The vanishing Black Republican

Former Connecticut Congressman Gary Franks makes a number of interesting points in his Opinion piece of July 20 which I do not quarrel with but there is one strong exception.

As an African American youth in the 1930s and ’40s, I grew up as a member of an Abraham Lincoln, strongly Republican household and I take strong objection to his analysis and conclusion regarding why today’s Republican party is so bereft of substantial Black support.

It is my contention that rather than Blacks abandoning the Republicans, the party abandoned them in its love affair with anti-black “Dixiecrat” and White Citizen Council leaders of the Democratic Party, particularly during the Reagan and Nixon administrations, in an effort to stay in power. Under this pairing, liberals and moderates in the Republican Party became a vanishing breed with strongly diminishing influence and less ability to join successfully with Democrat liberals and moderates on legislation of benefit to African Americans and to groups at the low and bottom end of the economic scale.

In pressing for economic, social and humanitarian measures to address their urgent concerns, Blacks looked around and saw that the party of Abraham Lincoln had abandoned them in favor of their new alliance, which continues until today. African Americans align more frequently with Democrats because we find far more commonality with them on issues like social justice, voter suppression, police reform, expanded health care and expansion of workers’ rights and benefits in general.

In general, I agree that politically one should guard against putting all of one’s eggs into one of two or more available baskets. But in my view, the basket that is offered by the Republican Party — particularly today’s Trump-dominated party — comes up grievously short.

That and only that is why the current political arena contains relatively few Black Republicans.

Edgar Russell Milford