The Republican Party Mustn't Give up on Black America

I swear the internet social media ethos is full of moronic imbecile pathetic goons. Although they are vastly in the minority, a few “so-called” Republicans felt the need to express that “Black community outreach is a waste of time and is just a form of pandering.” Most of these remarks were followed by people cheering on and concurring with Scott Adams’ (creator of the Dilbert comic strip) rant via a video he made and published where he stated that white people should stay away from black people and stop helping them. Many people took to the bird app (Twitter) to post Tweets insinuating that the GOP should take his advice, stop outreach to the Black communities and offer them no help because there is nothing in it to gain from it. 

Rufus: Founding Father of Electabros @ReturnNormalcy

GOP should take note of Scott Adams' statement. There is no upside to helping Black America or reaching out to Black America UNLESS they are at first willing to change their communities. Why should we pander to them and treat them like babies? What's in it for us?

CAtoTX31 @CAtoTX31

@ReturnNormalcy Black outreach is a waste of time. Hispanic and Asian outreach would be much more rewarding at the ballot box

Joe Blowski @JoeBlowski4

@GOPKT801 @manofjustice007 Black outreach has historically been a waste of time because the Democratic promise of special treatment through entitlements cannot be assailed. Hopefully this will change as all people realize what the Dems have in store for everyone.

This rant was a reaction to a Rasmussen report that said that only 53% of Black Americans agreed with the statement, "It's OK to be White." Although, I disagree with Adams and think he ineptly and provocatively articulated a response to a very complex and controversial subject matter that easily can be perceived as racist. 

Jon Cooper @joncoopertweets

Here’s Scott Adams’ racist rant, in case you didn’t already see it.

That is neither here nor there because I want to discuss and reflect on the sort of knee-jerk reactionary attitudes pivoting from this to GOP Black outreach and the call for it to cease. I’m sure there will be enough thoughtful articles to go around reflecting and responding to Scott Adams’ video and the statements he made promoting segregation. 

As a passionate conservative Republican, the main issue I take with even promoting such nonsense is first and foremost, it’s a losing attitude and strategy. The last thing we should be saying during these vulnerable and uncertain political times is, “it's a waste of time to do outreach in the Black community.” Every vote counts and we need to fight for everyone’s vote. It is no wonder that the Republican party is underperforming in so many elections that we should be exceedingly victorious in considering the fundamentals and how terrible the Democrats have done.  

Some people that agreed or sympathized with the point of view that GOP Black outreach is a waste of time, pointed to groups like Blexit, President Trump’s close ties to prominent popular black figures amongst conservative circles, as well as his willingness to work on policies and find common ground with left-wingers.

Lucky Teter @LuckyTeeter

@MWatkins924 @KaladinFree How isn’t it a waste of time though? Trump worked with Van Jones on the First Step Act. The BLEXIT movement was launched. Hundreds of influencers whose entire focus was black outreach. And Trump shaved a couple points off the 90% leviathan. So 2% of 12% of the electorate.

So let’s examine. I'm a part of the Blexit organization and the former assistant state director for the state of Michigan. Blexit is a great organization that was founded by conservative influences Candace Owens and Brandon Tatum. The organization does amazing work. Blexit is one of the few national conservative organizations that do community outreach and service in urban neighborhoods. However, Blexit’s sole purpose isn’t specifically to bring people into the Republican party. They actually can’t do that as it is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on shifting culture, through live events, thoughtful grassroots organizing, and inspiring conservative educational initiatives. BLEXIT stands for the “Black Exit'' from the victimhood mentality. Did it bring Blacks to the Republican Party? Maybe. Perhaps... 

Most people who belong to Blexit sought out the organization themselves, usually after they got red-pilled and already started considering moving on from the Democrat party. Also, it’s worth noting that Blexit is not just a black organization. People of all colors, creeds, and ethnicities are welcomed. A good portion of the organization’s members consists of Caucasians, Asians, and Hispanic. 

Contrary to popular belief, Black influencers that regularly appear on FOX News and other conservative mediums that have White majority audiences are not going to drive Black people to the conservative movement or inspire them to change their political party affiliation. Most Black people don’t watch or follow these political influencers or politicians, nor do they take them seriously. So trouting out Black celebrities, conservative influencers, and pundits on television and at events is not going to have the kind of effect many white conservatives think or hope it would have. Besides, this is not how effective outreach works or looks.  

Outreach includes actually going out consistently in urban neighborhoods and educating people about the Republican platform as well as passionately and effectively articulating policies that promote safety, individual empowerment, freedom, and educational and economic opportunities. At the same time, Republicans must be willing to have difficult conversations about the importance of positive culture change and how it leads to better politics without being perceived as racist or bigoted. A tall feat indeed.  

Although outreach in minority communities has been bleak, the Republican Party has made significant gains amongst minorities in the past few election cycles. The Republican Party gained six percentage points among black men, and five percentage points among Hispanic women. It means some voters changed their minds, after either not voting, voting 3rd party, or voting Democratic in 2016. This is a great trend and it’s built strong momentum, it’s imperative that we keep it going. 

Building new coalitions and expanding voter blocs is very difficult. In recent election cycles, one of the most pressing questions has been, how the Black American vote could sway the results of any given election. Especially at the national level. That’s because the Democrat Party has been taking advantage of the Black vote for over half a century now. As the Republicans start to make gains amongst Black voters, the Democratic Party has gone on the defensive by race-baiting and infusing woke ideology in every institution they can. A reality that many progressives seem to forget is, black voters are actually philosophically moderately conservative on social issues. There is perhaps no more important group of voters than Black Americans for them. It’s been said that if the Democrat Party loses just 20% of their black voter bloc, they will have trouble winning elections going forward. 

So for Black conservative Republicans like myself, we must remain focused on welcoming and expanding the party, especially in the Black community, because it is in the best interest of our community’s prosperity, the party’s survival, and winning future elections. It’s sad that some people who call themselves Republicans, are calling for giving up on votes and proliferating division. We must refuse to give them the key to the door of the tent and allow them to be the gatekeepers. 

To pretend Black people truly don't want to be Republicans and therefore, outreach is a waste of time is extremely foolish, especially for a party that is shrinking in totality and has real institutional disadvantages. We've had very little real substantive outreach in our Black communities. Blacks didn't start voting 90% overnight. It is a generational commitment that has to be made. Quite honestly, mainly by other black conservative Republicans. Candace Owens, Donald Trump, Kimberly Klacic, Larry Elder, and the like made progress with the Black community in recent years, but there is a long way to go. Imagine what the future could hold for the Republican Party if we gave a real genuine honest good faith effort in organizing and doing outreach in urban communities. Now is not the time to give up on any community, especially the Black community.