OPINION:
As a Black American male who has been a small business owner for over 27 years and served on numerous diversity coalitions, I am attempting to comprehend just how President Biden was elected with almost 87% of the Black vote.
After his large influence on writing and authoring the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 — which created the largest mass incarceration of Black Americans till this very day (outside of slavery), compiled with the multitude of derogatory comments made toward Black Americans throughout his political career, Black Americans still pulled the ballot lever in his favor.
The question that I continually ask myself is why do Black Americans as a majority continually vote the same way for decades on end, when the proverbial fruits of such voting have only resulted in a tremendous amount of policies that have done nothing but set us back?
Black Americans are the backbone of our great nation. Our strength and resilience are derived from many generations of family members who are strong in their faith and understand that this strong faith is the only thing that can get us through any type of hardship or travesty — after all we did build this country.
The lack of education surrounding the policies that were passed under the Trump administration within the Black community, that directly benefitted Black Americans, was evident in 2020. For example; I am still scratching my head about how former President Trump came to the South in the fall of 2020 and delivered a half-a-trillion dollars worth of resources to the Black community as part of his “The Platinum Plan,” and why it wasn’t on the front pages of every paper.
The Platinum Plan stood on the four pillars of; 1. opportunity, 2. security, 3. prosperity and 4. fairness. It funneled $500 billion into increasing access to capital in Black communities. Yet, less than 14% of Black Americans voted for Mr. Trump even though the Democratic Party had no such plans in place. It’s time for people to wake up!
Through his own business experiences, Mr. Trump became a believer in generational wealth, and during his administration he challenged us Black Americans to build our wealth, our generational wealth, our children’s children’s wealth. He believed we could build this wealth right in our own communities and dubbed them “Opportunity Zones.”
He wanted us to have the power to own our own grocery stores, gas stations and shops. With easier access to capital via The Platinum Plan, the vision was set to become a reality. Where is President Biden’s plan? Of the 35 executive actions he has signed, which ones are aimed solely on building generational wealth within Black communities? The answer: None.
Throughout the Trump administration, Black businesses flourished the most they had in decades, resulting in a total of 2 million Black-owned businesses nationwide (2% of the 30.6 million total). His administration named nearly 9,000 communities as Opportunity Zones providing tax and funding incentives to those looking to build their own businesses there.
However, these policies didn’t receive much coverage from the mainstream media, and the Democrats looked to distort Mr. Trump’s positive record with the Black community at every turn.
In the Bible, it is very clear that people perish for lack of knowledge, the Democrats and their allies in the press know this and continually prey on Black Americans for this very reason. I was shut down by the media when I spoke about the plethora of increased funding designated to benefit Black communities. During the 2020 presidential election, myself and others weren’t invited back to go on some of the CNN and MSNBC shows simply because the message of opportunity and growth was starting to resonate with the Black audience, and that message would directly benefit then-President Trump.
The Democrats and the mainstream media won, and now we have a Biden presidency. I would implore Black Americans to pay close attention to his policies, and to dismiss the rhetoric they hear on the nightly cable television shows and from Democratic talking heads.
Not only does president Biden not have a designated plan similar to the Platinum Plan to enrich minority communities, but barely two months in, and he has cancelled the wall construction of the southern border.
Anyone who does missionary work knows sex trafficking of minors is a horrifying reality at the southern border and that securing it is absolutely paramount. Having lived in Texas and having numerous friends and family members that still reside in Texas, I am aware the construction of the border wall employs thousands of minorities, as did the construction of the Keystone Pipeline. Unfortunately, both of the aforementioned projects have been halted, resulting in thousands of minorities losing their jobs.
Please wake up, Black Americans. We are continually taken for granted by Democrats. We should evaluate the records and actions of both parties and vote for the one that benefits us more — even if it is Republican.
• Bruce LeVell is a retail jewelry manufacturer owner and the executive director of National Diversity Coalition for Trump. He is the former chair of the Gwinnett County Georgia Republican Party, and a frequent contributor on Fox News, One America News, Newsmax TV, MSNBC & CNN.
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