Last month, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Gary Chambers made headlines where he smoked a blunt in his first campaign ad. His newest campaign makes an even bolder statement and is undoubtedly to make some, on the other side, mad.
In his most recent campaign ad titled “Scars and Bars,” the Louisiana Senate candidate stands outside as he recites the second line of the Declaration of Independence. While doing so, he pins a Confederate flag on a clothesline, pours gasoline on it, and sets the flag on fire.
“Here in Louisiana and all over the South, Jim Crow never really left, and the remnants of the Confederacy remain,” Chambers says. “… The attacks against Black people, our right to vote, and participate in this democracy are methodical. Gerrymandered districts are a byproduct of the Confederacy. Our system isn’t broken, it’s designed to do exactly what it is doing, which is producing measurable inequity.”
“One in 13 Black Americans are deprived of the right to vote,” Chambers continues. “One in nine Black Americans do not have health insurance. One in three Black children live in poverty,” he says. “It’s time to burn what remains of the Confederacy down. I do believe the South will rise again, but this time it will be on our terms.”
Chambers is a civil rights activist from Baton Rouge, looking to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. John Kennedy in the upcoming election. In his previous video, “37 Seconds”, Chambers smoked a blunt, advocating for the legalization of marijuana.
“Every 37 seconds, someone is arrested for possession of marijuana,” Chambers said in the ad. “Since 2010, state and local police have arrested an estimated 7.3 million Americans for violating marijuana laws — over half of all drug arrests. Black people are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana laws than white people.”
