Today the US Supreme Court ruled in a 7-1 judgement that race can not be the basis of excluding jurors. In this rare occasion where most all of the justices agree, the lone dissenting opinion is by (Yep you guessed it) Clarence Thomas. Justice Thomas is the second African American to serve on the court and currently the only African American.
But with all of this melanin accomplishment it seems that, like many black republicans, Clarence Thomas is afraid to stand up against racism. Although I’m picking on Justice Thomas now, I am always extremely frustrated with this complete disregard many black republicans take for their own communities. These are the kind of people that get pulled over for being black then make an excuse for the police officer – even though we all know what it really is. We saw similar behavior with the rise of Black Live Matter. It wasn’t until Senator Rand Paul positioned police brutality as overarching government that other conservatives including black conservatives got on the band wagon of police reform. This is indeed problematic.
I was drawn to the republican party in high school mostly because of my conservative upbringing but also because I respected folks like fmr. Secretary of States Colin Powell and Condi Rice. I even appreciated fmr. President George ‘boy george’ Bush. Yeah I said it. Although tough on our ‘enemies’, which in hindsight could have been handled differently, these leaders respected the racial history of our country. They didn’t make excuses for the Slavey or Jim/Jane Crow or pretend like racism didn’t exist. They recognized the past while looking to the future. This is what is currently missing from the GOP.
Black republicans cannot expect or allow white republicans to lead on racial issues. This is not an experience in which white people have taken apart and rarely do white people truly understand the daily issues faced by black people. America is only strong as it weakest link and looking at the recession high unemployment, poor health outcomes and failing schools in our communities we must address these issues head on. Its time for the Clarence Thomas’ to have a seat while the Colin Powell republicans lead the party and nation towards sustainable solutions that promotes equity.
Until next time…
Adventures of the Texas Black Republican 