--- title: Roy Moore: America Was Great During Slavery description: Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore said in September that America was last great during slavery, sparking online outrage months later. canonical: https://time.com/5056590/roy-moore-america-great-slavery/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-08T19:41:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:30:26.529Z article:section: Politics og:title: Roy Moore Told a Black Man That America Was Great During Slavery og:description: His comments resurfaced just days before the Alabama special election og:url: https://time.com/5056590/roy-moore-america-great-slavery/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0502a820c1689c2/6988f46b7cdbac6881d5b32b/roy-moore.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Alabama Special Election candidate Roy Moore og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Roy Moore Told a Black Man That America Was Great During Slavery twitter:description: His comments resurfaced just days before the Alabama special election twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0502a820c1689c2/6988f46b7cdbac6881d5b32b/roy-moore.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Internet Is Outraged That Roy Moore Told a Black Man That America Was Great During Slavery > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=53418d36-8041-4a32-9312-e581baf23c45&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Dec 8, 2017 7:41 PM UTC  Republican Senatorial candidate Roy Moore speaks during a campaign event on Dec. 5, 2017 in Fairhope, Alabama. Republican Senatorial candidate Roy Moore speaks during a campaign event on Dec. 5, 2017 in Fairhope, Alabama.Joe Raedle—Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Dec 8, 2017 7:41 PM UTC Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore is facing more heavy criticism on Twitter — for more than just the [sexual misconduct allegations against him](http://time.com/5049288/rnc-supports-roy-moore-donald-trump/) that have dominated headlines for weeks. A comment Moore made at a Florence, Ala., rally in September resurfaced Thursday and struck a chord with many users on the social networking site, including African-American celebrities and politicians. At the rally, an African-American audience member asked Moore when America was last “great,” [the Los Angeles _Times_ reported in September](http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-alabama-senate-runoff-20170921-story.html). Moore responded in a way that appeared to condone, or at least downplay the impact of, slavery, the _Times_ reported. “I think it was great at the time when families were united — even though we had slavery — they cared for one another…. Our families were strong, our country had a direction,” Moore said, according to the _Times._ Months later, the comment has sparked intense backlash online, prompting everyone from New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker to actress [Gabrielle Union to speak out](http://motto.time.com/4526388/gabrielle-union-sexual-assault-story-responsibility/). > [](https://twitter.com/EricColumbus/status/938858847883661313) > [](https://twitter.com/CoryBooker/status/939177468526723072) > [](https://twitter.com/itsgabrielleu/status/938910597122375680) > [](https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/938902718067937280) > [](https://twitter.com/BerniceKing/status/938910188014325760) > [](https://twitter.com/pemalevy/status/938901154016251905) Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Friday morning [tweeted his support for the former judge, writing, “VOTE ROY MOORE!”](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/939149296389251072) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5056590/roy-moore-america-great-slavery/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5056590/roy-moore-america-great-slavery/"},"headline":"The Internet Is Outraged That Roy Moore Told a Black Man That America Was Great During Slavery","datePublished":"2017-12-08T19:41:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:30:26.529Z","description":"His comments resurfaced just days before the Alabama special election","url":"https://time.com/5056590/roy-moore-america-great-slavery/","keywords":["alabama","Senate","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0502a820c1689c2/6988f46b7cdbac6881d5b32b/roy-moore.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0502a820c1689c2/6988f46b7cdbac6881d5b32b/roy-moore.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Alabama Special Election candidate Roy Moore","caption":"Alabama Special Election candidate Roy Moore","creditText":"Joe Raedle—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/alabama/","name":"alabama"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5056590/roy-moore-america-great-slavery/","name":"The Internet Is Outraged That Roy Moore Told a Black Man That America Was Great During Slavery"}}]}] ```