Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) is under scrutiny after claiming that black Americans could end up “back in the cotton fields” if Republicans maintain control of Congress following the 2026 midterm elections.
Johnson made the remarks during a recent appearance on “#RolandMartinUnfiltered,” where he framed the upcoming election as an existential moment for Black Americans.
“It’s a GOP war on Black America, and if we don’t stand up and fight back, we’re going to be back in the cotton fields,” Johnson said.
The Georgia congressman later clarified that his call to “fight back” was not a call for violence.
“When I talk about fighting back, I’m not talking about taking up arms,” Johnson said. “I’m talking about taking it to the streets in protest, and also by exercising our precious right to vote.”
He urged voters to mobilize in November, invoking the late civil rights icon John Lewis.
“We’re going to have to get out in November and vote, like John Lewis said, like our lives depend on it, because our lives do depend on it this time,” Johnson added.
Johnson’s comments quickly drew attention, but they are not the first time the congressman has suggested Republicans or the Make America Great Again movement seek to reinstitute conditions resembling slavery.
Earlier this year, Johnson argued that President Donald Trump and the broader MAGA movement wanted Black Americans “confined” to “picking cotton.”
During remarks in March, Johnson criticized Republican education policies, arguing that efforts to reduce the federal role in education and expand school choice would disproportionately harm Black Americans.
“The ways in which they can kill public education, from defunding it from a federal level, and then also enabling state monies and local monies to flow into the private for-profit school setup,” Johnson said. “That is ongoing.”
He then reverted to his apparent default claim.
“And where does that then leave us?” Johnson asked. “It puts us back to when America was great and we were picking cotton.”
He continued by arguing that migrant laborers currently perform much of the agricultural work once associated with slavery before adding, “They would have us back confined to doing that kind of work.”
Johnson did not provide evidence that Republicans or the Trump administration have proposed policies requiring or advocating such outcomes.
The congressman’s remarks echo similar rhetoric used by prominent Democrats in previous election cycles. During the 2012 presidential campaign, then-Vice President Joe Biden famously told a predominantly Black audience that Republican policies would “put y’all back in chains,” a comment that generated widespread controversy at the time.
Johnson has made other controversial statements throughout his congressional career. In December, he referred to the United States under President Trump as “the Great Satan,” a phrase historically associated with Iranian political rhetoric directed at America.
He is perhaps best known nationally for a widely circulated 2010 House Armed Services Committee hearing in which he expressed concern that the U.S. territory of Guam could become so heavily populated that it might “tip over and capsize,” prompting clarification from military officials.
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