The recent election results have flown in the face of conventional wisdom. After a disastrous presidential defeat in 2012, the Republican Party regrouped and gained control over the Senate while solidifying their sway over the House.
All the more remarkable, among the victors were three candidates of color: Tim Scott as junior Senator of South Carolina; Will Hurd in Texas’ 23rd Congressional district, and Mia Love in Utah’s 4th Congressional district.
The political loyalties of African Americans in this country have been pretty much the domain of the Democratic Party for generations, so much so that it bears remembering that this was not always the case. The Republicans, after all, started out as the party of President Abraham Lincoln, the “Great Emancipator.” The dramatic party shift did not start in earnest until well into the 20th century with the policies of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1930s.
This, of course, was the era of the Great Depression. As the whole country was in dire straits, following the adage “when White people catch cold, Black folks get pneumonia,” the American Negro, as they were known then, were particularly deprived. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” policies of the Democratic Party were especially attractive to people of color in the struggle to find work and relief, and his predecessor, Harry Truman’s (a confirmed racist in his personal life) desegregation of the armed forces sweetened the allure of his party. These action simultaneously ignited the flight of Southern Democrats or “Dixiecrats” to the Republican Party.
The civil rights alliance of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson solidified the fidelity of the Black vote, an allegiance that has been handed down for generations like a family heirloom ever since.
However, it bears remembering that politics is an ever changing state of affairs. As was demonstrated in the mid 20th century, political loyalty is subject to the influence of societal shift and the even more rapid alteration of the whims of culture.
Consequently, even during this slavish devotion to Democratic liberalism, dissenting voices (among them the Rev. Al Sharpton) have accused the Democrats of taking Black voters for granted, and ignoring their legitimate concerns and desires.
A recent discussion among a group of educated professionals of color brought up the little discussed reality that, media depiction aside, African Americans at their core are among the most conservative groups in the country. A prime validation of this is the prominence of the church, and the commitment to Christianity—a devotion visible across the country, but especially in the South.
African American entertainment attorney Marc T. Little attributes his own conversion to the Republican Party to a mid-life reexamination of his Christian faith and the realization that the GOP’s doctrine was more closely aligned with his values than the alternative.
“Most Blacks don’t mix their values with politics,” he believes.
“I joined the Republican Party officially in 2000 when I married my Judeo-Christian values with my vote.”
He feels so strongly about this union of politics and faith that he worked it into the title of his website, theprodigalrepublican.com, and a book, “The Prodigal Republican,” available on amazon.com.
In tune with this political ethos is the mantra of small government and self reliance.
“Our destiny is in our own hands as a people, and should not be determined by Uncle Sam,” declares Little.
Devotees of the GOP mindset believe that the opposite has made a concerted effort to weaken the Black family dynamic over the past half century. Following this rationale, Democrats and their liberal ideals may subconsciously support a “plantation mentality” of welfare dependence, with all its concrete manifestations of affirmative action, food stamps, Section 8 housing, and so on.
One person who made no bones about his displeasure with the recent election is “Jake,” (not his real name). An unabashed beneficiary of the advantages gained in the 1960s, he gained entry into a major company and made the most of his opportunity. After a decades-long career in corporate America, with his children grown, he and his wife enjoy the fruits of his labor from his home in Baldwin Hills and lead a comfortable, if not extravagant lifestyle, augmented by occasional visits “down the hill” to the local coffee shop for chess, dominos, and a chance to “chew the fat” with his contemporaries.
More often than not, these conversations turn to politics, and Jake, like scores of middle-aged and older men who frequent this part of African American Los Angeles, has long been disgruntled with the treatment afforded the first Black President, Barack Obama. This extends to his assessment of the chief executive’s job performance.
“Had he been White a lot more (legislatively) would have been accomplished,” Jake insists, agreeing that his take on this is difficult to prove.
The election on Nov. 4, and the resulting power shift within the governmental components with which the president must work, was the last straw. He attributes the “changing of the guard” at least partially to apathy resulting in the low voter turnout.
Jake also mentioned “ignorant statements” made by prominent political “taste makers” given space in the media. When pressed for specifics, he noted quotes by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in the Cincinnati Enquirer that “I don’t buy” that the climate is changing, noting that in (the) 1970s “we were all concerned about the ice age.”
In the same vein, McConnell noted that “for everyone who thinks it’s warming, I can find someone who says it isn’t.”
Pointing out what he calls a “narrow vision,” Jake makes a telling revelation that he shared a similar mindset in his youth. During the early stages of his career, as he enjoyed professional and financial success, he embraced the Republican view that since he had achieved, others should be able to do also. The passage of time and a series of events culminating in a conversation with a close friend eventually swayed him away from the right.
With that conversation and reflection came the revelation that in spite of his accomplishments, there remained the unfortunates who remained poor through no fault of their own.
With all this, Jake sees little for forward movement within the current political landscape, regardless of the Republican windfall in recent weeks.
“We’re so divided, it’s pathetic,” he says, indicating that he thinks the shift of power will only inhibit the progress of government even further.
