In fact, in 2012, African-Americans for the first time voted at a higher rate, 66.2 percent, than did Whites, with a rate of 64.1 percent, or Asians or Hispanics, with rates of about 48 percent each.
Getting more African-American and other minority votes in the future will become increasingly important as the birth rates among Whites continue to shrink. Within about 30 years, racial and ethnic minorities are expected to make up a majority of Americans.
Republicans often point to history as to why African-Americans should join the GOP. They point out that Republican President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, Republicans founded the NAACP and Republicans were critical in passing the Civil Rights Act.
This is all true. But the switch from the majority of Blacks being Republican to the majority being Democrats today came after the passage of the Civil Rights Act under the leadership of Democratic President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
After the passage of the Civil Rights Acts and Voting Rights Act, many Southern Whites left the Democratic Party and Blacks joined the party in droves.
Today, African-Americans vote overwhelmingly Democratic.
Still some African-Americans who normally vote Democratic may be willing to consider voting Republican if the party appeals to their interest and stops insulting them.
Republicans can’t expect African-Americans who may lean conservative to embrace a party whose leaders launch vitriolic attacks against President Barack Obama, the nation’s first African-American president, and appear to attract extremists who make negative racial comments about Blacks.
There are some African Americans who align with the Republican PartyÆs message on such social issues as abortion, gay rights, school choice and prayer in schools.
But African-American voters strongly differ with the conservative view on the federal government’s role in protecting civil rights and providing a social net.
With African-American voters, “economic issues always trump social issues,” said Frederick C. Harris, professor of political science at Columbia University.
(Reprinted From The Philadelphia Tribune)
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