‘MLK’s Dream’ Realized Over Trump VP Prospects

It should bother Black conservatives like Rep. Byron Donalds and Sen. Tim Scott that their only real role in the GOP and Donald Trump’s campaign is to be the resident “Black friends” who spin racial issues in a way that is meant to serve and satisfy the white populace. And it’s really difficult to argue that’s not all they’re there for.

You don’t see Donalds or Scott on press tours promoting other popular Republican policies regarding things like abortion, guns, the border, or the economy. These two Republicans—and only these two Republicans—are the members of the GOP who pop up at Black churches and barbershops to spread the MAGA gospel about how Donald Trump has the number 1 mugshot in America and how his legal woes mirror that of Black people being discriminated against in the U.S. justice system.

And despite that narrative—the one that likens Trump’s conviction to systemic racism in law enforcement and the justice system—these are the two GOP members who are sent out to media outlets to spread the message that America is not a racist country and that Black people are better off under the rule of conservatism. (That includes Donalds’ absurd insinuation that Black families fared better under Jim Crow and Scott’s assertion that welfare has been worse for Black people than slavery.)

On Thursday, Scott made an appearance on Fox News’s Fox & Friends where he did his one job. Scott was asked how it made him feel to be on the shortlist of potential running mates for Donald Trump, since it was noted that he would be “the first Black Republican VP on the ticket.”

“I think it’s exciting, no matter the outcome,” Scott said. “It’s the evolution of the Southern heart that we see on display, and we Southerners get so little credit for the progress we’ve made.”

“The whole notion of judging a person on the content of their character, not the color of their skin has happened,” Scott continued. “It’s not going to happen. It’s not around the corner. It’s in the rearview mirror. We are living Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream.”

There are a few things of note here.

First, it’s wild how conservatives — especially white conservatives — pretend to abhor identity politics until it’s politically convenient for them. If white people truly “don’t see color,” why is it that the first relevant question Scott is asked is immediately tied to his Blackness?

By and large, Black people can’t publicly celebrate Black achievements without white conservatives rolling their eyes and whining about DEI and the absence of “White History Month.” But when it’s time to point out that the “old white party” is finally becoming diverse and inclusive, suddenly, it’s no longer “race-baiting” — it’s just progress and patriotism.

Secondly, Scott always misses the mark when it comes to the underlying issue regarding Black people’s firsts. He thinks it’s a testament to how not racist America is that he might become the first Black vice president in the nation’s 235-year history of having vice presidents. This shouldn’t be surprising considering he also thinks it’s a testament to how not racist the Republican party is that he is the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate and the only Black senator to represent South Carolina in the state’s 235-year history of having U.S. senators. The inference here seems to be that racism is over once even a single Black person crosses a single color line, and that’s just not how it works.

Lastly, and more to the point, Scott wants us to believe that racism in America is over just because white people can’t openly persecute Black people just because they’re Black anymore. (Note that the word “openly” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.) Black people can legally vote now—so it doesn’t matter that Republican lawmakers are intentionally redistricting their state’s congressional maps to dilute Black voting power. Police officers can’t murder Black people with complete, unincumbered impunity now—so the racial disparities in how Black people are policed, profiled and unjustly killed don’t matter. Black people can attend integrated schools now—so it doesn’t matter that Republican lawmakers are systematically whitewashing Black history and banning decades-old academic studies like Critical Race Theory at the uninformed whims of white and fragile legislators. Employers can’t legally discriminate against Black people anymore—so it doesn’t matter that conservatives are on a warpath to eliminate DEI, affirmative action and any other policy designed to correct the fact that Black people have been excluded from access to the American dream for the overwhelming majority of the nation’s history. 

Actually, I’ve already written about this:

It’s statistically true that the average Black American family’s net worth is about 10% of that of the average white American family. It’s statistically true that Black men are given 20% longer sentences than white men who commit the same crime and have the same criminal history. It’s statistically true that White Americans use and sell drugs more often than Black Americans, but Black people are arrested on drug charges at far higher rates than our white counterparts. It’s statistically true that the average non-white school district receives $2,226 less per student than a majority-white school district. Data shows that Black people are more likely to be stopped by police. Data shows evidence of racial segregation in homeownership. Data shows that white people account for about 60% of America’s population but make up at least 77% of Congress. Data shows that every single state legislature in America is disproportionately white.

These are just a few examples that support the concepts of white supremacy and systemic racism. And if you think it’s simply a huge coincidence that the group of people who stay on the losing end of virtually all racial disparities just so happen to be the same racial group who suffered slavery followed by Reconstruction followed by decades of legally sanctioned segregation and hatred — then an inability to see through an often-repeated lie isn’t really your core issue. Your problem is much simpler than that. You’re just racist.

America doesn’t cease to be a racist country because “whites only” signs aren’t hanging over segregated establishments across the South anymore. As long as systemic racism persists, we’re not living MLK’s dream. At best, we’re slowly but surely progressing towards that “mountaintop” he spoke of.

As for Scott, well, again, he’s just doing his job—his only job.