In a powerful moment on the third night of the Republican National Convention, civil rights pioneer Clarence Henderson proudly declared himself a Republican supporter of President Donald Trump.
“If that sounds strange, you don’t know your history,” Henderson said. “It was the Republican party that passed the 13th amendment, abolishing slavery. It was the Republican party that passed the 14th amendment, giving black men citizenship. It was the Republican party that passed the 15th amendment, giving black men the right to vote.
“Freedom of thought is a powerful thing,” Henderson continued. “Americans, voters all over the country who the media has tried to convince to conform to the same Democratic talking points. Do you know what that will get you? The same old results. Joe Biden had the audacity to say if you don’t vote for him, you are not black. To that, I say, if you do vote for Biden, you don’t know your history.”
Henderson chronicled his storied history of involvement in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, when there was real oppression and inequality to address.
“There have been movements that have changed the course of history. Among the most extraordinary was the civil rights movement,” he said. “Sixty years ago, segregation was legal and enforced. The simple act of sitting at a lunch counter could lead to physical harm, jail time, or worse. I know from personal experience walking into Woolworth’s department store on November 2, 1960, I knew it was unlike any day I had experienced before.”
Henderson said the challenges he and his friends faced that day and during other civil rights protests were not quite the same as those invented by the modern-day left.
“Our actions inspired similar protests throughout the South against racial injustice. In the end, segregation was abolished and our country and moved a step closer to true equality for all. That is what actual peaceful protests can accomplish,” he said.
Oh, you don’t think burning down police precincts and looting stores is going to move equality forward? Who could have dreamed.
Henderson said that Trump’s record in office was more than enough to recommend him for reelection.
“Donald Trump is not a politician. He is a leader. Politicians are dime a dozen, leaders are priceless,” he said. “The record funding Trump gave HBCUs use is priceless too. So are the record number of jobs he created for the black community and the investment he drove into our neighborhoods with tax incentives and opportunity zones. So are the lives he restored by passing criminal justice reform, where 91% of the inmates released are black.
“These achievements demonstrate Donald Trump truly cares about black lives,” he concluded. “His policies show his heart. He has done more for black Americans in four years than Joe Biden has done in 50. Donald Trump is offering real and lasting change and an unprecedented opportunity to rise.”
Yes, and true “rising” is the last thing that Democrats and groups like Black Lives Matter want to see.
