Republican Senator Tim Scott gets caught in the act
Senator Tim Scott is a potential candidate in 2024 for the Republican nominee for President of the United States. Scott has often told the moving story of his grandfather and his great success story, and it is one. But in the Washington Post, some other facts have emerged. According to the researched report on Scott’s great grandfather:
“Our research reveals a more complex story than what Scott tells audiences. Scott’s grandfather’s father was also a substantial landowner — and Scott’s grandfather, Artis Ware, worked on that farm. Scott’s family history in South Carolina offers a fascinating window into a little-known aspect of history in the racist South following the Civil War and in the immediate aftermath of slavery — that some enterprising Black families purchased property as a way to avoid sharecropping and achieve a measure of independence from White-dominated society.”
It is a fascinating report on the South and post-Civil War. Some on the right are blasting the report as being racist because it purports to attack the only Black Republican member of the Senate. But as the report begins after quoting Scott on various occasions regarding his humble beginning, “we’re often interested in the ‘origin stories’ of politicians — regular lines that they use over and over to explain their political motivations.” Political candidates are scrutinized, and this instance is no exception.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.