Trump’s Colorblind Message Energizes Black Americans

By Corey Brooks

In his Second Inaugural Address, President Trump promised that his administration would “forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.” Those words were bittersweet. On the one hand, I live by them every day as I minister to my community. On the other hand, I can only wonder where our community would be today if we had followed those words since the 1960s.

During the dark period of segregation, African Americans made the most of our limited freedoms. When Martin Luther King Jr. led the civil rights movement, we believed we were on the verge of entering the promised land—our own “golden age” to borrow Mr. Trump’s term. We thought we would finally live in freedom and by our merit. Instead, far too many of us were seduced by post-’60s liberalism. We were told by the federal government that bureaucrats would uplift us through social programs, housing, food vouchers, busing, racial preferences, and one education plan after another.

It would be easy to blame the federal government for our failure to realize success. The reality is that we didn’t believe in ourselves, in our abilities, or in our entitlements, which we deluded ourselves into thinking were a form of reparations.

What a price we have paid for our delusions. Black Americans have never recovered from losing the culture of opportunity, self-reliance, and meritocracy that prevailed before the ’60s. Today, single-parent households are the norm. Illiteracy in reading and math is sky-high. Street violence remains an ever-present threat. Faith in God has declined. But belief in government as our savior remains shamefully so.

My neighborhood today doesn’t look the same as in the 1940s and ’50s. McDonald’s left years ago. Walgreens did, too. A massive housing project remains, some liquor stores and murals to dead rappers. That’s why Mr. Trump’s words were so bittersweet. My heart aches to see how a once God-fearing and hard-working people betrayed themselves into poverty and, worse, into mental enslavement to the government.

I want only one thing from Mr. Trump—to come to my neighborhood and tell the people: “You are on your own.” He’d be echoing Frederick Douglass, who said after slavery, “I have had but one answer from the beginning. Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has already played the mischief with us.”

Some would call this an outrage and accuse Mr. Trump of racism. Let them. They want to trap people in poverty. They prefer a permanent underclass. I ask the president to challenge my people to make something of themselves—sink or swim.

When you give someone that choice, it creates a new energy. There is nothing purer. Looking within and drawing that strength out makes you somebody instead of a nobody. This will lead to a new culture of thriving, not merely surviving.

The naysayers warn that some black people will sink. That is true. But people of other races sink as well. We have to learn that we are individuals and stop thinking that we must limit our potential out of racial loyalty.

The people in my community won’t be alone. I have been here for more than 25 years. I have seen generations born into a world where it is expected to think that the government is your parent—an omniscient force to organize your life. For years, I have stressed to people in my neighborhood that they must take responsibility for their lives. To take the path of upward mobility, they must marry and stay married. They must have children after marriage so that every child knows stability from the beginning. They must read to their children every night.

The worst thing black families can do is surrender their children to schools that wave failing students through. The elementary school in my South Side Chicago neighborhood produces graduates who are illiterate and innumerate. These children have no future. Their parents should be outraged. The mayors who allowed it should be ashamed. Parents must have school choice to ensure their children aren’t locked into systems of failure.

My neighborhood is famous for producing business owners and sports stars, but I know there’s more talent to be found. Stable families and education will lift our people to untold heights. We can achieve this within a single generation—the human mind is God's wondrous creation and knows no limits. Opportunities abound. To achieve prosperity, we must demand that the government free us of the red tape and regulations that stifle entrepreneurship and prevent growth and transformation.

Mr. Trump once asked black Americans to support him. “What have you got to lose?” he said. The answer was nothing. We had already lost everything. Now that he’s president again, we have everything to gain. Together with all Americans, we will be part of the new golden age.
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Originally published in the Wall Street Journal