OUT & ABOUT: Can Philly Blacks Ever Turn To GOP?

BY DENISE CLAY/ On Wednesday, I was part of a panel that asked the following question: What can be done to make African Americans here in Philadelphia consider becoming members of the Republican Party? The panel was part of a series that a group of young African American professionals has been doing at Elaina’s Soul Lounge on Baltimore Avenue as a means of helping this particular group consider some of the issues facing the city.

The Facebook page that served as an entrée to the discussion has been, predictably, hot. It’s included discussions on everything from whether or not the parties are actually all that different (which, to one poster who said, “Rich white men run both parties,” they’re not), to whether or not we should view President Abraham Lincoln as the Great Emancipator because he didn’t actually think Blacks deserved equality with whites.

For me personally, I think that the question the forum’s organizers are asking is a good one. I’ve been to the Republican National Convention and have seen Black folks there. Heck, the former head of the RNC was a Black guy. True, he was a silly Black guy. But he was a Black guy nonetheless. Personally, I’m of the mind that Black folks, indeed all folks of color, need to be a presence in all political parties. You can’t make sure your community’s issues are heard by as many people as possible if you’re not at all of the tables, bringing your voice.

But I can kind of understand why Black folks would just as soon vote for a ham and Swiss on rye sandwich as they would a Republican here in the city. While the existence of President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama has cemented the allegiance of most of Philadelphia’s African American community to the Democratic Party, local Republicans have done themselves no favors with Black folks.

I say this because it’s getting much, much harder these days to tell local and national Republicans apart. There was once a time when you, as a person of color, could vote for certain Republicans without feeling like you’ve betrayed your people. There were folks like Arlen Specter (before he lost his mind and started acting like the Contract on America knuckleheads), former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kane, and others that at least admitted racism was still a problem, the cities needed help, and that the words “tax cut” were not a panacea for everything.

But now the local Republicans are sounding a lot like the national ones. While you’re not getting the “birther” nonsense, you’re still getting some other parts of the racism. And that’s really not gonna help the GOP with Black folks.

I’ll spend next week’s column talking about the forum, which unfortunately happened too late for me to make it this week’s column. It’ll be interesting to see what I learn … or even if there’s anything to learn….

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