Kanye Isn’t The Only Black Supporting Trump: Here’s Why, by Derrick Hollie

Kanye West surprised the American music scene last Friday by dropping a single “Ye vs. The People,” in which he and fellow rapper T.I. go back and forth about their political views. Some are calling his vocal support of President Trump nothing more than a publicity stunt, but even if that’s true, Kanye is bringing attention to some very important issues.

Derrick Hollie

Derrick Hollie

At what point did Trump become such a villain and the blame for everything and everyone’s problem? An article from Revolt TV points to over thirty-five positive rap references to Donald Trump including Jay Z, Ice Cube, Fat Joe, Lil Kim, Niki Minaj, Meek Mill, you get my point.

FiveThirtyEight did a study on 266 hip hop songs and lyrics referencing Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. From 1989 until 2015 Trump was positive and represented money, power and what many strive to achieve, including “Listen I ain’t from the slums, I fought my way up out the slum / Arrogant rich n — — , we might vote for Trump,” Cam’ron rapped on “Dope Spot” in 2015 .”. Most references to Hillary Clinton were negative including “Never Put Your Trust in Hillary Rodham”.

Even some of the most recognized black leaders including Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton praised Donald Trump for his diversity efforts. Trump endorsedJesse Jackson for his failed attempt to run for President years ago.

So something besides just ideological differences has to be going on here, right?

Is it Trump, is it the Republican Party, is it the policies he represents? Most people I ask give reasons that are personal, as well as what they’ve heard through liberal media.

In the song Kanye said, “See that’s the problem with this damn nation / All Blacks gotta be Democrats, man, we ain’t made it off the plantation.”

And while I wouldn’t put it quite the same way, I do believe many of the policy priorities so strongly supported by the left do more to keep people poor than they do to lift them out of poverty.

According to Forbes Magazine, “Welfare offers short-term help and long-term poverty”. The first failure of government welfare programs is to favor help with current consumption while placing almost no emphasis on job training or anything else that might allow today’s poor people to become self-sufficient in the future.

It’s hard to argue against policies that will reduce energy poverty for black and minority communities, or to defend why you dislike Betsy DeVos and K-12 education policy under this Administration promoting school choice when your child attends private school. Opportunities to pursue the American Dream without worrying that an occupational license scheme will keep you from starting your own business have become a cornerstone of Republican policy, and the opportunity to receive justice under the law and take mental health into consideration is getting more and more attention every day.

These are policy priorities of the Trump Administration and issues I was in favor of long before Trump became a candidate. These are issues that most African Americans and other minorities believe in.

I rode a bike and delivered newspapers every morning from 6th -12 grades and earned a football scholarship.

I’ve also been a small business owner under Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump. These and other experiences have allowed me to see life through a different lens.

For me there’s no comparison, we’ve been more successful as a small business and family under Republican Administrations than under the Democratic Obama Administration. That’s why I believe in opportunity over handouts, and empowerment over entitlements.

When it comes down to it, it’s about opportunity, and that’s something we should all get behind. However, like many other blacks who have spoken out in support of the Trump Administration, I’ve been called names, lost friends, and gotten all sorts of clapback because I see things differently.

I’m a husband and father whose children are taught to respect everyone’s point of view even if you don’t agree, but more and more those who don’t follow the narrow box built for us by the left are written off as crazy.

Whether you vote for a Republican or Democrat we should all be able to agree to respect each other and just because we disagree doesn’t mean we’re enemies. So, do you Kanye! And props for speaking your truth. We should all feel comfortable doing the same.

 

Project 21 member Derrick Hollie is President of Reaching America and Host of Reaching America on Demand Podcast . The organization addresses complex social issues impacting African American communities today. These issues include Energy Poverty, Education, Justice Reform, Occupational Licensing and Free Speech. This piece was originally published by Medium.


New Visions Commentaries reflect the views of their author, and not necessarily those of Project 21, other Project 21 members, or the National Center for Public Policy Research, its board or staff.



The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.