Faith leaders want apology from Lt. Gov. Beckwith over Three-Fifths Compromise comments – WISH-TV

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Dozens of faith leaders, community members, and Democrat lawmakers stood together against Lt. Gov Micah Beckwith at an event Friday.
They called for an apology from Beckwith for his comments because of it’s historical inaccuracy and because of what they said it represents.
“The purpose of racism is distraction,” said Dr. Lasana Kazembe, an assistant professor in the IU School of Education’s Department of Urban Teacher Education and in the Africana Studies Program at IU Indianapolis.
Racism is how faith leaders in Indianapolis interpreted Beckwith’s comments about the Three-Fifths Compromise.
“It actually limited the number of pro slave representatives in congress by 40%. This was a great move by the north to make sure that slavery would be eradicated in our nation,” said Beckwith in a video he posted to social media last week.
Kazembe is a critical Black scholar. He said Beckwith is wrong about the Three-Fifths Compromise.
“What it actually helped to do is one, reinforce southern slave holders power in Government Federally. And it actually also led to a retrenchment, if you will, of white supremacy racism and the idea of the ideology of white supremacy,” said Kazembe.
Kazembe said the comments by Beckwith are a dog whistle to the modern day far-right.
“This is really not about the Three-Fifths Compromise,” Kazembe said. “They feed an ideology of white nationalism and far-right MAGA (Make America Great Again) extremism that has really taken hold in this country.”
That’s why faith leaders and democrat law makers are so upset by the comments.
“There is no world in which this is even nominally acceptable,” said Rabbi Dr. Aaron Spiegel of the Greater Indianapolis Multi-faith Alliance.
“Beckwith, we want a full retraction and an apology. Period point blank,” said Democrat State Senator Andrea Hunley of Indianapolis.
I-Team 8 asked Beckwith’s team for a comment in response to the event calling for an apology. His team said they don’t have anything else to add at this time.
The clergy created a petition to get Beckwith to apologize. as of the publishing of this article, it has more than 700 signatures.

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