Of all the presidents of the United States of America, it has been the ones of southern birth that have promoted and elevated African Americans in our society. To many, Abe Lincoln is best known as the great emancipator, but the record states that Lincoln only issued this great document in an effort to save the union. In fact, more credit should be given to Thadeeus Stevens and Charles Sumner, the congressional leaders of the radical republicans. Thus, Lincoln didn’t assist African Americans nor advance their cause.
Another American president who promoted African Americans was Franklin D. Roosevelt, while he did not directly promote the African American cause, his New Deal programs did trickle down to them.
Thus, in the 1930s, more African Americans switched to the democratic party, leaving the republican party of Lincoln. And then in 1948, Harry S. Truman, through an executive order desegregated the armed services and Civil Services.
But the greatest of all the presidents to help Black causes were Lyndon B. Johnson and Bill Clinton. These two presidents did more for Blacks than all the nation’s presidents. Credit Lyndon B. Johnson for the civil rights bill. The voting rights bill, “War on Poverty,” the head start program, Upward Bound, the work-study financial programs, andseveral appointments of Blacks in high positions including Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court Justice. At this time Lyndon B. Johnson made more appointments to Blacks in high level positions than all the presidents at that time.
The champion of all presidents was Bill Clinton, they called him a draft dodger, a pot smoker, a womanizer, and despite all this, he was two times a president and made more appointments of Blacks in super high positions.
Ron Brown headed the democratic national convention; Mike Espy and Alexis Herman were in the president’s cabinet. Clinton had a tendency to lean toward folks who needed help. And when a president gives help to poor folks, that, to me, is far for the course.
I hope that one of these days, God will send us another president who will be concerned with the causes of Blacks and poor people.