ATLANTA/ SEPTEMBER 21 2022/ BPA LIVEWIRE/ For the last 30 years, I have openly identified as a Republican. As a member of one of the most well-known black families in America, I have grown accustomed to the vitriol that comes because of my party affiliation. So the recent fascist slurs towards MAGA voters come as no surprise.
Sadly, the hate-filled messages in my inbox are enough to make a sailor blush. Yet I ignore the hate and remain resolved because I cannot turn away from the lessons my father and mother taught me. I cannot ignore the truth in the teachings from my granddaddy and my uncle Martin.
In reality, even as I identify as a Republican, I always vote for the policies before I vote for the party. As a freedom-loving follower of Christ, my voting patterns inevitably lean towards candidates who fight for religious liberties, defend the sanctity of life from the womb to the tomb, empower parents, and protect children.
The media is big on labels. Labeling Republicans allows them to box Americans into silly narrow definitions. Over the years, they have created categories like Reagan Republicans, Tea Party Republicans and now the newest flavor MAGA Republicans. If I must be labeled, label me a Frederick Douglass Republican.
In truth, there is little difference between a Frederick Douglass Republican, Reagan Republican, or MAGA Republican. Unfortunately, the legacy media is working double time to paint a picture of MAGA Republicans as evil monsters who want to destroy America. But that is the furthest thing from the truth. I have had the privilege of getting to know the MAGA crowd, and before you write them off, I dare you to talk to them.
I bet when you do, you'll see that their beliefs are not at all different from yours and mine. They believe that every vote should count. They believe you can't magically become a woman simply by declaring it so. They believe parents should have the right to determine what their children are taught.
The achievements of the MAGA president Trump are inconvenient truths to politicians on the left who are afraid of losing their most reliable voting block, Black Americans. What are the policies that resulted from the MAGA president? In 2020, I wrote a book Why Trump? to explain my support.
Well, Donald Trump achieved the lowest black unemployment rate in American history. Today's high cost of everything from gas to eggs did not happen on Donald Trump's watch, even during the darkest days of a global pandemic.
The Trump Administration made permanent funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In addition, the Trump Administration increased school choice funding by $42 million because he, like the MAGA crowd, believes that children should not be limited by their zip code.
It was President Biden who, as an ambitious senator, ensured that Blacks would be disproportionately imprisoned by the 1980s crime bill of mandatory minimums. In contrast, passing the First Step Act was a crowning achievement of the Trump Administration. Black Americans made up ninety percent of those who received commuted sentences.
The list of accomplishments goes on, but rather than give the Trump Administration credit for anything, his opponents find it more useful to pretend that Black America is only successful when Democrats are in control. As Black families take the brunt of increased crime and skyrocketing inflation, Democrats have to find someone to blame. Their unfair target is MAGA Republicans.
About Alveda King: Dr. Alveda C. King is the daughter of the late slain civil rights activist Rev. A. D. King and the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a Christian evangelist. She is the author of the best sellers King Rules and We’re Not Colorblind. She is also the founder of Speak for Life, Chairman of the Center for The American Dream -AFPI, and currently serves as a Fox News Channel contributor and is the host of "Alveda King’s House" on Fox Nation and a NEWSMAX opinion contributor. Dr. King is also a former Georgia state legislator, college professor, a twice assigned presidential appointee, and a 2021 recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award.