Black history in US reveals Democrat-Republican clashes

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This week, it emerged that after two days of deliberation, the grand jury decided against indicting white police officer Darren Wilson for shooting and killing a black teenager Michael Brown in Missouri, US, on August 3.

This week, it emerged that after two days of deliberation, the grand jury decided against indicting white police officer Darren Wilson for shooting and killing a black teenager Michael Brown in Missouri, US, on August 3.

Inevitably, the verdict has resulted in mayhem as evidenced by violence, looting and rock throwing that has characterised the state of Missouri.

The mere fact that such happenings are taking place during Democrats President Barrack Obama’s watch compels us to resuscitate the unpalatable truths about the relationship between blacks and demonstrations in the US.

In 1865 a Republican administration signed into law the 13th Amendment to outlaw slavery and this was consolidated by the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

It declared that all citizens born in the United States are Americans and shall have the same rights and equal benefits of all laws.

From 1866 to 1928 blacks voted exclusively for the Republican ticket. In 1928 after the President Hebert Hoover took office. He promised “to put a chicken in every pot”. However, a year later the stock market crashed.

America went into a deep depression frustrated with the economy as well as the Republican party. Newspapers used their powerful voice to urge black voters to bread tradition and vote Democrat.

On election election day in 1933, collective voices of the newspaper were heard and when the votes were counted, democratic candidate Franklin D Roosevelt was the new president of the United States.

Blacks did not switch parties because of the hard times brought by the depression. Hard times were nothing new for the African-American.

They voted Democrat because the Republicans “took their vote for granted” Roosevelt continued to court the black vote by inviting blacks to the White House, appointing several to serve on various commissions and placing many more on federal payroll.

Black employment in federal jobs increased from 50 000 to 200 000, but Roosevelt developed no specific programmes to address the problems facing black Americans.

Two decades later, The two democratic administrations had maintained segregation and the request of a permanent civil rights commission had been denied and living conditions of the African-Americans were still deplorable.

This sparked the new civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Under the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, lynching laws were rejected as well as efforts to establish a permanent civil rights commission.

During these administrations black solders could no longer read outspoken black newspapers like the Pitsburgh Courier a they were confided communist and were banned from the military by the Roosevelt administrations even thor these were the very news papers that gave Roosevelt his black vote in the white house

Blacks knew it was the democratic party which fought to keep blacks in bondage. From 1864 and beyond Democrats proudly legislated black courts Jim Craw laws and the multitude of other local laws to disefranchise blacks.

The laws were specially designed to hurt blacks. But gone was the issue of slavery, Democrats fought for and gave their lives to expand it while republicans fought and gave their lives to ban it.

Some called it civil war others called it the war between the States.

However, to African-Americans and President Abraham Lincoln it was the war between the Democrats and the republicans concerning the states rights to maintain the institution of slavery.

Democrats murdered blacks who attempted to vote Republican and banned many from participating in primaries.

It was the Democrats who fought for the Dreds Court decision and celebrated after the court issued its ruling that blacks will be classified as property. The Democrats also formed several terrorist organisations including the Ku Klux Klan to terrorise blacks.

During the congressional debates on the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 it was reviled the Klan was the terrorist arm of the democratic party.

When Ebony magazine ask about reparation pay to compensated African Americans for the lingering effects of slavery, Vice-President Albert AlGore said “the best reparation is education and affirmative action”.

He never addressed the compensation issue nor did he acknowledge the significant roll that the democrats played in keeping slavery alive or his party efforts to disenfranchise African-Americans and make them second class citizens of the emancipation proclamations a period lasting from reconstruction to the late 1950s.

Bill Clinton and most white democrats said very little regarding supporting blacks in their quest for reparation pay, even though they claimed to be the friends of blacks.

In May 2001 Savoy magazine published and article published by Jill Nelson entitled “We’ve been bill Booziled”. In the articled Nelson said: “for eight years we have embraced Bill Clinton as an honourably soul brother. The puzzling thing is, we looked the other way as he hung us to dry.

“We shout that we love him and cheer as if he is actually doing something for us besides, as James Brown put it, talking loud and saying nothing.”

This is not to suggest that republicans of the past were head over heels in love with blacks. Such will be far from the truth. When President Barack Obama’s term of office ends one of the elements that will be used measure his success or failure will be on what his administration has done to uplift the living standards of blacks in America.