If one puts this question into a historical perspective, the African American attraction to the Democratic Party makes no sense to me.
Slavery history: Hunter-gatherers and primitive farmers had no use for a slave. They collected or grew just enough food for themselves.
But, once people gathered in towns and cities, a surplus of food created in the countryside made possible a wide range of crafts in the town. On a large farm or in a workshop there was real benefit in a reliable source of cheap labor, costing no more than the minimum of food and lodging. These are the conditions for slavery.
Man’s inhumanity in the form of slavery has been one of the great travesties in the history of mankind.
Slavery has existed in almost every civilization, dating back as far as 3500 BC.
Although slavery is no longer legal anywhere in the world, human trafficking remains an international problem and an estimated 25-40 million people are enslaved today, the majority in Asia.
The slavery issue led us to the Civil War, 1861-1865. Author Ron Chernow’s book, Grant is arguably the best history ever written about America during the 30-year period from 1845-1875. It deals with the run-up to the Civil War, the war itself and the post-war period. General, and later President, Ulysses S. Grant is the central figure.
Grant believed in abolishing slavery; he was a champion of African Americans and throughout the Civil War he used his influence and leadership to assist slaves escaping from the Confederate states. President Lincoln, a Republican, agreed with General Grant and advocated for abolition of slavery and signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863.
During the siege of Richmond Virginia, the final months of the Civil War, General Grant and President Lincoln met frequently to discuss and plan for what freedom and equality should mean for the freed slaves. Their plan included the right to own property, to vote and hold office. The freed slaves would have access to all educational opportunities, public transportation and commercial activities; everything white citizens had.
The Civil War ended when General Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April the 9th, 1865. Five days later President Lincoln was assassinated. The vision President Lincoln and General Grant had for the freed slaves died with the President.
Lincoln’s Vice President, Andrew Johnson, a Republican, was sworn in as President. Johnson was a weak, indecisive President and sided with the powerful Democrat leaders in the Confederate states to restrict the freedoms for the freed slaves. The grand Lincoln/Grant plan for post-war reconstruction never came to fruition.
Not only were African Americans denied equal rights, they were, for the most part, economic and social captives in the southern states and subjected to one of the darkest periods in American history. The rise of the Ku Klux Klan was dramatic and literally threatened the lives and livelihood of all freed slaves without fear of retribution or law enforcement. It is estimated that there was a KKK organization in nearly every county in the former Confederate states. President Johnson turned a blind eye to the KKK devastation.
For 100 years following the end of the Civil War, the centerpiece of the Democratic party was segregation and all that it entailed. From 1865 to 1965 the Democrats were the party of the south. They demanded, got and enforced segregation of African Americans for 100 years.
As a young adult, I recall TV coverage of the Democratic Party’s pledge to continue segregation and keep African Americans riding in the back of the bus, drinking from “blacks only” fountains, from ordering a cup of coffee in a restaurant or attending a white school. Two examples:
Orval Faubus, Governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967; a Democrat, is notorious for his 1957 stand against desegregation of the Little Rock School District. By ordering the Arkansas National Guard to prevent black students from attending Little Rock Central High School, he refused to comply with a unanimous decision of the U.S. Supreme Court made in the 1954 case, Brown v. Board of Education.
George Wallace, Governor of Alabama, sought the United States presidency as a Democrat three times, and once as an Independent party candidate. He is best remembered for his staunch opposition to desegregation and declaring in his 1963 Governor’s inaugural address that he stood for “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”.
I care about African Americans. I know African Americans. While serving 32 years in the US Army I stood shoulder to shoulder with them every day. I served under and was mentored by outstanding Black leaders. I led them, trained with them, fought beside them. I respect their courage, capabilities and commitment. Here is what I know to be true; the only difference between white Americans and African Americans is the color of our skin. Period.
Some will counter this conclusion by saying, “yes, but if you go into a predominantly African American community you will experience a different culture.” Certainly, you will, just as if you entered a predominantly Italian, or Polish, or Jewish community. Differences in culture does not translate to inferiority.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended the 100-year Democratic Party hold on segregation; sort of. The “colored only” signs are gone and Democrats can no longer embrace segregation as their party platform. But even in the passage of the Civil Rights Act 100 years after the close of the Civil War, only 7% of the Democrats in Congress from the former Confederate states voted in favor of the Act compared with 90% from the Union states. Overall, 64% of Democrats in the Congress voted yes while 80% of the Republicans did.
So, how are the African American communities, as a whole, doing over the past 50 years since the Civil Rights Act? I would conclude, not so good. Are African Americans still struggling to achieve equality? I believe so.
Look at the state of African American communities in Detroit, Baltimore, Washington DC, East St Louis, Chicago, it’s a long list, and they all have one thing in common; decades of continuous Democratic Party control. It is called “identity politics.” That is, the politicians identify a segment of the population, Black communities for example, provide government programs that create a dependency on the government for life’s essentials, (housing, heat, food, child care, etc.). They then convince the African American voters that the Republicans want to take away their benefits.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The United States, is the most benevolent country in the world. For those who are incapable of providing for themselves, there will always be a government helping hand. The difference between the two parties is that the Republicans want to create a business-based economy in the Black communities. The Republicans do not want any “identity group” in a state of dependency but rather in an environment where they can be self-sufficient, live their lives believing in self-worth, higher esteem and more properly providing for their families.
Yes, the Republicans want to do away with some government handouts but ONLY, only, when they are no longer needed.
The community of East Lake is about 5 miles east of downtown Atlanta, Georgia. In the mid-1990s, only 13% of the residents of the East Lake Meadows housing projects had a job; 87% UNEMPLOYMENT. The high school graduation rate was about 30%. The crime rate was 18 times the national average.
Through an array of community efforts working together the nightmare for East Lake is history. Of the first graduating class from Charles R. Drew Charter School (pre-K through grade 12) 100% were accepted into college in 2017. The streets are safe, the gangs are gone, the government housing project has been removed. East Lake is a model community studied by groups from across the country who want to move away from government-controlled poverty and do not want to be beholden to a Democratic Party “identity group.”
During Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016, he addressed the African American community and summed up their potential future with a single phrase, “What the hell do you have to lose?” In eight words he made the case I have been trying to explain in the above paragraphs. As President, he has done more for the African American communities in 18 months that any other President. Black American unemployment is at an all-time low. Americans on SNAP (food stamps) has decreased by about 2 million with the rise in employment, better pay, less taxes and full-time jobs. This is an example of taking away a government handout when, and only when, it is no longer needed. Self-sufficiency, self-esteem in the Black communities is on the rise.
Accountability is a powerful concept and automatically leads to a better life, a better family, a better standard of living. I believe the African American communities have to come to grips with TWO ESSENTIAL ISSUES.
First, EMBRACE EDUCATION. Education is THE key to moving up and moving forward. Remember East Lake, study East Lake and copy East Lake. Take the long view, talk about education, meet and discuss how to do things differently and better. Make education a daily priority.
Secondly, FIX THE FAMILY STRUCTURE. In 1965 out-of-wedlock babies born to African American mothers was 25%. By 1991 the rate had risen to 68% and is currently above 70%. The out-of-wedlock births for white women is less than 20%. Too many young African American mothers are stuck with no way to move up and move forward. Parents, school administrators, preachers, community leaders have to attack this head on. Again, it is an accountability issue.
In the 1970’s the US Army was not in good shape; racial tension, drug abuse and lack of accountability were among the problems. A group of young general officers accepted the challenge to fix it. Part of the solution was to recruit America’s best and brightest to fill the ranks. Part of that process was a recruiting jingle, “Be……all that you can be…. in the Army.” It was extraordinarily effective and by changing the culture of the Army to one of accountability, trust and respect we rapidly moved the organization forward. The African American community can take this page from history, a pledge in your communities to, “be all you can be.”
This blog began with a question, WHAT IS THE ATTRACTION FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY? I do not know the answer. What I have tried to point out is that there is reason for African Americans to be skeptical. Just consider the FACTS; historically, the Democratic Party was the party of slavery, the party of the Ku Klux Klan, the party that held up post-Civil War freedom and equality for 100 years, the party of segregation and the party that did not wholly embrace The Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Now, 50-plus years since the Civil Rights Act, the Democratic Party has successfully locked African Americans into an “identity group” that has become dependent on government assistance; programs that keep too many African Americans in poverty.
New economic initiatives over the past two years have created momentum that can carry African Americans to new social and economic heights. African Americans can realize the freedom and equality that President Lincoln and General Grant planned to implement in 1865. “What the hell do you have to lose?”
Lieutenant General, US Army retired, Marvin L. Covault is the author of Vision to Execution, a book for leaders and a columnist for The Pilot, a national award-winning Southern Pines, NC local newspaper.