Daily Wire host Matt Walsh challenged “anti-racist” activist Ibram X. Kendi to a debate after the leftist author said Walsh’s take on slavery was “the ultimate White savior statement.”
Kendi was irked by Walsh’s response on Tuesday to a post on X that claimed, “Slavery is white history. How we survived it is black history.”
“Slavery is world history,” Walsh wrote. “White people did not invent it, and were not the first to practice it, but were the first to abolish it. The last place in the world to still have legal slavery was Africa. It wasn’t fully legally abolished on the continent until 1981.”
Slavery is world history. White people did not invent it, and were not the first to practice it, but were the first to abolish it. The last place in the world to still have legal slavery was Africa. It wasn't fully legally abolished on the continent until 1981. https://t.co/ZfTvdLXydt
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 6, 2024
Walsh was applauded by numerous people for his take, including X owner Elon Musk, who simply replied, “True.” Walsh’s post, which was viewed more than six million times, triggered a huge response, including from Kendi, who quote-tweeted Walsh’s statement and described it as “The ultimate White savior statement.”
While Kendi’s post was slammed by numerous social media users — including the popular X accounts of The Babylon Bee’s Joel Berry and End Wokeness — Walsh replied to the Critical Race Theory apologist’s comment with an offer.
“Why don’t we have a conversation live on camera about this issue?” he asked. “You can explain to me in person why my statements about slavery are wrong. What do you say @ibramxk?”
Why don't we have a conversation live on camera about this issue? You can explain to me in person why my statements about slavery are wrong. What do you say @ibramxk?
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 8, 2024
The author of “How To Be an Antiracist” has yet to respond publicly to Walsh’s offer for an on-camera debate. Kendi, who gained prominence after George Floyd died in 2020, developed a career pushing Critical Race Theory through books and speaking engagements. In 2021, the MacArthur Foundation announced that Kendi would receive a $625,000 five-year grant for research. Kendi, who says that America is systemically racist, often charges steep fees for speaking engagements.
In 2020, Kendi also started an education center at Boston University that focused on “anti-racist research.” Last year, however, Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research fired around 20 staffers, and the university announced that it would launch an inquiry into the center after complaints about its culture.
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Since publishing “How To Be an Antiracist,” Kendi has drawn criticism for promoting the theory that all racial disparities are due to racism. He has also faced criticism for his book “Antiracist Baby,” a children’s picture book that introduces children to the concept of anti-racism.
Leif Le Mahieu and Mairead Elordi contributed to this report.