Hi Caleb,

You're misreading a bit. I meant that his racism was evident throughout his presidency even without that quote.

I don't think those two examples you provided prove that he wasn't racist. Especially the second one sounds kind of like the "But I have black friends" defense. Being kind to people of color on certain occasions or not supporting the KKK don't negate one's other racist acts. Racists come in many forms--most of the ones in this country do not explicitly support the KKK. Even if Reagan had privately supported the KKK, publicly acknowledging it would have hurt his image.

And I completely agree that Biden is a racist (and many other negative things). Believe me, I was telling everyone about his history of racism and misogyny and sniffing hair during the Democratic primaries. I was urging people not to vote for him. But he wouldn't have fit into this list, as he doesn't yet qualify as a "historical figure" because he's still alive. Also, this article was not meant to be a comprehensive list of all racists. As I said in the article, "this list is sadly only the tip of the iceberg."

Not everyone on the list is a conservative--Woodrow Wilson was a Democrat and was considered the progressive candidate in his presidential race, which is why the civil rights leader I mentioned in the article supported him. My article was not meant to criticize only right-wing figures. I'm sad to say that many, many current Democrats are racist, misogynistic, homophobic, all the isms. Hillary Clinton, for example, has said racist and homophobic things that made her lose my respect. And throughout US history, Democratic or left-wing presidents have often been just as imperialistic (e.g., Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt) and prejudiced as conservative presidents. That's why I'm opposed to the "great man" theory of history overall, not just for right-wing historical figures. These "great" figures are just humans, usually not any better than "ordinary" people.

I'm thinking of writing another article about left-wing historical figures who were racist/imperialistic, so stay tuned for that lol.