Jesse Jackson criticized Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert on Sunday, saying Gilbert sees LeBron James as a “runaway slave” but said that LeBron was considered free after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
“He speaks as the master of LeBron and not the master of the entire team of slaves that he owns. His feelings of betrayal personify, even more, this slave master mentality that we are in. He sees him as a runaway slave, when actually, it should not be considered running away when ‘Honest Abe’ said he was free. And as a former slave, LeBron is just trying to respect his President.”
The slave owner from Cleveland wrote a scathing letter criticizing his slave who signed with an owner in Miami who had already worked out an arrangement to re-sign his own hardworking slave. Along with securing the services of a slave from up north in Canada, who traveled the Underground Railroad to Miami.
Jackson also called Gilbert’s comments an attack on all basketball playing slaves and said that all slave owners should face a “challenge” from the government and the Lincoln Administration.
“I am glad that our President Lincoln signed this Proclamation into law, but he must not stop there. LeBron is the first newly freed slave who was able to set a new precedent for Negroes who are able to run and jump. If Dan Gilbert is able to get away with this then every owner is going to come out making disparaging remarks against their former slaves, which could cause some issues down the road. I am just glad that there were some slaves who were able to secure their freedom before this became law. Slaves such as Harriet Tubman who you can see today playing in the WNBA.”
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