By James B. Ewers Jr. Ed.D.
This is a question that is so ridiculous for even asking. We know the answer is a resounding no. What could the former president offer Black men like me except one of those baseball caps and a pair of those sneakers.
Mr. Trump has spent the past several months vilifying everything and everybody. He has hoodwinked a lot of people into thinking he is an advocate for good. Even his surrogates can’t follow the trail of untruths that he has told.
They try to justify and rationalize his comments. Listening to them making fools of themselves is laughable. Yet they have taken the political hemlock that he has been serving.
He and his allies have traveled the country talking to different groups trying to convince everyone he is the candidate to be the next president.
Mr. Trump has appeared before different groups and organizations touting his programs for better opportunities. If you are African American, what in the world are you doing voting for a man who will make our lives difficult and leave us in despair.
More specifically, he is talking and meeting with African American men about these phantom programs that he will implement when he becomes president. Let’s be clear. There isn’t one iota or scintilla of anything that he can offer me. I believe this can be said for most African American men in the United States of America.
When I see the former host of The Apprentice at rallies, there are always one or two Black men waving signs in support of him. He’s probably paying them $35.00 and a signed copy of Project 2025 to be there.
Sadly, there is a small minority of us who are in his camp for now. Some have become minstrels in his circus. You know some of them by name as they are in the House and the Senate.
Recently, Donald Trump visited a barbershop in the Bronx New York. Javiel Rodriguez Jr., owner of the Knockout Barbershop said, “Trump made it happen. He penciled us in, like a barber would on a last-minute haircut.” His father, Javiel Rodriguez Sr., added, “He’s very friendly. He showed his personality. His energy was so great.”
Mr. Rodriguez Jr., like he penciled you in at the last minute, he’s going to erase you the first minute if he becomes president of this country. It is my thinking that the owner of this barbershop created a hornet’s nest of unwanted attention to his business. That three minutes of fame has turned into three minutes of shame.
As the election draws closer, African American men cannot be caught up in Trump’s crucible of chaos. You have heard it before, and you will hear it again now. Donald Trump means Black men no good. There is no silver lining in anything that he says or does. Don’t be a victim of selective amnesia.
Do you remember the Central Park Five? According to reports, these Black men filed a lawsuit against Mr. Trump alleging he made defamatory statements about them during the presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. They were wrongly convicted of assaulting a woman in Central Park many years ago. The city of New York agreed to a $41 million dollar settlement.
The vote is our instrument to ensure democracy and the rule of law. We as African American men must vote for Kamala Harris because she is the cupbearer for the position of president of the United States of America.
I am reminded of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., about the human condition. He said, “When evil men plot, good men plan. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love. When evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men must seek to bring into being a real order of justice.” We should know our ancestors are watching us.
