Hakeem Jeffries compared Clarence Thomas, other Black conservatives to 'House Negroes' in college newspaper

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries wrote an editorial during his college career that referred to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell and other Black conservatives as "House Negroes."

"There has been a recent trend in the Black political arena which I believe threatens to sustain the oppression of the Black masses. The phenomenon I refer to is the rise of the Black conservative," Jeffries wrote in the article, which was first reported on by CNN. "The most notable indicator of this is the appointment of Justice Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court."

Pointing to differences between a "Field Negro" and a "House Negro" at the time, Jeffries claimed the former "labored from dusk 'till dawn" and "had nothing but contempt for his white master" while the latter "didn't labor in the field, they were domestic servants" and "sought to emulate the white master."