By Rev. Dr. M.L. Johnson
During the June 19 congressional hearing on slavery and reparations, Dr. Julianne Malveaux stated, "People want to talk ugly about Democrats; people change their ideology. … So the Democrats were the devil once upon a time. There were these groups called the Red Shirts, which were the Klan, they were Democrats. … However, the Republicans took that over; they became the devil. …"
In broad-brush fashion, she painted her "Democrats good, Republicans bad" picture.
What is Dr. Malveaux's definition of evil? This determination must be based upon her idea of morality. What is her source for moral law? It seems that the party she espouses actually represents more collective abominations than any other group known today. Not even devil-worshipers do the things her political party represents. Democrats burned black families out, forced them to leave their homes and properties, murdered and pillaged! The Red Shirts and Klansmen were Democrats. It was they that not only terrorized blacks throughout the South, but Republicans were just as much targets as were blacks.
One distinct question or observation must be brought forth: If the Republican Party's philosophy was so attractive to the racist Democrats of the Jim Crow era, why have these positions failed to manifest in the Republican Party platform, but still exist in the Democratic Party? They may not be blatant, in plain view nor executed in the boldness of the past, but today's outcomes and manifestations are similar and virtually undeniable. The only difference is that the party's inner core has been extremely successful in surrounding itself with blacks who have been rewarded handsomely for their loyalty – blacks who know that the policies of their lords maintain and preserve the miseries of their own people.
It has always been the Republicans who have the history of supporting the Second Amendment. From the time of the Emancipation, the Democrats started to regain power in Congress and throughout the South. As they worked to suppress the black vote, white Southern legislators and judges started introducing legislation (Black Codes) and rulings to make sure that blacks could neither own nor purchase guns. They passed gun control laws specifically aimed at the disarming of black families as well as other measures that literally stripped Southern blacks of every right acquired during that Period of Reconstruction.
The Ku Klux Klan brutalized blacks at will, so establishing such laws assured them that they would be safe without fear of blacks defending their homes and families with firearms. Gun control was and still is a key issue for Democrats. Those who switched and became Republicans did not bring gun control, which is historically rooted in racism.
It is somewhat eerie that Dr. Malveaux would speak of the atrocities aimed at the black communities in the past, but fail to 1) critically associate those events with the Democrats, and 2) recognize that it is they, not the Republicans, who still reign unequivocally over black communities.
Why does poverty and oppression still surround the Democratic Party? Like the days of slavery's plantations, Jim Crow-ism and on, we see areas within many of our major cities blighted with poverty, violence and hopelessness – every single one of them Democratic Party strongholds. These areas of social and cultural blight seem to be no more than modern-day plantations where one of the greatest crops is vote-harvesting.
If racist Democrats had fled into the Republican Party, would they not also bring their hateful and evil ideologies with them? The slave owners believed that black people were beasts of burden, thus granting themselves the right and power to determine whether they were to live or die. Similarly, the Democratic Party supports the notion that the unborn are not fully human and therefore subject to death. This explains why the parallel can be easily made between slavery and abortion. The Democrat Party past and present holds firmly to this abominable notion. Planned Parenthood's origin was based upon the extermination of black people specifically, but included other "unfit" groups.
Another thing the Democrats did to blacks from the time of slavery and even up through today was to use them for personal benefit and gain. The plantation obviously produced crops and labor. The abolitionist party of Lincoln functioned from the position consistent with the great words of the Declaration of Independence, reflecting upon the great truth that "all men are created equal" and that the same Creator gave all men certain "unalienable rights." In her blind desperation to forever label the Republicans as the devil, Malveaux again failed to see that her party was and still is the party of bondage!
Finally, there is a consistency within the Democratic Party that is as ancient as human thought itself – rebellion against the sovereignty of God. Any Democrat who moves to the Republican Party normally does not do so because of a lack of exemplifying the knowledge or presence of God, but because our Judeo-Christian heritage is part of the GOP, and God is openly referenced and worshiped. Dr. Malveaux cannot credibly say that the people of the Republican Party are devils. Remember, it was the Democrats in 2012 at their National Convention in Charlotte, North Carlina, who voted to remove any reference to God, Jerusalem and Israel from their national party platform.
So, let us examine the evidence that is plainly laid before our very eyes. Though not perfect nor completely guiltless, the Republican Party is NOT the devil, but has spent many decades seeking to live up to the founding principles that have made America the greatest nation God ever allowed to exist in this world! Look around and see who is actually benefiting from the misery black people endure. Listen to the voices that say that black people are incapable of being successful in a land of opportunity and cannot achieve the great American dream.
Recognize, I pray, that the devil is not representative of the party Dr. Malveaux and others have been claiming he is, but actually the entity they've made a deal with!
Dr. M.L. Johnson has been preaching the Gospel for over 30 years. He is the author of "Overcoming Racism Through the Gospel" and the host of the TV show "The Isaiah Project" (glc.us.com) on the God's Learning Channel network. He is pastor of the Heart of Christ Community Church in Brazoria, Texas, and can be contacted at [email protected].