William Norman Grigg pointed out on these pages (https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/for-progressives-thoughtcrime-is-worse-than-mass-murder/) that Walter Williams was accused by some white guy of being a racist for saying that welfare is worse for black people than slavery. He never said any such thing. Rather, what he said was that welfare was worse than slavery for black family formation, something quite different, as anyone with an IQ above room temperature could appreciate.

As it happens, I, too, have been accused of racism for the same reason. Some ignoramus said: “Walter Block Says Slavery Is Better Than Welfare For African-Americans” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEl7BJVNFq4&feature=em-share_video_user). I never said any such thing, either in this interview of mine with RT. Rather, I said what my friend Walter Williams said: that welfare was worse for black family formation than slavery, again, something very, very different.

Hey, psst, keep this to yourselves. If the president of my university gets hold of this, and/or many of my colleagues at Loyola University, I too will be accused of racism.

See on that sorry episode, this material:

Block accused by New York Times of thinking slavery “not so bad”:

Tanenhaus, Sam and Jim Rutenberg.  2014. “Rand Paul’s Mixed Inheritance.” January 26; http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/us/politics/rand-pauls-mixed-inheritance.html?hp&_r=4 

Block’s reply to the New York Times:

Block, Walter E. 2014. “Reply to the Scurrilous, Libelous, Venomous, Scandalous New York Times Smear Campaign.” January 30;https://www.lewrockwell.com/?post_type=article&p=473740&preview=true

Loyola critics of Block for thinking slavery “not so bad”:

Wildes, Kevin. 2014. “Letter: Walter Block has made too many assumptions and contradictions.” February 6; http://www.loyolamaroon.com/2.6713/letter-walter-block-has-made-too-many-assumptions-and-contradictions-1.2854765#.UvaMsbex6M8

Murphy, Laura, Anthony E. Ladd, Barbara Ewell, Charles Corprew, Laura Hope, Kathleen Fitzgerald, Angel Parham, Ashley Howard, Trimiko Melancon, Alex Mukulich, Patricia Boyett, Julie Thibodaux, Nicole Eggers, Ted Quant, Susan Weishar, Alvaro Alcazar, Lisa Martin, Judith Hunt. 2014. “Letter: Faculty says Walter Block’s claims were, once again, untrue and offensive.” February 6; http://www.loyolamaroon.com/2.6713/letter-faculty-says-walter-block-s-claims-were-once-again-untrue-and-offensive-1.2854769#.UvaP6bex6M8

Block’s response to Loyola critics:

Block, Walter E. 2014. “Wildes’ letter was based on a serious misunderstanding.” February 20; http://www.loyolamaroon.com/2.6713/letter-wildes-letter-was-based-on-a-serious-misunderstaning-1.2857243#.UwdlVE-x6M8; http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2014/02/walter-block-calls-for-public.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29

Block, Walter E. 2014. “The faculty’s letter was misinformed and lacks integrity.” February 20; http://www.loyolamaroon.com/2.6713/letter-the-faculty-s-letter-was-misinformed-and-lacks-integrity-1.2857245#.UwdnEE-x6M8

The Best of Walter E. Block