When I think of the lack of substantive engagement with the Black community by the Republican Party and the conservative movement, I am reminded of the expression: “When all is said and done, there’s more said than done!!!” For purposes of this column, I will use the word Republican and conservative interchangeably.
Just as sure as liberals continue to lie to the Black community, the Washington Redskins will have another losing season, and the Biden administration will continue to show their incompetence; conservatives will continue to screw up opportunities to substantively engage with the Black community!
And in the rare instance that they try to do the right thing, they do it the wrong way!
Exhibit A of the party’s incompetence is the Republican National Committee (RNC). They are hi-fiving all over their headquarters for the offensive initiative they undertook during Black History Month last February. Follow the link above for details.
Do they really think that setting up offices in the “hood” is going to attract Black voters? The hood? Really? These Blacks are the least likely to vote and this is where the RNC wants to spend millions of dollars?
It’s quite obvious they have no competent Blacks on their staff, which is leading them down the path of their continued ghettoization of the Black vote.
I challenge any conservative to show me one photo or video with them meeting with any of the top conservative Black entrepreneurs in the country about economic policy. I challenge any member of the House or Senate to show me a photo or video of any top Black conservative businessmen testifying before Congress on an issue that is not related to social programs.
I challenge the RNC to show me any photos or videos of them meeting with Blacks who have intact family units (mom, dad, children, not this stupidity about Susie having two moms or Johnny having two dads); families who have never been on welfare, whose daughter doesn’t have any babies, and whose son is not strung out on drugs? In other words, the Bill Cosby effect.
What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes!
Republicans and conservatives, let me see with my eyes you engaging with Blacks that don’t need your perverted social policies dressed up in conservative talk; let me hear with my ears that you think Blacks are capable enough to decide what’s best for them and their families, we don’t need you talking down to us; then in my mind I can believe that you really do value me as an individual.
It’s not just the RNC. Our Congressional leadership is just as incompetent as the RNC.
The RNC is supposed to be the PR arm of the national party. But how can that be when there is no one in leadership that understands effective communications?
Where was our party’s leadership on Wednesday, June 1st? I informed various leaders of our party’s leadership of the significance of June 1st, but “When all is said and done, there’s more said than done!”
June 1st marks the beginning of Black Music Month; it has been recognized by every president since 1979. It was created by my longtime friend and client, the legendary songwriter and producer, Kenny Gamble from Philadelphia. He is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and has Grammys and myriad other awards.
I got him a speaking role at the Republican convention in Philadelphia in 2000 (go to the 18:10 timestamp) and Mitt Romney toured his housing community and charter school during the 2012 presidential election.
Even the incompetent Biden administration had sense enough to recognize Black Music Month.
Where are our Congressional leaders? Where is the RNC? They all have come down with a sudden case of laryngitis. If there were any “credible” Blacks on staff this would never have happened. Having Blacks on your staff is not the same as having the right Blacks on your staff.
Republicans know how to recognize NASCAR and Country music, but not Black music. Oh, I forgot, they believe in a “color blind” society. My bad! They don’t believe in identity politics…yeah right!
I am very sure they will also miss the opportunity to speak directly to the Black community on this month’s federal holiday of Juneteenth. This holiday celebrates when Blacks in the south received word that slaves had been freed by Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
This year’s holiday, June 19th, happens to fall on the same day we celebrate Father’s Day.
The RNC at best will issue a perfunctory press release that will have absolutely no substance to it. If conservatives were truly serious about the Black community, our party would use this occasion to speak directly to the Black community on the subject of “A Conservative Vision for Civil Rights in the 21stCentury.”
Will the House and Senate leadership address the Black community? I wouldn’t hold my breath. What about our 28 Republican governors? Don’t bet the farm on it. What about our candidates for the House and Senate? They and their white consultants are not even thinking about this.
I want to issue a challenge to the conservative movement. I would love to see conservatives in leadership positions offer the Black community convincing arguments as to why they should join the Republican Party or the conservative movement. But they are not allowed to mention Lincoln, M.L. King, or Civil Rights.
I don’t think conservatives are capable of doing this. Please prove me wrong.
I have offered my speech-writing skills to anyone who wants it, but as usual, not one person has taken me up on my offer.
What a shame if this moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for the moment that could be their finest hour.
Raynard Jackson is a Pulitzer Award nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur. For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter @RealRaynardJ or Gettr @RaynardJackson.
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