Fox News host Bill O’Reilly continued his criticism of NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick‘s ongoing National Anthem protest and offered a copy of his new book, Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan, as an example of how an American patriot should operate.
Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
On Thursday’s edition of NewsOne Now, Roland Martin offered his own selection of books for O’Reilly to read and a history lesson on African-Americans in the military who fought under a flag that did not offer them equal rights prior to the Civil Rights Act.
Martin began his blistering rebuttal of O’Reilly by questioning the Fox News host’s understanding of history. O’Reilly recently stated that Americans gave their lives for the freedom of Blacks in the American Revolution, but it seems as though he forgot about slavery.
Martin said, “Last I checked, Black folks were not freed during the American Revolution.
“In fact, last I checked, many Black folks who first came to this country in 1619 fought for the British in order to gain their freedom – that’s a historical fact.”
Martin asked the Fox News host, “Bill, what books are you reading?” and “What Black folks were freed during the American Revolution?”
To help the controversial news commentator understand the history of Africans in America, Martin discredited O’Reilly’s book peddling and offered a few select titles from his own Roland’s Book Club.
Check out the complete list below:
- Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans
- I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson
- Patton’s Panthers: The African-American 761st Tank Battalion In World War II
- American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm
- Strength for the Fight: A History of Black Americans in the Military
- Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.: American: An Autobiography
- The Double V Campaign: African-Americans in World War II
- The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America
- On the Altar of Freedom: A Black Soldier’s Civil War Letters from the Front
- Buffalo Soldiers: The Colored Regulars in the United States Army
- The Marines of Montford Point: America’s First Black Marines
“I dare say there has been no one person who has been a truer American patriot than an African-American who has been willing to fight for this nation when the nation would not fight for him and her,” said Martin.
Watch Roland Martin’s blistering rebuke of Bill O’Reilly in the video clip above.
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
Watch NewsOne Now with Roland Martin, in its new time slot on TV One.
SEE ALSO:
Roland Martin Fact-Checks Clinton’s ‘Basket Of Deplorables’ Comment
Roland Martin Gives Bill O’Reilly Black History Lesson & American Patriotism [VIDEO] was originally published on newsone.com