President Biden once told Black voters that if they supported Donald Trump, then they "Ain't Black." Rep. John James turned that joke on its head this week from the stage at the Republican National Convention: "I heard a little earlier today, 'If you don't vote for Donald Trump, you ain't Black,'" the lawmaker from Michigan said as he flashed a smile to the crowd.
Mr. James is one of a historic number of Black Americans making the argument at the convention that Mr. Trump has broken Democrats' decades long lock on the Black vote.
From the stage Monday, the first night of the convention, Black Republican lawmakers described their histories: a great-great-grandson of a slave, a grandson of a cotton picker, and the son of a father denied entry to college in the Jim Crow South.
"We have certain goals and dreams, and it doesn't matter what color we are or what ZIP code we go in. We all want freedom. We want to have the ability to dream big and want to know that we put our work and effort out there to come back." SEE ALSO: Trump is back for RNC day two with ear still wrapped He is one of five Black Republicans in Congress, the largest total since 1877, though the number is still far behind Democrats.
The others are Mr. James, Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida and Sen. Tim Scott, who addressed the convention, along with North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is seeking to become the state's first Black governor.
Gone are the days when Republicans could muster only a few Black faces to take the stage at a convention.
Black voters, in particular Black women, are still considered the backbone of the Democrats' Obama coalition.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jul/16/number-of-black-delegates-swells-at-gop-convention/
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