Why Democrat?: A Love Letter to Black Americans

By Rashad L Jackson

Black people may disagree on many things, but on one subject we are astoundingly unified: which political party to vote for. Black Americans overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.Why?Do Democrats care more for Black people than Republicans? Have Democrats fixed the problems facing Black communities? Have liberal policies lifted inner-city Blacks out of poverty or made the problems worse?With candor and well-researched thoughtfulness, this book examines manyof the issues most important to Black communities, asking the question why Democrat? In addition, what does the Bible have to say about topics such as:• Abortion• Illegal immigration• Taxes• Gun control• The destruction of the familyYou may or may not agree with all this book' s conclusions, but one thing is certain: Read with an open mind and you will find yourself asking, why Democrat?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HigherLife Publishing
• Release date: Oct 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781954533769

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY BLACK PEOPLE ARE SO DIVIDED? In most urban cities across the country, most crime is black-on-black. We have the highest percentage of fatherless homes of any ethnic group. Too often, when there is violence at a party or a club, it involves black people doing harm to other black people. With all of this perceived division, how is it that during election time we seem to come together and unitedly vote for the Democratic Party? It appears that we are the most divided race when it comes to getting along with one another, but we seem to be the most unified out of any ethnic group during election season.

If you look at the breakdown of the voting demographics by political party, you will notice that black people are strongly aligned with the Democrat Party. Over the four presidential elections from 2004-2016, white people on average have voted 57% Republican and 40% Democrat. Asians have voted 32% Republican and 64% Democrat. Hispanics have voted 32% Republican and 64% Democrat. In the same elections, black people voted for Democrats to the astounding tune of 91% percent, with only 7% of the vote given to Republicans.¹ This huge disparity is not just in presidential elections either. It is the same across the board for governors, mayors, and all local and state levels—all the way down to city councils.

Growing up, I didn’t know these exact numbers, but when I learned them, they didn’t surprise me much. But I still had questions. Is the Democrat Party really that good to black people? What have they done to receive our undying loyalty on any given election day? If they are truly our best choice when we vote them into office, then what are the known benefits of us doing that? When I say benefits, I mean how are we better off having voted Democrats into office?

My first memory of seeing or even hearing about politics in any form was in 1988, when I was ten. I remember watching Jesse Jackson give a speech at a campaign stop to a large crowd of black people. I remember thinking to myself, Man that’s a lot of black people screaming and yelling for him. I don’t think I had ever seen anything like that before. Other than getting a short glimpse of the 1992 presidential debates between Ross Perot and George H. W. Bush, that was the last I heard or thought of politics until 1996.

By this time, I was ending my senior year in high school and transitioning into my freshman year in college. I didn’t pay attention to the presidential primaries during this year, nor did I watch any of the presidential debates to find out what the Democratic and Republican candidates believed. All I knew was that, for the first time in my life, I was going to vote. Who I was going to vote for was another story altogether.

When it was time for me to vote in November 1996, I had no idea who to vote for. The choice was between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. I knew absolutely nothing about politics at that point, let alone who Bill Clinton and Bob Dole were. I asked my mother who I should vote for. I recall her telling me, Vote for the Democrat. I asked why, and she explained that Democrats care about the black people. That is an explanation I still get today, more than twenty years later, as to why black people vote for Democrats. As an 18-year-old, deep down, I wasn’t satisfied with that answer. I accepted what I was told, but for some reason, that explanation didn’t make sense. I remember thinking that I didn’t want to vote for someone based on what I was being told. I wanted to know for myself. That’s great, Rashad, I said to myself, but you still have to vote for someone now. I punched my ticket for Bill Clinton.

In 2000, I again didn’t know a lot about the candidates. I did know more than I had in 1996, but that wasn’t saying much. Everyone knew that George W. Bush was the son of George H. W. Bush, and everyone knew that Al Gore had been the Vice President for the previous eight years. Outside of that, however, I knew as much about what each person stood for as I had about Bob Dole and Bill Clinton back in 1996: nothing. Well, maybe I shouldn’t say that.

I became a Christian in 1998. I do remember hearing that George Bush’s platform more closely lined up with my biblical views and that Al Gore was more liberal, but I didn’t take the time to find out the truth like all voters should. I was still caught up in what I had heard the last two elections: that the Democrat Party is the party for black people. So, in 2000, I cast my vote for Al Gore—though in all honesty, I really don’t remember who I voted for in 2000.

I had just done it again. For the second presidential election in a row (the only two I was eligible to vote in), I voted with almost zero knowledge of who I was voting for and why. That is not okay. Americans died to give me the right to vote—a lot of them in fact. I’m supposed to be able to defend my position, my vote, or the candidate I support with some facts, data, proof, evidence, or something. I had nothing. At that moment I made the quality decision to never do that again.

For me to make sure the 2004 election was different, I had to get some questions answered. Do Democrats really care about the poor and middle class more than Republicans? Were Republicans responsible for slavery and Jim Crow? I needed to learn more about the issues that affect black people, such as abortion, the breakdown or destruction of the black family, taxes, and black history in general. What is the truth about the destruction of the black family? Is the tax code a hindrance to black people as well as Americans in general? Gun laws, marriage, illegal immigration, and so on—all these topics are very important to know the truth about, and I just didn’t feel that I was getting the whole story from the news media.

Most importantly, as a Christian, I needed to know what the Bible said about each one of these issues. The way I see it, at the end of the day, if I say that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior (meaning He is supreme in authority and character), then He has final say on how I cast my vote. Needless to say, I had a lot of work to do. My plan was to get information from both sides of the aisle and to get the truth. I figured that if I had those three perspectives, then I would have a really good understanding of the issues, as well as why each side believed the way they do. Only then would I be in an excellent position to vet every candidate. Ultimately, I would feel so much better about the choice I made for the President of the United States.

When I have political discussions with people who vote for Democrats, it usually escalates to me being yelled at about my position. I believe this happens for two reasons. First, they are unhappy that I am not a Democrat. Thus, the discussion starts with them having negative thoughts and emotions toward me. How dare you vote for anyone other than a Democrat! All black people vote for Democrats! Why are you any different? In those discussions, I am left thinking, So, I shouldn’t have a mind of my own? I’ve been married for seventeen years, and my wife and I don’t even agree 91 percent of the time. So, how can Black people walk hand-in-hand 91 percent of the time during elections? Seems weird, right?

The second reason for this anger is because they argue from an emotional standpoint, not from a logical, practical, and intellectual one. Intellectual includes critical thinking. That’s what I have done for the topics I address in this book. I feel that black people have been fed so much negative commentary about Republicans and their views for so long that when a person, especially a black person—or, God forbid, a black Republican—challenges or questions their views, they become angry.

Today, I am more informed than I have ever been. This doesn’t mean I know everything and that I can answer every question. What it does mean is that I know enough to defend my position. With help from the books and articles that I have read, as well as wisdom from the Word of God, I know enough to be dangerous. Though, like Paul said in Philippians 3:12,

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. (NLT)

In other words, I have made a big leap in my understanding of political issues and agendas, but at the core of all political issues are spiritual issues. We will discuss both throughout this book.

This book is about