Leaked phone records reveal former US president Ronald Reagan described Africans as ‘monkeys’
- Recently released portions of a phone conversation between former United States (US) presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon showed Reagan referring to Africans as "monkeys"
- Full details of the conversation between the two former US leaders were made available by the National Archives and published by The Atlantic
- The racist comment was removed from the conversation and only revealed after Reagan passed away in 2004
YEN.com.gh understands that leaked portions of a phone conversation between two former United States of America (USA) presidents recorded Ronald Reagan describing Africans as “monkeys.”
The tapes were published by The Atlantic, and the description formed part of a conversation between Reagan, then the governor of California, and the then president, Richard Nixon.
The year was 1971 and African delegates at the United Nations (UN) were expected to play a role in a decision to recognize China and expel Taiwan from the UN.
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Per a report by citinewsroom.com, Nixon habitually recorded all phone conversations and the depiction was therefore captured on tape.
Reports reveal that the Tanzanian delegation took to the floor and began dancing at the UN General Assembly.
The next day, Reagan called Nixon on phone and said: “To see those, those monkeys from those African countries – damn them, they’re still uncomfortable wearing shoes!”
The comment drew a laughter from Nixon and the entire episode was sealed until a clinical associate professor of history at New York University, Tim Naftali, became head of the Nixon Presidential Library from 2007 until 2011.
Information available suggests that the racist comment was removed from the conversation when it was released by the National Archives in 2000.
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Reagan’s death in 2004 eliminated all concerns of privacy and as such, the full audio became public.
Meanwhile, the story of American politician, Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, has generated controversy in the United States of America and for all the political reasons.
Born on October 4, 1982, she currently serves as the United States representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district.
YEN.com.gh understands that she is the first Somali-American, the first naturalized citizen from Africa, the first non-white woman elected from Minnesota and one of the first two Muslim women (along with Rashida Tlaib of Michigan) to serve in Congress.
Omar has aggressively advocated for affordable housing, universal healthcare, student loan debt forgiveness and the abolition of abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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Source: YEN.com.gh
