Rapid City senator apologizes for 'true black history' flier at Capitol [View all]

PIERRE — Sen. Phil Jensen, R-Rapid City, says he didn't intend to offend anyone when he handed out a flier to high school students at the Capitol on Wednesday that some may have found offensive.

The flier contained statements about black people in the Republican Party, some of which equated racism and the Ku Klux Klan with the Democratic Party. The flier also asked students to contact Jensen if their teacher has violated their "conservative values by pushing their own ideology."

Senate Minority Leader Troy Heinert, D-Mission, said it was "completely inappropriate" of Jensen to hand the flier to students "who are very impressionable and come up here to learn about our process, not about the politics." He said he hopes Republican leadership handled the situation and will inform legislators about the result.

Jensen said the information on the flier was the "true black history" according to David Barton of WallBuilders.

Read more: https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/28/black-history-rapid-city-senator-apologizes-flier-capitol/3018063002/