As a conservative black woman in the era of Donald Trump, this election cycle has resulted in a great deal of consternation for me. While voting for Hillary Clinton is not an option, Donald Trump’s repeated attempts to impugn Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s heritage and make blanket overgeneralizations about the plight of “the African-Americans” are indefensible and only serve to reinforce stereotypical views of the Republican Party as a whole. In spite of my reservations about Trump’s many foibles, the media’s Chicken Little routine and faux outrage is getting old.
On Sept. 30, Tavis Smiley, host of an eponymous program on PBS, gave a speech at Lehigh University entitled “Accountable: Making America as Good As its Promise.” At the end of his lecture, a student asked Smiley if the election of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump would lead to the enslavement of African-Americans. Smiley’s answer evolved into a Time opinion piece entitled “Why I Fear America Could Enslave Black People Again,” which was published on Oct. 18. He concluded that the student’s fears were well founded and pointed to the Senate Republicans’ refusal to grant Judge Merrick Garland a hearing as evidence of Congress “mocking the Constitution” and ignoring the rule of law.
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When Republican refusal to consider a Supreme Court nominee in a lame duck session is cited as a precursor to the enslavement of 13 percent of the population, there can be little doubt that this election has officially jumped the shark. It appears that progressives’ hatred for Donald Trump, as well as, one of the most conservative platforms in recent memory has caused them to forget that the separation of powers still exists. The 13th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 will not cease to exist should Donald Trump become the 45th president of the United States.
Smiley’s comments are markedly similar to remarks made by Vice President Joseph Biden in 2012. During a Virginia campaign stop, Biden told an audience composed primarily of African Americans that a Romney-Ryan win would “put you all back in chains.” Later, the deputy campaign manager clarified that Biden’s comments were a metaphor for the unshackling of Wall Street banks.
Smiley has been an outspoken critic of what he views as President Barack Obama’s failure to alleviate the issues facing African Americans during his time in office. In his address at Lehigh, Smiley opined that the president has done little to address concerns in the black community. Furthermore, he characterized Obama’s presidency as “eight years of good symbolism” and stated that the “data suggest that there’s so little to be optimistic about.”
In September, President Obama explicitly stated that he would consider a failure to vote for Hillary Clinton as a “personal insult” to his legacy. Since Hillary Clinton has said that her tenure would essentially be President Obama’s third term, one questions why Smiley believes that the fortunes of Black people would improve significantly under her administration.
While Trump’s lack of executive experience and unpolished stump speeches are troubling, Smiley’s intemperate response to the concerned questioner at Lehigh demonstrates a willful attempt to mislead an impressionable college audience and cast aspersions on Republican policy objectives. Instead of engaging in hyperbole, Smiley could have taken the opportunity to explain that the principles which served as the basis for the Constitution, while an admittedly imperfect document, have resulted in the freedom and opportunity they enjoy today and will continue to enjoy regardless of who occupies the Oval Office.
Courtney Holloway Montgomery is a former history teacher and legislative assistant for a D. C. based nonprofit. She currently posts her thoughts on her blog and Facebook page, The Cerebral Conservative. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
