On Monday, “The View” host Joy Behar claimed that Juneteenth is a good day to remember that Black Americans’ voting rights are being “systematically” taken away.
Co-host Sara Haines had said she felt “silly” for being ignorant about the holiday until recent years and that she felt Juneteenth was a more important day for all Americans to celebrate than Independence Day.
“We were celebrating Fourth of July which was freedom of America, when freedom of American people didn’t happen until Juneteenth, so in some ways the celebration feels more authentic on Juneteenth,” she said on the show.
“Well, I didn’t know about it either. I mean, I confess I was unaware of it,” Behar agreed. “Which shows you how lacking our history is in this country”.
She then claimed the day is a good reminder that voting rights are being “systematically taken away” from African-Americans and other groups in the U.S.
“You know, we should be aware on a day like this that voting rights are being systematically taken away from African-Americans and other people too in this country,” Behar said.
“You got to be very, very careful. You can celebrate the day, which we do, but there are very important issues at stake here, this year. So it’s a good day to reflect on that, I think,” she added.
Behar was also recently criticized for comments she made about Black gun owners in America.
While discussing gun legislation with her co-hosts, Behar said “Here’s the thing, once Black people get guns in this country, the gun laws will change. Trust me”.
Oklahoma Republican Senate candidate T.W. Shannon told Fox News Digital “What she really shows is her, you know, utter lack of history of her own party’s racist heritage and trying to disarm not just all Americans, but particularly African Americans”.
Maj Toure, the president of Black Guns Matter, responded to Behar’s remarks on Instagram, saying they were “racist” and “ignorant”. “It’s race-based, and it’s completely insensitive and disgusting”.