I registered as a Republican in 1954 and was active in the party as a committeeman for about 28 years in conjunction with untold numbers of other Blacks. In those years Elsie Hillman was in charge of the party and under her support we were a political force to be reckoned with but that was yesteryear, the party has gone backwards.
The current leadership has adopted the attitude that if Blacks vote at all they will vote straight Democrat. The local Republican Party has made absolutely no attempt to recruit Blacks for Tom Corbett’s reelection for governor. Remember that old saying, “nothing ventured nothing gained.”
The Democratic Party has an identical belief—“If OUR BLACKS vote at all they will vote straight Democrat.”
Tom Wolf has a few high profiled Black politicians out front for him but he has made absolutely no commitment to improve the quality of life for Blacks across Pennsylvania if he becomes governor.
Some of my best friends are educated, well read and have responsible jobs, but when it comes to politics they are dyed-in-the-wool Democrats. They say that they analyze candidates, look at their records, but they really don’t. There are some who are so caught up in a political party that they totally lose focus.
A number of years ago I paid a neighbor’s three months back rent to prevent his family from being evicted. Two years later I ran for a political office against an individual my neighbor had never met, but when I asked for his vote he said, “I can’t vote for a Republican,” and voted for the Democrat he had never met. Yes much has changed, but too much remains the same.
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(Louis “Hop” Kendrick is a weekly contributor to the Forum page.)
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