|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
In a recent interview on 106.5-FM, 2nd Congressional District candidate Caroleene Dobson firmly refuted claims that her Alabama ancestors founded the Ku Klux Klan.
Addressing host George Williams, Dobson described these allegations as a ploy to undermine her campaign with baseless accusations.
“Fear and accusations have been used to attack me,” she said, taking aim at a recent opinion piece that, in her words, “accused my … apparently … ancestors of having founded the KKK in Alabama, which is a bald-faced lie and just such a desperate distraction from the issues at hand.”
Dobson was likely referencing an Oct. 10 opinion piece published in APR, which has since been updated with a correction. That piece misinterpreted reporting by Michael Harriot at theGrio, which documented Dobson’s lineage and ties to slavery and the KKK, specifically highlighting her connection to William J. Hardee. Historical records identify Hardee as a “well-known member” of the KKK, although he is not credited with founding the organization in Alabama.
Trying to steer the conversation back to her vision for Alabama, Dobson dismissed the significance of her ancestral ties.
“You know, this race isn’t about what happened 100 years ago, although that didn’t happen,” she stated in the interview. “But it’s not even about my opponent’s parents. I mean, his father’s legacy is incredible. But this race isn’t about my parents, my opponent’s parents. It’s about the candidate who is going to fight for Alabama families and fight to make their lives better, and that candidate is me.”
The APR piece acknowledged Dobson’s position on this issue, stressing that she should not be held accountable for her ancestors’ actions. Instead, it pointed to her policy proposals, including banning critical race theory and dismantling the U.S. Department of Education — measures that critics argue obscure historical injustices, the very injustices that have long advantaged some white families while leaving Black families to contend with generational poverty and systemic discrimination.
Dobson continued in her interview to frame discussions on race as divisive tactics.
“It is such a distraction from the issues that are facing this district,” she said, insisting that Democrats use “hide the ball” techniques because “they don’t have any solutions to provide.”
Dobson laid out her own approach to addressing key economic challenges, arguing that “less government, spending more wisely, less regulation, and energy independence” would effectively combat inflation. “That will lower the cost of what it takes to put food on the table, lower the cost of the gas in your car tank. But, but that is antithetical to everything that they stand for.”
