PolitiFact rates Jolly’s claim about Donalds and Jim Crow as Half True

David Jolly’s campaign statement that Byron Donalds suggested there were good parts of Jim Crow is partially accurate, PolitiFact Florida determined on Tuesday.

The fact-checkers assigned a Half True rating to the claim, which Jolly made during a campaign stop in Hollywood on October 20. Jolly argued that the state needs to stop whitewashing American history. He pointed to his Republican opponent’s past remarks to illustrate his point. The rating acknowledges that Donalds did speak positively about certain aspects of the era, though not the ones Jolly implied.

Jolly spoke at Koinonia Worship Center, a historically Black, non-denominational church. He told the audience, "If the test is our goodness, we are failing right now." He added that the state suggested teaching kids the "good parts" of slavery. He then stated, "Or, when my opponent suggests there were good parts of Jim Crow."

Byron Donalds made his original comments in June 2024 at an event in Philadelphia. The congressman was seeking support from Black voters for President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign. He discussed the "reinvigoration of Black family" and the revival of a Black middle class. He then turned his attention to the historical period known as Jim Crow.

"During Jim Crow, the Black family was together," Donalds said at the Philadelphia event. He also claimed that more Black people voted conservatively during that time. He connected these observations to President Lyndon Johnson’s poverty-fighting efforts, which some conservatives believe incentivized family separation. Donalds was not praising the racist policies themselves, but rather the social dynamics he observed within Black families during that specific period.

After the 2024 remarks drew backlash, Donalds clarified his position on MSNBC. He said he was not being "nostalgic" about Jim Crow. He noted that marriage rates for Black Americans were significantly higher then and have "plummeted" since. In a recent interview with Jennifer Palmieri for her documentary series, Donalds reaffirmed his original point. "I said exactly what I meant," he told Palmieri. "I was talking about marriage rates for Black families."

Donalds said the Biden campaign in 2024 twisted his meaning to make him appear supportive of Jim Crow. "They decided to make it political," he told Palmieri. "Saying I was somehow supportive of Jim Crow, that’s crazy." His campaign did not respond to new questions from PolitiFact regarding the 2024 comments. Jolly’s campaign, represented by spokesperson Devon Hesano, pointed to these more recent remarks where Donalds stood by his original assessment.

Research cited by PolitiFact shows that marriage rates for Black women dropped from 94% in 1930 to 63% in 2012. Experts note that proving Black people voted more conservatively during Jim Crow is difficult because many could not vote in the South. The ideological movement of conservatism largely emerged in the 1950s. PolitiFact concluded that Jolly’s statement leaves out important details by implying Donalds praised the era’s discriminatory policies.