These Howard University Students Are Proud Republicans Who Stand With Trump
What in the world are they teaching Black students at Howard University? It doesn't appear that Black history, politics, and current events are being incorporated into the core curriculum--at least not for these coeds anyway. After a 10-year hiatus, the HU chapter of the Young Republicans has been re-launched.
Most Black people have both conservative and liberal views depending on the issue. What has folks raising eyebrows is the fact that these future leaders are die-hard supporters of Donald Trump. Party alignment based on ideology is one thing. Supporting racist and discriminatory policies is something else.
A few of the students spoke with PBS News Hour about the importance of providing a safe haven of sorts for Black people who have elected to "go against the grain" politically. Co-Chairs Alexis Hasty and Daisha Martin wanted to get more people involved in the political conversation as they believed that the millennial vote was critical to the outcome of this election. They believe that Trump will make our neighborhoods, cities, and country safe again.
Leah Le’Vell, who served as a student advisor to the National Coalition of Diversity for Trump at Georgia State University, presented the Howard chapter with a $2,000 check from the Republican National Convention (RNC) chair Reince Priebus to support their kickoff. Le'Vell is now a member of the RNC's African-American Strategic Initiatives Team and she believes that many Black people do align with the Republican Party but feel major pressure never to reveal it.
“Social media’s super popular these days and there’s so much persecution,” Le’Vell said. “And so people often don’t say who they publicly align with.”
Republican National Convention Senior Strategist Ashley Bell noted in the PBS segment that more people voted Republican in this last election than over the last 10 years. According to Pew Research, that amounted to all of 8 percent of voters in this last election.
“With the election of Donald Trump, we saw more African-Americans vote for Republican for president than in the last decade,” Bell said. He also pointed out that historically Blacks voted with the Party of Lincoln, saying, “It was bad candidates that caused African-Americans to leave the Republican Party, and the majority became Democrats. And, I think it’s going to take good candidates to turn the tide and reverse that course.”
What Bell failed to acknowledge was that the issue that sent Black people running to the Democratic Party in droves wasn't just about "bad candidates." It was the blatantly racist platform that Barry Goldwater ran on in his 1964 bid for the presidency. In the 50-plus years that have passed, Black folks apparently have yet to find a reason to return.
Granted, there is some validity to the students' arguments, but the foundation is shaky. Family, culture, and your history (if you know it) play a major role in shaping our habits and beliefs. But, if "education" about politics has you embracing policies which do not serve all Americans fairly and equally, then perhaps it's time to hit the books for a refresher course, or two.
And if this president continues to make good on all of his campaign promises, it won't be long before the reality of what his policies represent darkens all of our doorsteps. Choose whichever political ideology best serves your interests being careful not to alienate each other in this time and space. Even if we go completely against the grain, we can always come home, right? Key's under the mat. We'll leave the light on.
