Black Republicans v. Republicanism
Time to Push, or Time To Leave The Party
The photograph above is real. But, it is an illusion today.
That photograph is from the post-Civil War period when Black people were mostly Republican Party supporters. Black men could serve in Congress because Black people, for a short period of time, could vote. However, it didn’t last long.
Today, the Republican Party has a smidgen of prominent Black leaders within the party. Black voters compared to the overall Black electorate is minuscule.
Because of the party’s racist views and policies, it only has one Black Senator. It doesn’t have a future if it doesn’t change.
How racist is the party today?
How about this —
When Senate Democrats proposed passing a voting rights law that would restore the strength of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to its original status, Utah Senator Mike Lee, a Republican, said the proposed bill was “written in hell by the devil himself.” Lee thinks Black people having voting rights is evil.
This is what the Republican Party is today. They are Mike Lee.
Remember, the Voting Rights Act is the law that finally extended legal voting rights to Black people. Without the law, Black people were denied one of the nation’s most sacred rights — the right to vote, as stated in the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Until it was passed, in 1965, Black people were second-class citizens, colonial subjects in their own country for most of the history of America.
They are the party that wants to and will disenfranchise Black citizens if they can. Senator Lee, for the record, does not even believe in democracy. He has expressed these sentiments previously.
He should know that on voting rights there is no compromise. Black people fought too hard for those rights and if his party wants to take those rights away, they might win a few battles but they will lose in the end. And lose big.
Recently, the party is guilty of the following:
- Cast over 100 votes to block the results of the 2020 Presidential election;
- Passed multiple laws in legislatures they control that make it much more difficult for Black voters to vote in the next elections;
- Constantly perpetuate the “big lie” that the election was stolen in 2020 and invalidate the votes of millions of Black voters;
- Continue to support Donald Trump as the standard-bearer of the party even though Trump is the architect of efforts to toss millions of Black votes in 2020 and in the future.
I think it is clear now that the Republican Party is anti-Black
For the record, “28 new laws” restricting “voting access” have been passed in the U.S., according to The Nation columnist, Elie Mystal. Mystal calls the GOP’s behavior “unrelenting and ferocious.”
I should stress right now that this is not an attempt to give any other party (Democrats for example) a pass when it comes to racism. Those parties have their own issues and their own work to do and I am good with discussing that as well.
But this is an assessment of the Republican Party in America. And I think it is clear now that the Republican Party is anti-Black. To be a member, and to be Black, one has to deny facts.
To be a member, and to be Black, one has to deny facts.
One also has to deny the truth of American history as Senator Tim Scott did when he refused to acknowledge America’s true racist history.
Professor Corey D. Fields, of Georgetown University, wrote about the status of Black Republicans in the party like this in February 2021, in America, The Jesuit Review:
“The Black Republicans who articulate ideas consistent with white grievance, or who work to undermine claims of racism, are given broad platforms within the party, even when those ideas are not particularly resonant with Black audiences. This race-blind messaging is not necessarily representative of what all Black Republicans think, but it is what the primarily white leadership of Republican organizations wants to hear.”
Fields also writes that the GOP currently gets “the diversity it deserves” as a result of this approach. He adds that “when Black Republicans endorse an explicitly “pro-Black” version of Republicanism, relations with white Republicans can be contentious and adversarial.” But if a Black Republican articulates “a ‘race doesn’t matter,’ brand of conservatism,” that person is given a platform and a national audience…”
Washington Post columnist, Perry Bacon, Jr. recently wrote that the GOP is basically “hostile” to Black people. That is the “perception” and it is also why even many Black conservatives back Democrats automatically when they vote according to Bacon. Why would they vote for a party dedicated to stripping them of their rights?
To remain in a party that thinks America was great in 1950 when Jim Crow ruled the South, and redlining and segregation dominated the North, is suicidal
My friend, George Farrell, a Black Republican, and Director of BlakPac, a Political Action Committee dedicated to electing more Black, Asian, and Hispanic conservatives, is pushing at the edges on this issue. He is speaking out as well as organizing to diversify the party.
Farrell recently wrote that “it’s time for the Republican Party to look more like America and elect more Black, Latinx, and Asian Conservatives.”
Farrell is making a demand that every Black Republican should make. Stop carrying the water for the party on racism.
But I say go further. Tell the party, “Change or we walk. We will become independents and our vote is in play. No more donations. No more blind support for bigotry.”
Black Republicans shouldn’t ditch the GOP just because the party is racist. Black Republicans should force their party to change for the country and the world. They can do this by forcing a racial reckoning of the party they belong to right now. If the GOP doesn’t change, then leave.
I am not telling any Black Republican how to vote in future elections either. But to remain in a party that thinks America was great in 1950 when Jim Crow laws ruled the South, and redlining and racial segregation dominated the North, is suicidal.
This is 2021. In 2040, white people will not be a majority demographic group in America. We already know this from the census data of children born now who will be voting adults in 20 years. We also know that all other demographic groups are rising in numbers and whites have declined. It is time to grow up and become part of the country and part of the world. The all-in for white superiority political approach is a dead end.
So, it is time for my GOP friends and other Black Republicans to make a statement. All of them. Yes, Black voters are not a monolith but, I know they are against white supremacy, are anti-racist, and are not here to support anti-Black policies.
Send a message. Treat them like you would treat any racists.