Why I’m Not a Token
It is not easy to be a Black Republican and it’s damn near impossible to be a black, gay Republican.
The reason it can be so hard is not simply because the current GOP can make it hard to feel welcome in the party; it’s also liberals who start to question your authenticity.
Gay liberals see me as a sell out, nevermind that I’ve worked for gay equality. And black liberals? Well, they see me as a token, someone who is being used by Whitey to “color up” the GOP and hides it’s racist past.
That’s the focus of the post by Jamelle over at the League. On the one hand he seems to be praising black Republicans, especially those who are running for office, and yet he is also accusing us of being mere tokens:
… there is a definite aura of tokenism surrounding these guys. After all, they aren’t just the lone black faces in a lily white party (indeed, a party that takes “lily white” to its Platonic heights) – they are the lone black faces in a party that routinely and casually exploits racial fear and paranoia for political gain, and whose most prominent representatives in the media are race-baiting demagogues. More importantly, and as Adam recently pointed out, the GOP has yet to really grapple with its ugly racial history, and in fact, hardly acknowledges it (Ken Mehlman’s brief words in 2005 don’t really count). By contrast, Democrats – from the Civil Rights Act onwards – have devoted a hell of a lot of political capital to atoning for their ugly racial history. Indeed, the 1960s are something of an inflection point in that regard: at the moment that Democrats committed themselves to racial liberalism, Republicans embraced the disaffected white southerners left behind in the march towards greater political equality.
Sigh. These arguments sound familiar. They are the same arguments lobbed at gay Republicans. “How can you stay in a party that hates you?” goes the sentiment from liberals.
Listen, I am well aware of the GOP’s history when it comes to race over the last 40 years. It hasn’t been pretty. But I don’t join a party because someone likes me or not. I became a Republican after a long time of thinking about my political beliefs. No it’s not perfect, but I’m working to change that.
At some point, it’s rather silly to try to explain myself to people like Jamelle or Bob Herbert who he references. Nothing I say will please them, unless I renounce being a Republican.
I can’t speak for others, but I can say that I am NOT a token. I made this decision of my own choosing. I’m not interested in being anybody’s spokesperson.
I don’t see how you can draw that conclusion from my post. Like I said in the post itself, I think it’s a good thing that there are credible African-American Republicans running for higher office. This is good for the black community and its good for the country. What’s more, I never once called all black Republicans tokens; as is made fairly clear throughout, most of my emphasis is on the figures in the linked article.
I should make clear too that I bring up the Republican Party’s inability to confront its racial history only because it is an impediment to black Republicans being taken seriously! Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, part of the problem facing black Republicans is that they lack credibility among black folks themselves, much of that stemming from a sense that they are ignoring – and thus apologizing for – the racial excesses of the GOP. If Republicans want to make real inroads into black communities, then their first order of business is to make real effort to correct for their past behavior.
Thanks for your response, Jamelle. But I have a question. How does the GOP atone for past behavior if simply saying past behavior was wrong is not enough?
My experience with Black Republicans it that they are usually tougher than nails. They get the core message of Republicanism. Which probably explains why Blacks as Republicans often rise to the top of the party.
For all that can be said for the Democrats and their efforts to reach out to a diverse America, where have the senior Black Democrats been at the national level? Sure, great representation in the House … but as Secretary of State? (Rice/Powell) … the Senate (Edward Brooke R-MA way back in 1966) … as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff? (Powell) … as …? This may not be the longest list but as compared to the Democrats?!
Within RepublicansUnited. I certainly have seen no aspect of tokenism.
If anything our group is a lot more like Baskin Robbins. Nope. Can’t find any tokens around here … unless you count us all.
So do liberals – who argue that black people are incapable of doing anything without government holding our hands like little kids, and thus argue in favor of black inferiority – hate black people as well?
Can liberals be racist?
You might find the following website of interest as it discusses “Liberal Racism” … the adoption of issues of interest to various minority groups and then manipulating the message to focus on group fears and concerns so as to assure those voters that there is someone that cares. See http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/guideDesc.asp?catid=162&type=issue
A really interesting read is AverageBro.com — which advertises itself as “A Negro Nonsense-Free Zone”.
AverageBro poses a very important message and question:
“It’s often said that Black folks are perhaps the most Conservative people in America on social issues. From gay marriage, to abortion, to right to free speech. And like most Americans, I doubt Blacks like higher taxes or wasteful spending. Strictly on GP, it would seem like the GOP’s message should be good enough to pull at least 50% of the Black vote.”
“So what’s the problem? It ain’t the message, it’s the messengers.”
What I like about RepublicansUnited. is that we are trying to be messengers of a different kind.
Leave your response!
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