[The previous post shows that the 1994 crime bill did not cause or increase Black incarceration. Here, I’m talking about the intentions of Blacks, Black leaders, Biden and the Clintons.]
The anti-Democratic, New Jim Crow myth targets Joe Biden and the Clintons. They are considered fair game because they were part of the evil “establishment.” So who knows, they might well have been the kind of racists who would incarcerate a million Blacks to win a few White Southern votes. The sub-text of this myth is truly unfathomable.
By claiming that the 1994 crime bill was a major part of a new and more vicious form of Jim Crow laws, the myth casts such a wide net that it accidentally catches all kinds of fish. Perhaps Michelle Alexander doesn’t mind implicating all Democratic Senators and almost all House Democrats. But how is it possible that the majority of Blacks, as well as most of their respected leaders — in the House, members of the clergy, and their big-city mayors — were all in on this vile act of racism?
But if Joe Biden and the Clintons were on the side of the Black community and most of its leadership, why should we believe they were racists? And to this day, Biden and the Clintons are still unusually popular with the Black community. The only way the New Jim Crow myth could be right is if the Black community and its leadership were extremely naive, bordering on stupid. Needless to say, this is utter nonsense.
So here’s one more way that such nonsense is perpetuated by the anti-Democratic left. And along with that, here is the view of the Black majority, eloquently expressed by the Black clergy. (From Chapter 6 of Ripped Apart: How Democrats Can Fight Polarization to Win.)
What Did Blacks Say About It?
The Nation, in an article obviously influenced by Alexander, tells us, “Representative Ron Dellums, co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, voted against it.” Like Alexander and the rest of the radical left, The Nation just happened to leave out that another 23 members of the Black Caucus, including its chairman, voted for the bill. Only 11 voted against it. This is easy to find out—much easier than the point about Dellums.
Right after saying Dellums voted against the bill, The Nation tells us: “So did 34 Senators,” as if those Senators had been liberal Democrats who agreed with Ron Dellums. In fact, every one of them was a Republican except for one Alabama Senator who became a Republican three weeks later.
So why did the Black Caucus favor the crime bill? The best answer to this question may be a letter sent to the White House by 39 African-American religious leaders from around the country.
STATEMENT BY AFRICAN-AMERICAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS
We believe there is no more important responsibility of society than to raise its children to become upstanding adults. ... All of society—including government—must pitch in. That is why we support the President's crime bill. While we do not agree with every provision in the crime bill,
● We do believe and emphatically support the bill's goal to save our communities, and most importantly, our children.
● We believe and support the $8 billion in the bill to fund prevention programs such as grants for recreation, employment, and anti-gang and comprehensive programs to steer our young people away from crime.
● We believe in drug treatment to help get federal and state inmates out of the cycle of dependency.
● We believe in programs to fight violence against women.
● We believe in banning assault weapons and preventing these deadly devices from falling into the hands of criminals and drug dealers.
● We believe in putting 100,000 well-trained police officers on the streets of our most violence-plagued communities and urban areas.
● We believe that 9-year-olds like James Darby of New Orleans, who was killed by a stray bullet only days after writing a plea to President Clinton to stop the violence, must have the opportunity to live and learn and grow in safe, decent communities.
For all these reasons, we support the crime bill and we urge others to join us in this crusade.
Although this letter has been widely reported and is easily available, I have never found it reported by the radical-left myth makers.
Another endorsement that is suppressed came near the end of the negotiations over the bill. In July, 10 Black mayors wrote to Black Caucus Chairman Kweisi Mfume saying, “We cannot afford to lose the opportunities this bill provides to the people of our cities." The signatories included the mayors of Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Denver.
Shortly before the bill was passed, the homicide victimization rate for Black males 14 and older was more than eight times higher than it was for White males in the same age range. This is why Black communities were so anxious to have more policing. They were not being foolish and they were not falling for an evil Democratic plot. They were facing a vastly worse crime problem than was the White population.
Conclusion
I believe we could win elections and make all sorts of progress if we did not have the radical-left convincing half the party that our leadership has been viciously racist and they are all a bunch of Wall-Street shills. Talk about giving aid to the enemy Donald Trump. Of course, if we were successful with progressive change (as we were with our very non-radical majorities under FDR and LBJ) the radical-left would be out of a job. That’s why they attack past Democrats and forget there were Republicans.
Next up: Republicans: The Most Important Factor