VP Harris Botches Juneteenth History Lesson About ‘400 Years Of Slavery’

By NY Post
Posted on 06/21/22 | News Source: NY Post

Vice President Kamala Harris bungled a history lesson about the Juneteenth holiday Monday, telling kids that black people were enslaved in America for 400 years — overstating the actual time period by more than 150 years.

“I think that we all know today is a day to celebrate the principle of freedom,” Harris told a group of about two dozen elementary school-age children at the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington. “And think about it in terms of the context of history, knowing that black people in America were not free for 400 years of slavery.”

“Let this be a day that is a day to celebrate the principle of freedom, but to speak about it honestly and accurately, both in the context of history and current application,” Harris went on during her apparently extemporaneous remarks.

The first African slaves in the American colonies arrived in 1619 in Virginia. Slavery was abolished through the 13th Amendment, which was ratified in 1865 — ending 246 years of the practice, not 400.

A White House official acknowledged Harris’ error, telling The Post that “the vice president was referring to 400 years since slavery began.”