Do black lives matter or do all lives matter? This question, asked in the first Democrat presidential debate, is quite simple to answer if taken literally. All lives matter, regardless of race. Perhaps a more meaningful debate would be fostered by changing the emphasis from the first word of the phrase to the second. Then a better question to ask the Democratic candidates would be “Do black LIVES matter or do only black VOTES matter?” If black lives really matter more than black votes, the Democrats have some explaining to do.
Despite all the talk about equality, black-white economic inequality has not only failed to improve during the first four years of the Obama administration but by some reports has actually worsened. A Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances found that between 2010 and 2013 the inequality between blacks and whites increased in several important measures including household wealth, median income and home ownership. African-Americans can feel the decline. In a 2013 survey, only about one in four (26 percent) African-Americans felt like their well-being had improved compared to 39 percent five years previously. More educated blacks were even less likely (22 percent) to say the situation had improved. Even 65 percent of whites felt like the well-being of African-Americans had not improved.
President Obama took office in 2009 after receiving 95 percent of the African-American vote. He began his presidency with an established Democratic majority in both the House and the Senate. The president and congressional Democrats had two years to pass his priorities but four years later black-white economic inequality had worsened. This does not seem to bother the leading Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as she recently gave the Obama administration an A and praised his handling of the economy.
How should African-Americans respond? Their household wealth as a group is 13 times less than whites. This makes it difficult for them to buy political influence by paying $200,000 for a 45 minute speech or donating millions to a “family charitable organization.” African-Americans need to do a better job of leveraging the one area where all individuals of any race are treated equally — the vote. What should African-Americans do? Quit voting exclusively for Democrats.
No party will truly respect any group if they know that they have your vote regardless of how their policies affect you. Democrats have lost respect for African-American voters and this loss of respect is evident in several ways. Democrats will consistently choose the interests of constituencies with deeper pockets such as environmentalists and teachers unions when their desires are counter to those of African-Americans. An obvious example is school choice and the expansion of charter schools. A 2013 Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) study reported that “the impact of charter schooling is especially beneficial for black students in poverty.” In spite of this data and the fact that at least 65 percent of African-Americans in Louisiana are in favor of vouchers to allow the option to attend charter schools, the Obama Justice Department responded by filing a lawsuit in an unsuccessful attempt to block school vouchers in Louisiana.
The Obama administration decided that political support from teachers unions mattered more than young, poor black lives. Hillary Rodham Clinton has also sided with teachers unions regarding charter schools. At a recent South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus event, she flip-flopped on her previous support of charter schools. Even the Democratic advocacy group Education Reform Now called her comments “very disappointing” and asked “Is it possible for a candidate who has been endorsed by both major teacher unions and who seems to be reading from their off-key songbook on charters to put kids first?” The answer is no. The American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association are two of her earliest and best financial supporters and they hate charter schools. Besides, she knows African-Americans will vote for her anyway.
The Democrats also show disrespect for African-Americans voters in the manner in which they campaign. They will place their emphasis on trying to demonize Republicans in an attempt to scare African-Americans to the polls rather than earn their vote. Mrs. Clinton recently launched the “African Americans for Hillary” group and this should have been the time to outline her priorities to help the black community. She chose not to stress improving employment, income and household wealth for African-Americans but instead chose to talk about criminal justice reform. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, she “endorsed legislation that would ban racial profiling … ban federal employers from asking job seekers about their prior criminal convictions and pushed to eliminate the distinction between crack and powder cocaine in sentencing.”
Mrs. Clinton thinks a top priority for African-Americans is reducing sentences when they are arrested for crack cocaine possession? What does this reveal about Mrs. Clinton’s opinion of African-Americans? I would not argue against criminal justice reforms but the African-American inmates I know through years of prison ministry would tell you that reducing sentences for crack cocaine is not the best way to improve lives in their neighborhoods.
Black LIVES do matter and the educational and economic well-being of African-Americans will improve with conservative policies that stimulate economic growth and expand educational opportunities for African-Americans. African-Americans should not let the Democrats distract them with their attempts to demonize Republicans as racists who want to suppress their votes. Republicans don’t want to suppress the African-American vote. They want to earn their votes with improved economic and educational opportunities for African-Americans, especially the poor.
African-Americans have a number of good reasons to support conservative candidates. One of the leading Republican presidential candidates, Ben Carson, came from an impoverished African-American family to become one of the world’s most famous physicians. He understands the needs of poor African-Americans such as expanded educational opportunities. Republican voters support him and the other candidates in part because they have the best ideas to lift everyone out of poverty. Conservatives are also more closely aligned with African-Americans on social issues such as abortion, religious freedom and support for traditional marriage. Lastly, if African-Americans will show a willingness to vote against Democrats when liberal policies fail them, they will surely get more respect in the next election cycle. Black LIVES matter and black VOTES are the way to improve them. Don’t waste a vote on Democrats again.
• Dr. Stephen Boyce is an ear, nose and throat physician from Cary, North Carolina. He is on the advisory council for Kairos Prison Ministry at North Carolina’s Central Prison and on the executive council of the Triangle Christian Medical and Dental Association.
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