the recent debates has had a unique approach to racial reconciliation: having whites apologize to Blacks for past injustices.
According to Fox News, Williamson, an author and spiritualist, opened up her January 2018 “Love America” tour in Houston by asking Black people to stand. Shortly after, she also asked white attendees to stand during the opening prayer. She then asked them to hold the hands of nearby Black attendees and say “I apologize.”
They were apologizing to the 200 African Americans in the audience for crimes ranging from lynching, slavery and rape to larger issues including mass incarceration and systemic racism, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Williamson reportedly urged America to face its history of institutional racism head on as a way for the country to move forward.
Fox reported that this was not the first time Williamson had asked for white audience members to apologize for Black oppression. Fox News also noted that this issue may be a passion of hers as she authored a poem in 2016 titled, “Prayer of Apology to African Americans.”
Williamson has said earlier that reparations in the form of cash is due to African Americans for centuries of injustice and terrorism toward the community. In an interview with The Hill, she said that “anything less than $100 billion is an insult.” She proposed a payment of between $200 billion and $500 billion over a 20-year period.
According to a New Hampshire poll, Williamson is currently ranking slightly higher than her fellow candidates Sen. Cory Booker and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, but statistically speaking, they are all tied.
