By Shakera Jones

I was having a discussion with a friend of a friend the other day, and he asked me a rather interesting question: “How can you support the Republican Party when they clearly do not want black people in their midst?”

Although my initial thoughts floated around how retarded the question was, it provoked an even deeper question: How does a self-proclaimed, life-long Democrat know how the Republican Party treats its African-American members? To me, like him or not, it would be very difficult to convince anyone that George W. Bush does not want black people in his midst when over two terms he has placed blacks in some of the highest government post EVER!

To find out how this Democrat knew so much about how black republicans are treated, I asked how he came to this conclusion. Had he spoken to disgruntle black ex- Republicans? Had he attempted to become a Republican and been denied? I figured it had to be somewhere along these lines, right? No. Here was his answer: ”

The Republican party has consistently worked against black progress. The Republican party has done nothing but cut programs that benefit blacks and other minorities. They have never made black issues a major party platform. ” I responded to him, “Really?” I saw where this was going, so I attempted to stay on his level, since I thought a discussion on actual issues or policy would be impossible. I asked him what programs specifically had Republicans cut or proposed that has hindered progress. His response, ” Housing programs, benefits to mothers, money for schools”.

Now clearly by this point I realized this was going to be hilarious, but in any case, I continued. It amazes me that so many black people really believe that government programs are the key to our progress in this country. Here lies a fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans, government programs are NOT the answer! We went back and forth for a while, he had no basis for his rhetoric, he stooped to name calling….end of discussion!

It’s just amazing to me that so many people have this perception of how Blacks are treated( or mistreated) by the Republican Party with absolutely NO foundation for these conclusions. I gladly informed him, that the worst assaults on my character, the worst and most infantile names I have been called in my adult life have been by black DEMOCRATS. I informed him, that the biggest hindrance to black progress is the refusal to acknowledge that people are allowed to have different opinions, different solutions to our problems. I have many close friends that are Democrats and although we disagree on pretty much everything, I respect their opinions. Now, personally, I feel they are being used by the Democrats to keep the black vote on lock, but that’s just a personal opinion.

To all the Democrats out there that think Black Republicans are ” fighting to be accepted” by our party, please stop making claims that you cannot prove. I have never felt unwanted by anyone. The most hostility I have felt because of political views have come from other black people.

The vast majority of Republicans…White, Asian or other are always eager to hear how and what they can do to get the black community to listen and understand that our platform promotes independence and freedom from the government control that has kept black people from seeing the progress we are capable of achieving. They would love to know how to break the Democratic monopoly on the black vote. They would love to sit down and discuss with you how your values might be right in sync with those of the GOP.

Bottom line, if you want to know how and why black Republicans support their party and are proud of it ….ask one!

Shakera Jones is a woman with a long devoted history to the Republican Party. She is a member of New York Young Republicans and Republicans for Black Empowerment. Shakera is working to support a better black community after earning degrees in Finance and Politics from New York University