Crooks: Political parties switched positions after Civil Rights

Sarah West’s critique of my comments on slavery demands a response. She accurately points out that the Democratic Party did virtually nothing to help slaves in the 19th century. However, we live in the 21st century and the two major political parties have flip-flopped in the past 60 years when it comes to race relations.

Historically, Strom Thurmond, a Democrat, formed the Dixiecrat Party and ran for president in 1948. He and most southern Democrats switched to the Republican Party when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race. Sarah, why do you think these racist politicians switched their political affiliation?

Today, Democrats received about 90% of the African American vote. These voters realize that the political party of FDR, Kennedy and Obama stands for liberty and equal opportunity for all Americans, while the party of Trump gladly embraces groups that are advocates of White supremacy. As I mentioned in my previous letter, the current GOP has proposed more than 400 bills designed to make voting more difficult of African Americans.

No Sarah, I do not support spending $14 trillion on reparations. That idea is never going to fly. I would support giving African Americans a lower interest rate on their mortgage or similar measures designed to put more money in the hands of people whose ancestors were slaves. The details of such a proposal should be open for discussion and negotiation.

Regrettably, because today we only have one functioning political party, it is doubtful that negotiations on reparations, inflation, gun violence, abortion, government spending, border control, climate change or anything else will be successful. However, this is the current political world in which we live.