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Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi sought to clarify remarks he made about his hometown during the civil rights era, calling it a “difficult and painful era,” especially for African-Americans.

Mr. Barbour, a Republican, endured a day of criticism on Monday for remarks in The Weekly Standard, in which he said of the civil rights struggles of the 1960s: “I just don’t remember it as being that bad.”

In the interview, Mr. Barbour also praised the “Citizens Councils” of Yazoo City, saying they were made up of business leaders who did not tolerate the activities of the Ku Klux Klan.

But the comments were criticized as praise for the councils, which were founded to oppose racial integration.

“When asked why my hometown in Mississippi did not suffer the same racial violence when I was a young man that accompanied other towns’ integration efforts, I accurately said the community leadership wouldn’t tolerate it and helped prevent violence there,” Mr. Barbour said in a statement. “My point was my town rejected the Ku Klux Klan, but nobody should construe that to mean I think the town leadership were saints, either. Their vehicle, called the ‘Citizens Council,’ is totally indefensible, as is segregation.”

The statement, issued from the governor’s office, clearly seeks to put to rest an issue that could threaten his ambitions to seek higher office. Mr. Barbour is actively considering a bid for the White House.

“It was a difficult and painful era for Mississippi, the rest of the country, and especially African-Americans who were persecuted in that time,” Mr. Barbour said of the struggle for civil rights.

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Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi sought to clarify remarks he made about his hometown during the civil rights era, calling it a “difficult and painful era,” especially for African-Americans.

Mr. Barbour, a Republican, endured a day of criticism on Monday for remarks in The Weekly Standard, in which he said of the civil rights struggles of the 1960s: “I just don’t remember it as being that bad.”

In the interview, Mr. Barbour also praised the “Citizens Councils” of Yazoo City, saying they were made up of business leaders who did not tolerate the activities of the Ku Klux Klan.

But the comments were criticized as praise for the councils, which were founded to oppose racial integration.

“When asked why my hometown in Mississippi did not suffer the same racial violence when I was a young man that accompanied other towns’ integration efforts, I accurately said the community leadership wouldn’t tolerate it and helped prevent violence there,” Mr. Barbour said in a statement. “My point was my town rejected the Ku Klux Klan, but nobody should construe that to mean I think the town leadership were saints, either. Their vehicle, called the ‘Citizens Council,’ is totally indefensible, as is segregation.”

The statement, issued from the governor’s office, clearly seeks to put to rest an issue that could threaten his ambitions to seek higher office. Mr. Barbour is actively considering a bid for the White House.

“It was a difficult and painful era for Mississippi, the rest of the country, and especially African-Americans who were persecuted in that time,” Mr. Barbour said of the struggle for civil rights.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

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