Family members of Rosa Parks are calling out embattled New York Republican Congressman George Santos, who tried to liken himself to the late civil rights pioneer and her legacy.
During President Biden’s State of the Union Address earlier this year, Santos claimed that Senator Mitt Romney told him to sit toward the back. This occurred “after he’d been exposed as having told several different lies before getting elected.”
Recently, Santos appeared on the rightwing podcast Mike Crispi Unafraid, where he said, “Rosa Parks didn’t sit in the back, and neither am I gonna sit in the back.” Santos also claimed that he didn’t appreciate that Romney, a white man, was trying to tell him, a gay Latino man, that he didn’t belong.
Rhea McCauley, Parks’ niece, told TMZ, “It was totally inappropriate for Santos to compare himself to her aunt, saying it’s apples to oranges when it comes to the situation.” McCauley also says their other relatives are pissed about Santos’ comments as well.
McCauley wants Santos “to keep her [Parks’] name out of his mouth.” She wants an apology to her entire family from Santos for misusing her aunt’s name. In addition, she pointed out that “her aunt very likely wouldn’t have been cool with him…seeing how she didn’t like fabricators.”
Many are justifiably appalled by Santos’ words. Parks was fighting against Jim Crow and segregation. In contrast, Santos was trying to settle a petty political feud, and people across social media also chimed in after Santos’ comparison.
Occupy Democrats took to social media, writing “What happens when they stop teaching Black history” alongside a picture of Santos.
But the fact that Santos tried to utilize this historically inaccurate juxtaposition is on par for the politician. Since his election, Santos’s résumé has been deemed to be heavily “fabricated,” and he’s been charged with “13 counts of fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds,” to which he has pleaded not guilty.
There was even a motion to expel Santos, which would have made him “only the sixth House member ever ejected,” but the measure “failed after Republicans refused to back it.”
Despite the controversy swirling around him, Santos is still vying for re-election to his seat in New York, which covers parts of Long Island and Queens.