(ThyBlackMan.com) As we just celebrated the federal holiday marking the birth of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I cannot help but believe how disappointed he would be at the state of affairs within the Black community.
While America has made major strides relative to fulfilling King’s dream, the media appointed Black leaders and their organizations have been nothing short of disastrous for the Black community.
Radical Black liberals and their groups always find a way to inject into any discussion of civil rights the rhetorical question, “when was America ever great?” This is their response to Trump’s tagline from his presidential campaign of 2016, “Make America Great Again (MAGA).”
These radical Black liberals would have you believe that America is still stuck in the 1850s in regard to Black people.
If America is so racist, how did we elect a Black man (Obama) president–twice? If America is so racist, how did we have two consecutive Black secretaries of state (Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice)? If America is so racist, how did we have two consecutive Black attorneys general (Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch)? If America is so racist, how are Blacks making millions of dollars in sports, music, business and technology?
Name me one other country that can make the claim that Black people have these opportunities in their country. Germany cannot. Britain cannot. China cannot. Australia cannot. France cannot.
Oh, did I mention America was great when former President Lincoln freed the slaves. America was great when a Republican Congress passed the Civil and Voting Rights Acts in the sixties. America was great when we witnessed, yet again, the peaceful transfer of power to Donald Trump from Joe Biden last year, despite witnessing one of the nastiest presidential elections in our nation’s history.
During a time when all Americans should be celebrating the progress we have made in fulfilling Dr. King’s dream, radical Black liberals seem to want to focus on our past.
Therein lies the problem.
Radical liberal groups like the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Urban League (NUL), the Black Economic Alliance (BEA), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), the National Association of Black MBAs, the National Action Network (NAN) have ALL made a conscious decision to be Democrat organizations, not professional organizations.
They ALL push a radical liberal agenda that benefits white liberals more the Black community they claim to represent.
When did amnesty for illegals become a Black issue? When did radical homosexuality become a Black issue?
I challenge my readers to name me one piece of legislation that the CBC has ever passed that directly benefited the Black community. I challenge my readers to name me one problem affecting the Black community the NAACP, NUL, or NAN has solved; not addressed but solved.
We have a whole cottage industry of Blacks who have become upper middle class off of never solving a problem in the Black community, despite receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in government and corporate funds.
I was once told that the sign of a great teacher is one who makes himself increasingly unnecessary.
This media appointed radical Black leadership is totally out of touch with the base of the Black community, but CNN, MSNBC, et al. will never show this dichotomy.
Why are these radical Black liberal media appointed leaders willing to die on the hill of DEI and affirmative action?
Everyone concedes that white middle class women are the biggest beneficiaries of affirmative action. So, if that be true, how can these radical liberal Blacks argue that getting rid of DEI and affirmative action will devastate the Black community?
Make it make sense!
Just a note to my inevitable detractors, my Godfather actually wrote the affirmative action law for Richard Nixon when he was president in 1969. Art Fletcher was the highest-ranking Black in the Nixon administration.
In my upcoming book, I detail the behind-the-scenes details of how Fletcher got Nixon to sign off on his proposal over the strenuous objection of his senior staff. It is a fascinating story that has never been told publicly.
All of these radical liberal Blacks and their organizations have been bought and paid for by white liberals. I am in meetings with these individuals and organizations frequently and see with my own eyes how the Black community is being sold out for a few pieces of silver.
We are living in a digital world, but these media appointed radical Black leaders are thinking with an analogue mindset.
So, what is the solution to encourage America to fully embrace the next step in King’s dream of economic empowerment?
Stop funding these legacy radical liberal Black groups. Stop listening to these radical Black media appointed leaders. Stop trying to force radical liberal orthodoxy on the Black community.
We have six decades of liberal policies forced on us and what do we have to show for it? We have fatherless homes, non-performing schools, and the total emasculation of the Black male.
Democrats have purposely destroyed the Black community. Republicans have purposely ignored the Black community.
But I must admit, if you can get beyond the rhetoric and bluster, there is opportunity to constructively engage with the Trump administration.
I agree with most of Trump’s policies, but sometime his execution leaves a lot to be desired.
Every successful Black entrepreneur will tell you privately that they do better business with Republicans in power than they do with Democrats.
As most of you know, I was part of the Bush 41 team. I cut my teeth in national politics with former President George H.W. Bush, which is how I ended up in DC.
One of the things he and former secretary of state Jim Baker instilled in me was the principle of “constructive engagement.”
Or as I say, “People do business with people they know.”
Blacks must begin to engage with the Republican Party if they are to ever be taken seriously as businesspeople.
Democrats’ legislative agenda is antithetical to any entrepreneur. Most Blacks do not believe in the radical liberal agenda being promoted by Democrats, but Republicans have done little to show the sensible Black community that they are a viable option.
That is why my approach with Black entrepreneurs has paid off handsomely.
The Trump administration is open for business if you understand how to navigate Trump world.
Unfortunately, these Black organizations and their leaders lead with their emotions and feelings, not with pragmatism.
You cannot be for affordable housing and amnesty for illegals. The economics do not work. You cannot be for engagement with Africa and condition it on their acceptance of radical homosexuality. You cannot be for more access to capital and want Congress to overregulate the banking system.
Blacks must learn to constructively engage with people they disagree with. Dr. King was phenomenal at the principle of constructive engagement.
We have fallen so very short of King’s dream that he must be shaking his head in shame at us.
White folks are not our problem. Donald Trump is not our problem. White supremacy is not our problem. The man in the mirror is our problem.
In the midst of tumult in his life, Michael Jackson told me he had to “Keep The Faith!” It is one of his lesser known songs, but one of his most powerful: ”…Straighten out yourself and get your mind on track; Dust off your butt and get your self-respect back; You’ve known me long enough to know that I don’t play; Take it like you want it but you got to keep the faith, gon’.”
Whether you agree with Trump or not, he is forcing the Black community to rethink their approach to politics and business. Though he is a very unlikely and imperfect vehicle, Trump’s presidency is right what the doctor ordered!!!
DEI and affirmative action are dead. Even if a Democrat becomes president in 2029, these programs will never be revived. The courts have spoken. Now what???????
Trump is good for the Black community IF you know how to navigate the tectonic changes going on in real time.
In the midst of chaos and confusion, there is always opportunity. The Trump administration is open for business. The question is, are you open to doing business?
Staff Writer; Raynard Jackson
This talented brother is a Pulitzer Award nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur. For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter; RealRaynardJ; on Gettr: RaynardJackson.
Can also drop him an email at; RaynardJ@ThyBlackMan.com.
