Celebs React To Ben Carson Referring To Slaves As Immigrants "A neurosurgeon without a brain. Sounds like a character from the Wizard Of Oz." – Matthew A. Cherry On Monday afternoon, our ancestors collectively rolled over in their graves when Ben Carson referred to slaves as "immigrants" while addressing employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Carson parted his lips and let these unimaginable words slide down his tongue and climb over his teeth into the atmosphere: There were other immigrants who came in the bottom of slave ships, who worked even longer, even harder, for less, but they too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great grandsons, great granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land. Sheryl Lee Ralph took to Instagram to share her disgust. "The Quad" star Anika Noni Rose offered Ben this quick lesson: @RealBenCarson, this weekend I was lucky enough to be a part of a tour of the @NMAAHC. It is an amazing experience that you shouldn't miss. Here is a photo of one of the artifacts that deeply moved me. It is a sack that was passed from an enslaved mother to her child. I will translate the writing for you because...well, I'll just translate it for you. "My great-grandmother Rose, mother of Ashley, gave her this sack when she was SOLD at age 9 in South Carolina. It held a tattered dress, three handfuls of pecans, a braid of Rose's hair. Told her to 'be filled with my love always' She never saw her again. Ashley is my

grandmother." ~ Ruth Middleton 1921″ What were you doing at age 9, sir? ...What are you doing now? Call. Make an appointment with the @NMAAHC. I'm sure they'll make room for you to have this educational tour, because it's clear that your heart and mind need this. When you're done, maybe stop by the @whitneyplantation and check out That American dream. #EnslavedPeopleAreNotImmigrants #Slavery #Immigration #Education #History #AfricanAmerican #NMAAHC #WhitneyPlantation To add insult to injury, Ben Carson took to Facebook to defend his egregious remarks. I'm proud of the courage and perseverance of Black Americans and their incomprehensible struggle from slavery to freedom. I'm proud that our ancestors overcame the evil and repression that we know as slavery. The slave narrative and immigrant narrative are two entirely different experiences. Slaves were ripped from their families and their homes and forced against their will after being sold into slavery by slave traders. The Immigrants made the choice to come to America. They saw this country as a land of opportunity. In contrast, slaves were forced here against their will and lost all their opportunities. We continue to live with that legacy. The two experiences should never be intertwined, nor forgotten, as we demand the necessary progress towards an America that's inclusive and provides access to equal opportunity for all. We should revel in the fact that although we got here through different routes, we have many things in common now that should unite us in our mission to have a land where there is liberty and justice for all. Dr. Ben Carson Secretary of HUD Watch clips below