Blacks and Republicans once had a strong relationship, and it had a good run. From the party’s creation in 1856 to the election of Franklin Roosevelt, Blacks voted exclusively for Republicans. This started to shift during Roosevelt’s presidency, and by the election of Lyndon Johnson, the relationship had been severed.
We have a two-party system for electing officials in this country and while some feel it’s the best system in the world, others feel it’s time for a third party. In either case, most people believe it’s good to have choices, but for Blacks there has never been much of a choice. Blacks went from voting exclusively for Republicans to voting exclusively for Democrats. While the ties to Republicans were obvious, the author began to wonder why most Blacks, himself included, were giving their vote exclusively to the Democratic Party.
In Logic: The Truth About Blacks and the Republican Party, C. Douglas Love examines what many Blacks believe about the Republican Party and the correlation these beliefs have on the way they vote. While the majority of them agree with most of the Democratic ideology, there is a sizable portion of the Black community whose political beliefs are more aligned with the Republican Party; yet, they also vote primarily for Democrats. Much of this has to do with negative perceptions of the Republican Party, with the most damaging of these being the belief that Republicans are racists.
How does a group founded on the principle to abolish slavery who actively advocated for the rights of Blacks for over 70 years become racists overnight? The author searches for a logical explanation for the switch from the strong relationship Blacks had with Republicans to a unilateral allegiance to the Democrats.
Love takes an independent view of this relationship beginning with his own upbringing which mirrored that of many Black children. He follows this with an honest look at racism, including the role that Blacks play in the racial divide. He then chronicles the differences and often the similarities between the parties and points out how the misconceptions about both the Democrats and the Republicans are based on generalities that couldn’t possibly be true. His analysis includes the strong role both the media and the misdirection from politicians play in crafting our political views.
The goal of this book is not to imply that Republicans have the answers or are better than the Democrats; it’s simply to show Blacks that having a bias against all Republicans is unfair and does both sides a disservice. It is also important for Republicans to understand how they are perceived by many Blacks and how they contributed to the divide by conceding the loss of the Black vote.
Finally, the author clearly lays out the reasons why Blacks and Republicans need each other and how their relationship can be mended. It has been 80 years since Democrats began receiving the majority of the Black vote and for 50 years they have received nearly 90% of the Black vote. Where is the progress that is so desperately needed?
