A top mainstream fact-checker wrote on Tuesday that the Kente cloths that Democrats wore earlier this month after the death of George Floyd were “historically worn” by an “empire involved in West African slave trade.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, and other top Democrats wore the cloth to an event on June 8 in response to Floyd’s death, which was widely criticized online.
USA Today fact-checked the following statement from a Facebook user:
Yesterday the Democrats wore kente scarfs and knelt down for their photo op. So check this out, Kente cloth was worn by the Ashanti. It’s made of silk so the affluent wore it. The Ashanti were also known as slave owners and traders. Huh? … This makes me wonder why they chose to wear this particular tribe’s garb.
It’s important to note that the cloth has historical significance that extends beyond the slave trade and has “become a symbol of pride for African Americans over the last 50 years.”
USA Today rated the claim “true,” saying that the “kente cloth was historically worn by the Asante people of Ghana, who were involved in the West African slave trade.” – READ MORE
