Things got heated when radio host Matt Patrick and community activist Quanell X hit the airwaves in Houston for Faceoff, a recurring segment on Fox 26. The pair debated a range of issues, but things got incredibly tense when the men began discussing a 10-year-old Texas girl’s decision to kneel during the pledge of allegiance.
Patrick, who is White, argued Skyla Madria’s choice was disrespectful to veterans and the tween will be viewed negatively by school officials and her peers because of her decision, but Quanell X wasn’t having it. He insisted Madria is in good company.
“America looked the same way at Rosa Parks when she refused to give up her seat to a White man on the bus, but history vindicated her,” he said before also mentioning Harriet Tubman.
While Patrick claimed those were “two different” things and pressed Quanell X to discuss veterans who feel disrespected by those who refuse to stand during the pledge and national anthem, the community activist instead focused on the racism many Black veterans have felt once they’ve returned to the United States and are out of uniform.
“Ask the Black men and women who served America in its military, like in the independence war, we helped America get it and we were still slaves afterward, ” Quanell X shot back. “We have fought in America’s wars and we’ve never been given the justice and the due process of everybody else in this nation.”
In a desparate attempt to win the argument, Patrick suggested that Black folks who are upset about racism and choose to protest the anthem or pledge should “move to a different country.”
“Why are you staying here if you don’t like it?” Patrick asked.
Predictably, that set Quanell X all the way off on an epic rant that included reminding Patrick that “the country belongs to Indians, you White folks stole it form them.”
Welp.
