No, you’re correct, it’s not. There were 22 federally elected black Republicans from 1870-1901 who held office and many on the local level. They acted with dignity and respect while being wiped out over that period by various politically backed white militias. U.S Senator Tillman (SC, D) used to go around bragging “We shot negroes and stuffed ballot boxes.” (His actual words.) The first black Democrat to get elected Arthur Wergs Mitchell, Sr in 1934, he won by defeating the only black elected (Oscar De Priest, R) in a majority black district in Illinois. It was really the only district outside the south, and out of reach of the Southern Democrats, where a black man could register, run, and get elected. He switched parties from Republican to Democrat. He was the only black in congress until he left in 1943, and he thought he could change the system from within by using his “status” as the only black to change FDR’s mind on certain black issues. Instead, he took the train to DC and when crossing into Missouri he was told by a white porter to move to the negro car. He protested, saying he paid for first class and was a congressman, but to no avail. He recalled later how the negro car smelled like animals and piss (probably because the whites never cleaned it). He realized his failure in joining the party just to win and influence the party from within. The Southern Democrats had complete control under FDR and made sure that the New Deal contained NO benefits for black Americans by going over every piece of New Deal legislation they passed.
My point is you have to start somewhere. More and more Black American starting getting elected under the Democrat Party and not Hakim Jeffries became their leader in the House and is tremendous speaker I just learned. Will this Byron speak out against racism in his Party? Time will tell if he is in it for real or will be satisfied with his position without any moral confrontation, letting himself be a houseboy like Ben Carson, who actually did the work of his supremacist overlord by wearing down housing benefits for HUD as Secretary.
