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I don’t believe that government freed our slaves we had in this country

The commission will not have authority to investigate or review the town’s hiring practices.

In his remarks, Dunn referred specifically to a comment made by Phillip Thompson, president of the Loudoun County chapter of the NAACP. Thompson, who addressed the town council during the hearing, had said that if government had not intervened to further civil rights, he would still be “in the fields picking cotton.”

Thompson told The Washington Post that he was responding to a statement made by an earlier speaker who had argued that government should not involve itself in civil rights matters.

“The bottom line is that most, if not all, civil rights matters that have been handled in this country have been handled by government action,” Thompson said in an interview Friday. “I went a little over the top on it, but I used the analogy that if the government hadn’t intervened, I would still be a slave in the field picking cotton. Government had to act, or I wouldn’t be here.”

Dunn, who participated in Tuesday’s meeting via a telephone conference call, strongly objected to Thompson’s assertion.

“Shame on you, Mr. Thompson, for throwing slavery into this discussion,” Dunn said. “There are people who feel that. . . government is supposed to be the answer to everything, and Mr. Thompson, I don’t believe that government freed our slaves we had in this country. That was an evil that this country had. It was the hand of God touching the hearts of man that freed those slaves.”