Tag Archives: Black Republicans

African-American History, African-American Males, African-American Men, Black Males, Black Men, POLITICS, PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, RACE

Are Black Men Suffering From Stockholm Syndrome?: The Rise of Black Men Willing to “Make America Great Again”

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I was recently ensnared in one of the most peculiar conversations a Professor could have with a student regarding the fast-approaching Presidential election. That sense of peculiarity turned into concern when I encountered others expressing their intention to vote for Donald J. Trump. This political move is actual support for Trump and his low-information racist brigade of racists in their attempts to “Make America Great Again.” Simply put, there is a significant population of Black men determined to cut off their noses to spite their faces by voting for white supremacy and its various manifestations.

One particular discussion with a young man determined to “Make America Great Again” led me to believe he was suffering from Stockholm syndrome. The same mental disorder that ensnared Patricia (Patty) Hearst after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) in 1974.

The granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst attributed her support of the SLA robbing of several banks to Stockholm syndrome, a malady that mental health experts term a psychological response by abduction victims who develop a bond with their captor via brainwashing.

It appears that the Black men willing to vote for Donald J. Trump are due to a perfect storm of historical illiteracy flowing from an absence of relevant education, miseducation, and an astounding inability to understand the never-ending battle for politico-economic control. After all, the colonists’ desire for political power and wealth birthed this nation.

The never-ending resistance of majority white public school boards regarding the inclusion of the Black experience has left several generations of Blacks without an understanding of Jim Crow. One only needs to listen to the illogical hair-brained assertions of pseudo-Black Studies intellectuals that have proliferated over the last few years as if they were Gremlins who have found a large body of water to dive into for verification. They have no idea that their support of Donald J. Trump is akin to turning a blind eye to Mississippi bigots while they teach Blacks life lessons.

Yet, those proudly expressing their desire to cast a vote for the sake of “Making America Great Again” a synonym for returning to an era that Rayford Logan termed The Nadir, a moment where rapes, lynchings, abductions, and burnings of Blacks were the rule of law. And before pseudo-historians assert that they were members of the Democratic Party, this is true. Yet, that spirit of unregenerate evil moved in mass toward the Republican Party during the Southern Campaign. Today’s Democratic Party is no more reflective of the old Democratic Party than today’s Republican Party reflects the values of old. No William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown, Maria Stewart, David Walker, or Frederick Douglass are found in their midst.

Time is running out for Black men to reach an understanding that this political matter has nothing to do with Kamala Harris and her racial identity; it has everything to do with the realization that your best interests are represented by those supporting unionization, the pathway to a solid middle-class, and the monitoring of those who have to this day done their best to solidify their privileged position by rigging the system in their favor.

Although I stand with those who maintain that Black men are not a monolithic population, I also understand that the interests of most Black men are best served at the present moment by the Democratic Party ticket. An inability to recognize this fact hints at you not understanding the stony road our people have trod and the long way we must go in the battle to ensure that Black people have accessible pathways for individual and collective growth.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2024.

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Cutting Off Their Nose To Spite Their Face: Why the Republican Party Will Continue to Experience Difficulty Recruiting the Masses of Black America

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I realize that I have much company within Black America in regards to my steadfast determination to deny certain things before what many term “mixed company.” Of course, a portion of this discipline flows from a vow never to marginalize the Black image before White America. It is truly a peculiar and somewhat tricky burden to carry at times, a responsibility that I will lighten with this post.

The alluded to burden that I have silently carried for far too long is the fact that I do not find many of the tenets and principles supporting Conservatism repugnant. I am sure that if outsiders viewed many of my political viewpoints, they would argue that I am a closeted Conservative. Private conversations with other African-Americans inform my belief that I am not alone.

I adhere to the following principles that Conservatives have seemingly trademarked for political reasons. The populace I am alluding to harbor the following beliefs.

·      They are fiscally conservative

·      Adhere to a moral compass that overrides reckless behavior

·      Harbor a constant belief in socially responsible individualism

·      Believe that we should suffer the consequences of poor decision-making

The ideological underpinnings of Conservative politics are neither foreign concepts nor burdensome to Black America. Black preachers propagate these concepts several times a week to their African-American congregations.

Alas, Black Americans have not poured into the Republican Party as reasonable-minded people would expect.

I am sure that Conservatives are confused by the refusal of the vast majority of African-Americans to join their ranks. Black America’s repudiation of Conservatism flows not so much from concerns with political policy. The staunch refusal of Black America to migrate to “the party of Lincoln” communicates their refusal to join a political party filled with individuals whose political beliefs rest on pillars of white supremacy and racial bigotry. It is Republican Party leaders’ refusal to denounce the presence of those who carry such ilk that guarantees marginal success in recruiting Black America.

I pride myself on not grouping all Whites under a large political canopy that makes them a monolithic population of racial bigots whose sole priority is the oppression of Blacks. Such a judgmental characterization is not an accurate depiction of White America. However, one has to fight against using such a conclusion when square-dealing White Conservatives refuse to identify and publicly repudiate the racial bigots and White supremacists that are their political brethren. This failing sits at the core of why the Republican Party will continue to fail to make significant in-roads into Black America.

Although I do not doubt the desires of segments of the Republican Party to secure a more substantial portion of the Black vote. I do doubt their willingness to expel white supremacists and bigots to make their party more appealing to Black voters.

If I were a betting man, I would place my wager on the Republican Party remaining analogous to a political Frankenstein with often mismatched parts haphazardly put together in a desperate attempt to retain access to political power. To the chagrin of those seeking to add a little color to this political Frankenstein, they must understand that the vast majority of Blacks will continue to resist all overtures from the Republican Party until the leadership of that party disavows the white supremacists and racial bigots who call the Right, home.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III