Donald Trump’s political assault on black intelligence
Donald Trump is not seeking to appeal to African Americans, but rather his supporters who want their own bigoted stereotypes echoed back to them.
At the end of the final presidential debate Wednesday night, Donald Trump claimed, “I will do more for African-Americans and Latinos than [Hillary Clinton] could do in 10 lifetimes.” Once again, he has shown that his understanding of the experience of “the African Americans” — to borrow Mr. Trump’s bizarre phrase — is non-existent.
Mr. Trump says he looks at so-called “blighted communities” and wants to “offer solutions.” He has repeatedly asked African-Americans “what do you have to lose” by voting for him? Democrats, he claims, have run the inner cities for decades and perpetuated a low quality of life for black residents.
He claims that he’s “different” — unlike politicians before him, he will fix our country’s unsightly urban decay and magically transform low-income, crime-ridden inner cities into lands of opportunity and prosperity.
*Donald Trump still believes Central Park Five are guilty
Well let us not forget that Trump Tower, as journalist Errol Louis pointed out, is just a short, four-mile limo ride from Harlem. I think I speak for many in the community when I say that we’ve never seen Mr. Trump come to Harlem offering solutions to issues that Harlemites face. Has he been hiding in plain sight, just waiting to grace us with his ideas about affordable housing or equitable distribution of educational resources?
So now that the election is almost over, what exactly are these solutions? On the economic issues that impact many African-Americans, we have heard nothing of substance from Mr. Trump. Elect me or you’ll get shot – to paraphrase more of his out-of-touch comments – is not leadership. He preys on racialized myths and stereotypes, painting our communities as blights on this country, places where it’s not safe to walk without fear of being shot.
When African-Americans consider where their support ought to lie in choosing a president, it is safe to assume we will look for a candidate who can speak to issues like raising the minimum wage, creating affordable housing, and expanding educational access and opportunities. Where is Mr. Trump on these critical issues?
Does he think his “law and order” rhetoric that he mentioned again Wednesday night will inspire black voters to support a man who has ignored, maligned, or downright threatened our communities for decades? This is an intolerable insult to the intelligence of African-Americans.
*Donald Trump proposes nationwide stop-and-frisk policing
Mr. Trump is not only ignorant of the realities of life in his own city but he is woefully ignorant of history. He made the ridiculous claim that “our African American communities are absolutely in the worst shape that they’ve ever been in before — ever, ever, ever.” Ever, ever, ever – worse, apparently, than during slavery or Jim Crow. In undermining the history of racial oppression in this country, he shows that he, as president, could be doomed to repeat its atrocities.
Look no further than his reaction to the shooting of an unarmed black man in Charlotte – he saw it as an opportunity not to mourn this horror but to condemn the city’s protestors and claim their anger was fueled not by fear and hopelessness but by drugs.
Or his response to the question of how he would deal with poverty in black communities – a call for more stop-and-frisk, which he called highly successful in New York despite the tactic being proven to be both discriminatory and ineffective. His running mate Mike Pence said that he and Trump believe there’s been “far too much talk about institutional bias and racism within law enforcement” – a sweeping under the rug of the injustices of both our past and our present.
These are the rantings of a billionaire deeply disconnected from the reality of African-American life, who speaks only to others who may be equally disconnected or disengaged. It’s clear that Mr. Trump is not seeking to appeal to African-Americans with his commentary on black life but rather to his audience of supporters who want their own bigoted stereotypes echoed back to them.
Can he really believe that African-Americans feel they have nothing to lose under a Trump presidency? In these polarizing, perilous and divisive times, there is much that will be lost if our country is led by someone who discounts and dishonors the inherent value and dignity of African-Americans.
Michael A. Walrond Jr. is Senior Pastor at First Corinthian Baptist Church, a congregation of more than 10,000 in Harlem, and Chair of the Mayor’s Clergy Advisory Council.
