• COVID-19 Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Promotions
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • July 1, 2025

Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper

"THE NEWSPAPER YOU CAN TRUST SINCE 1964"

  • News
  • Editorials
  • Education
  • Urban Business
  • Health
  • Religion
  • Upcoming Events
  • Classifieds
EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MILWAUKEE COURIER

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Republican Party Rejects Black Voters

September 16, 2016

By Jesse Jackson

Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

Are black voters so loyal to Democrats that their issues are ignored? Donald Trump suggests as much, arguing that blacks had “nothing to lose” by voting for him. Now a column by Farai Chideya at FiveThirtyEight cites academics that make a similar argument.

In recent elections, about 90 percent of the black vote has gone to Democrats. Chideya cites Professor Paul Frymer of Princeton, who argues that politicians focus their appeals on swing voters, particularly “moderate, disaffected whites in the middle — whether you call them soccer moms or NASCAR dads.”

Chideya also cites two recent studies on how well black interests are represented in government. A 2015 report from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies concluded, “black voices are less equal than others when it comes to policy.” And a 2015 law review article by Professor Nicholas Stephanopoulos of the University of Chicago Law School “found that black support for Congressional legislation actually decreased its chances of passage.”

Are blacks voting against their own interests? Are they a “captured group” who would be better off if they weren’t so pro-Democrat?

African-American voters are neither fools nor strategy and continuing with Ronald Reagan and beyond — used racial dog-whistle politics to consolidate their party in the white South. The party of Lincoln became the party of Jefferson Davis.

Now African-Americans vote overwhelmingly for Democrats, not because we reject the Republican Party, but because the Republican Party rejects us.

If we vote our interests, we have little choice but to vote against a party that has systematically tried to undermine and constrict the right to vote, along with votes against affordable housing, against expanding Social Security and against poverty programs. Republicans have led the fight against a living wage.

They oppose efforts to curb gun violence in our cities by blocking background checks and repealing the ban on assault weapons.

They vocally undermine enforcement of equal employment laws and anti-discrimination measures. Their Supreme Court nominees gutted the Voting Rights Act, and their legislators have blocked efforts to restore it.

They have consistently voted against any plan to rebuild our cities, reinvest in infrastructure and put people to work.

They oppose efforts to ease the student loan debt that burdens too many African-Americans.

Blacks vote against Republicans in overwhelming numbers because Republicans are overwhelmingly campaigning against our core interests. Republicans can appeal to black voters but only if they reach out and change their policy positions. As former New Orleans Mayor Mark Morial told Chideya, “A chicken can’t root for Colonel Sanders.”

Arguably, the real “captured group” of voters are the poor and working-class white voters who vote Republican. That vote is surely against their economic interests. Republicans have won their votes by appeals to race, religion and conservative social issues, but never deliver. Liberal social movements for equality — the civil rights movement, the women’s movement and the gay rights movement — continue to make progress.

And working and poor white people continue to lose ground economically.

Now polls suggest that they favor Donald Trump for president, someone who opposes lifting the minimum wage, opposes empowering workers to organize, opposes expanding Social Security, wants to repeal health care reform and vows to cut taxes on the rich and corporations.

African Americans are not captured bloc of voters. We are people who are voting our interests — and looking for allies.

Republicans have to decide if they want to continue to push off against us or begin to reach out to us.

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Popular Interests In This Article: Jesse Jackson

Read More - Related Articles

  • Keeping Hope Alive: Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Message Inspires a New Generation to Vote
  • Mandatory College Football Practices at Time of Pandemic are Nuts
  • ‘I Can’t Breathe – The Murder of George Floyd was a Lynching in Broad Daylight.’
  • Americans Have United Before to Defeat an External Enemy and we can Again
  • The Right to Vote Should Not Fall Victim to Partisan Battles
Become Our Fan On Facebook
Find Us On Facebook


Follow Us On X
Follow Us On X

Editorials

Lakeshia Myers
Michelle Bryant
Dr. Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi formerly known as Dr. Ramel Smith

Journalists

Karen Stokes

Topics

Health Care & Wellness
Climate Change
Upcoming Events
Obituaries
Milwaukee NAACP

Politicians

David Crowley
Cavalier Johnson
Marcelia Nicholson
Governor Tony Evers
President Joe Biden
Vice President Kamala Harris
Former President Barack Obama
Gwen Moore
Milele A. Coggs
Spencer Coggs

Classifieds

Job Openings
Bid Requests
Req Proposals
Req Quotations
Apts For Rent

Contact Us

Milwaukee Courier
2003 W. Capitol Dr.
Milwaukee, WI 53206
Ph: 414.449.4860
Fax: 414.906.5383

Copyright © 2025 · Courier Communications | View Privacy Policy | Site built and maintained by Farrell Marketing Technology LLC
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.