—Barrington Williams, B1Daily

Perhaps the grassroots most prominent rising star, Marcel Dixon is no stranger to the limelight. 

Making his opening appearance at James Clyburn, a elderly democrat representing the 6th district of South Carolina, Dixon called the complacent politician out for their district being one of the poorest in the nation. 

Since then he’s been featured on Fox News, Time Magazine, Newsmax, Al-Jazeera, Newsweek, CNN, and done countless interviews advocating for lineage-based reparations for Black Americans.

What could’ve been a moment turned into destiny. 

Clyburn was humiliated by Dixon that day, and the young political newcomer has only gained popularity as time has gone on. Dixon has regularly confronted Clyburn on his stance against reparations and the state of  Black South Carolinians. 

Today he speaks with Barrington Williams of B1Daily.

BW: “Marcel, great to hear from you brotha, and thank you for taking time  out of your busy schedule to speak with us. First let me ask, what are your opinions on the 2024 election results?”

DIXON: “I feel that the Democrats got the results they deserved. They lost the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. While the majority of Americans are very unhappy with both parties, it is clear that the Democrats are losing their most faithful constituency, Black Americans (Freedmen). They talk about matters such as Project 2025 and how it is a dastardly plan for us, but they had and still have no plan to give the reparative justice that is due to Black Americans (Freedmen).”

BW: “With a clear rift between Black voters and Democratic party, where does Black America go from here?”

DIXON: “Black America, those of the status of Freedmen, the descendants of those emancipated from American slavery, needs to be policy first and party NEVER. We need to act based on policy that specifically helps us. Every other group does that, and they should. We have been the only group that has not been doing this. The truth of the matter is that even if a policy is specifically written to benefit those of the Freedmen status, it will benefit everyone.”

BW: “What’s your own history of working with both parties, and your plans for your own political future going forward?”

DIXON: “I do not have a long history in politics. However, I have worked with both parties. I first ran for office under the Democratic Party. I wanted to hold them accountable from the inside. If a house is dirty, you have to be on the inside if you plan to clean it up. I found many of the voters very receptive to my message of how the Democratic Party had failed Black Americans, and how they had done plenty for other groups from LGBTQ to Native Americans to Asians to white Jews to even illegal immigrants who are not citizens, but nothing for us. The leaders of the party, however, were either hostile to my message, or they liked my message, but due to their political ambitions, could not support me, at least outwardly.

Some did, however. I hosted reparations workshops, received enough signatures to get reparations on a ballot at the Democratic Convention in South Carolina, and now, there are many elected officials who are Democrats that seek my advice when it comes to reparations. Many mention it in their speeches, so there has been some positive movement.

I worked with some Republicans as well. I went and did some advocating at the South Carolina State House. I spoke with Republicans, all who were white, but had majority black districts. It was not about reparations, per se, but it was about returning the Freedmen’s Bureau albeit on a state level here in South Carolina. Those who accompanied me and I explained that it would be based on status, not race. We compared it to other status based specific policies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department Of Persons With Disabilities, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the policies specific for immigrants, etc. At the end of the presentation, they all asked for a copy of the draft of the plan for the bureau. 

They even invited the two other advocates and I to be presented to the state legislature. They read the purpose of our proposal to advance justice for the Freedmen and the entire state legislature clapped for us.

Since, I work. I have not had time to follow-up with any of them. The thing that stood out the most with both the Democratic officials with whom I spoke and the Republican officials with whom I spoke is that all of them said that this was the first time they knew of in modern history where anyone specifically came to advocate for Black Americans who are descendants of the emancipated. That was frighteningly not surprising to me. The second thing that did not shock me, but it reconfirmed that the Freedmen status is the way we should go forward with pursuing reparations is that ALL of them, the black Democratic officials, and the white Republican officials all immediately knew to whom we were referring when we said “Freedmen.” Law is given further validity based on precedent,  and the Freedmen status has precedent in our nation’s government going back to the 1860’s.

During my last campaign, I ran with the United Citizens Party. A party founded here in South Carolina by Black Americans in the 1960’s. They were just what I was looking for as far as their desire and willingness to ensure that their were policies specifically to benefit Black Americans (Freedmen). Of course, we had policies to benefit everyone, but we always made sure that Black Americans (Freedmen) were looked after since we have, for centuries, been locked out.”

BW: “How were you targeted following your speaking out against Mr. Clyburn?”

DIXON: “Well, obviously, I had some Democratic shills insult me and threaten me online. I was not really too worried about them. I was not given the same opportunities as a candidate that I should have had when I ran underneath the umbrella of the Democratic Party. However, the most pronounced was in terms of my job. I will always believe that the reason I was not invited back to my job, even though I had won multiple awards and accolades for my teaching and the performance of my students was that I not only challenged James Clyburn, but I also unapologetically spoke up about the injustices done to Black Americans (Freedmen), and how reparations were overdue. 

“I will always believe that the reason I was not invited back to my job, even though I had won multiple awards and accolades for my teaching and the performance of my students was that I not only challenged James Clyburn.” -Marcel Dixon

My director, a white woman, Karen Wicks, had asked me if I considered what impact my campaign could cost the school running against someone like James Clyburn. She said I sounded like “an angry black man.” Then, when she informed me that she would not be inviting me back for another year, she said that she had already mentioned about me being “an angry black man.” 

I am currently suing her in federal court, and we are likely going to head to trial. I just want my day in court. I am representing myself. I have little hope of justice in this system, but our ancestors had little reason to have hope as well, and yet, they never ceased fighting for justice. I will not as well.”

“She said I sounded like ‘an angry black man’.” -Marcel Dixon

BW: “Do you think HR40 is even a good start or does reparations need an overhaul?”

DIXON: “We just need an actual reparations bill like the one I had or better. HR40 is unsalvageable to me. It needs to be status based and for those of the lineage. It needs to consider the multitude of studies that have already been done that give us an amount that we are owed for reparations. I must mention that if the Democrats wanted to pass HR40, they could have done so a long time ago. It could have been studied and reparations paid decades ago. The Democrats had the majority in Congress from the 1950s to the mid 1990s. They did reparations for the interned Japanese and those who were exposed to radiation during this time. They could have fought for us all the same.”

BW: “Your opinions on the CBC now that they no longer have a majority?”

DIXON: “We need a Freedmen Caucus. The CBC advocates for any and everyone else besides Black Americans. They advocate for things that are harmful to us such as mass immigration, legal and even worse, illegal. They advocate for Holocaust survivors, the nation of Israel, LGBTQ, and all these other issues while Black Americans, according to many measures, linger to the bottom in a nation we built, a nation that owes us, and has yet to pay. I find their neglect and betrayal unforgivable!”

BW: “Should Black Americans swing Republican? If so, what would it take from their party?”

“We need a Freedmen Caucus.” -Marcel Dixon

DIXON: “No, we should swing to whomever has policies that would be beneficial for us, party be damned!”

BW: “Do you have any fundraisers or ways to donate to you?”

DIXON: “I do not. I am no longer involved in electoral politics. All of my committees have been terminated. However, more and more, I am seeing a lot of others launch their campaigns who are making sure they have policies that will specifically benefit the Freedmen.”

BW: “Back to your future plans, will you be pursuing music/entertainment?”

DIXON: “LOL, no. I do not understand this question. Do you think I have a future in entertainment?”

Marcel Dixon’s future is bright, but the community must be vigilant  and support him when he’s attacked for advocating for all of our futures.

—Barrington Williams, B1Daily