by Daniel Johnson

July 15, 2024

Political Leaders Condemn Trump Rally Shooting, Call For Civility

'There is no place for this type of violence in America,' said President Joe Biden.

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After the assassination attempt on presumptive Republican Party nominee, Donald Trump, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, political leaders swiftly condemned the act and urged for civility in politics. Despite some questioning on social media about the nature of the incident, the shooting has raised significant concerns about security.

According to The Grio, President Joe Biden spoke to Trump over the phone on July 13, and issued a statement calling for the condemnation of the shooting. “There is no place for this type of violence in America,” Biden said, before adding he was “grateful” that Trump, who looked to be have been injured on his ear, “is safe and doing well.” Biden followed up by saying “Everybody must condemn it.” 

Vice President Kamala Harris struck a similar tone in her own statement, and called for everyone to ensure that violence does not beget more violence. “Violence such as this has no place in our nation. We must all condemn this abhorrent act and do our part to ensure that it does not lead to more violence,” she said in a statement.

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West, who was in Las Vegas for the Freedom Fest, told The Grio that his Christian faith compelled him to pray for Trump, and called to renounce violence against not only Trump, but oppressed peoples and religious groups.

“I am a Christian. I am praying for the brother and his family. All of us need to renounce language and acts of violence, especially against Black people, especially against Palestinians, especially against Muslims, Jews and anybody else,” West said.

According to The Grio, the shooting has prompted security concerns concerning both major party candidates. A former high-ranking Secret Service official told the outlet that security at the White House would “absolutely” be “enhanced” following the shooting. A former Secret Service agent, meanwhile, told the outlet that they believed someone would be fired in the aftermath.

“The question [is] how did a gun get in that close to a protectee?” They added, “Someone will be fired!”

According to The New York Times, the FBI is investigating the shooting carried out by a 20-year-old man named Thomas Crooks. Investigators are trying to ascertain whether or not Crooks was a lone wolf, what his motivations were, and how he came into possession of a semi-automatic rifle and materials for multiple explosive devices. 

A firefighter and a father of two, Corey Comperatore was shot and killed at the event, as was Crooks, the gunman. At a news conference, Gov. Josh Shapiro, the Governor of Pennsylvania called the shooting unacceptable. “The assassination attempt on the former president, Donald Trump, last night was absolutely unacceptable and tragic.” At the news conference, Shapiro also called for leaders to speak and act with moral clarity. 

“This is a moment where all leaders have a responsibility to speak, and act, with moral clarity,” before adding that leaders should “rise above the hateful rhetoric that exists.” He added his prayers for those who were injured, which included Trump, and the family of Comperatore. “We need to make sure that Corey’s memory is forever a blessing,” Shapiro said. 

RELATED CONTENT: Chaos And Mayhem: Trump Injured, Suspect Killed During Pennsylvania Rally

• Events

by Stacy Jackson

July 15, 2024

Black Powerhouses Discuss Key Strategies To Invest In Black Community During ForbesBLK Summit 2024

Black celebs and entrepreneurs dropped several gems on how to invest in Black capital, Black community, and DEI during the ForbesBLK Summit.

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The second annual ForbesBLK Summit in Atlanta brought together a diverse array of entrepreneurs, business leaders, athletes, and entertainers to inspire Black entrepreneurs and executives. According to Forbes, the three-day event, held from June 23-25, focused on strategies for investing in the Black community, with attendees gaining valuable insights on raising capital, product ownership, financial literacy, and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Importance of Mentorship in Raising Capital

Kneeland Youngblood, CEO of Pharos Capital Group, shared his journey to success, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and seeking mentorship. He encouraged Black entrepreneurs to approach potential investors, regardless of their status. Sharing his story meeting the late Richard Rainwater, he said, “If this man, who went from $20 million to $12 billion, took the time to meet with me and help me, then he must see something in me that I don’t see in myself.”

Youngblood stressed the significance of connecting with investors interested in their ideas, like billionaires David Bonderman and Michael Milken, who provided him with initial capital.

Investment Principal Bukie Adebo echoed these sentiments, highlighting three qualities that excite her in founders seeking capital: deep industry knowledge, challenging insights, and genuine customer understanding. Derek Smith of Plug In Ventures advised Black entrepreneurs to showcase their “secret sauce” when pursuing venture capital.

Fantasia Barrino-Taylor And Kirk Franklin On Owning The Product

At the ForbesBLK Summit, entertainment industry veterans, including American Idol star Fantasia Barrino-Taylor and gospel icon Kirk Franklin, delivered powerful testimonials. Both emphasized their experiences as Black entrepreneurs in the music business, highlighting the importance of financial literacy and product ownership.

Barrino-Taylor candidly discussed her journey, recounting how she twice lost everything due to a lack of financial knowledge. As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, The Color Purple actress opened up in 2023 about the struggles she faced following her rise to fame. She confessed her initial naivety regarding contractual intricacies and financial management, acknowledging she lacked the knowledge to secure her fair share of earnings. This experience motivated her to become more financially savvy and independent.

During the ForbesBLK Summit, she emphasized the importance of continuous learning for Black entrepreneurs and that her motivation extends beyond personal success, as she aims to create opportunities and empower others in her Black community.

Franklin similarly urged Black entrepreneurs to prioritize product ownership as he appeared for a ForbesBLK Summit fireside chat. Franklin shared his own experience of starting in the music industry with a focus on craft rather than business acumen. The Grammy-winning artist recounted how his career catapulted with his 1990 composition “Joy” for the Georgia Mass Choir, but his business naivety led to signing away rights unknowingly. He shared the lesson to urge aspiring Black entrepreneurs to prioritize business acumen alongside artistic talent.

Promoting Financial Literacy Among Black Students

Young entrepreneurs Caden Harris and Zoe Oli shared their experiences in building successful businesses focused on financial literacy and empowerment during the ForbesBLK Summit. Harris, Caden Teaches CEO, aims to teach financial literacy to over 500,000 children. “I was able to start this journey with a $200 investment and turn it into a six-figure business,” said the young entrepreneur.

Oli, Beautiful Curly Me CEO, plans to impact a million girls through her product line and social impact projects. “I am working on speaking, as well as launching in retail, and a girls confidence course and a girls empowerment club that’s going to be reaching schools soon,” Oli said. Through her initiative, Youth Mean Business, Oli has established a growth accelerator that’s fueling the ambitions of pre-teen and teenage entrepreneurs, providing crucial capital and resources to help these young visionaries scale their ventures.

Anthony Brock, the visionary behind Montgomery’s Valiant Cross Academy, has crafted an educational haven celebrating the brilliance of young Black boys. His faith-infused curriculum aims to nurture a profound sense of self-worth and cultural pride in these budding leaders.

Fighting For DEI And A Plan For Underrepresentation

During the ForbesBLK Summit, voting rights activist Stacey Abrams emphasized that DEI has existed for over 240 years, contrary to recent narratives. She stated, “If we do not have access, if we do not have diversity in our process, if we do not have inclusion for all, then we do not have a real opportunity for the American dream.” Abrams encouraged people of color to engage in local and state elections to effect change.

Erica Bolden of Mercedes-Benz USA spoke about improving diversity beyond traditional hiring practices, while Ayana Parsons, co-founder of the Fearless Fund, highlighted the need for Black people to acquire more money and power. Dr. Sesha Joi Moon, former Chief Diversity Officer in the U.S. House of Representatives, urged the Black community to remain proactive and united in their efforts to advance DEI.

Ryan Williams, founder of Cadre, emphasized the importance of showcasing Black excellence to counter negative narratives. “We have to fight with examples of Black excellence because we are seeing examples of Black ignorance and incompetence every single day by the enemy,” Williams said.

RELATED CONTENT: ForbesBLK Summit Will Bring Together Black Entrepreneurs, Business Leaders And Creators In ATL

• Education

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

July 14, 2024

High School Teacher Bashed For Including Racist ‘Pimp Walk’ Gene Test Question

The test included a question surrounding a 'pimp walk' gene attributed to Black students.

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A high school teacher in Sacramento, California, faces backlash for a racist and discriminatory biology test. One of the questions detailed a Black student hypothetically having a “pimp walk” gene.

On June 12, Alex Nguyen administered an unusual biology exam ahead of the last day of school. While the final covered human reproduction, it verged into explicit and racist questions that listed many students at Luther Burbank High School by their names.

In one question, Nguyen stated that Black culture influenced the school’s student body “for some reason.” According to his logic, this culture also includes a “pimp walk” gene that could be potentially inherited.

“For some reason, the African American culture has influenced most of the student body,” read the question, as reported by The Sacramento Bee. “How? In African Americans, they have a gene for the pimp walk, which is dominant. What is the result if you cross (student name) homozygous dominant Latina with a homozygous recessive Hmong like (student name)?”

The exam’s offensive nature extended to others as well. One question referred to students with certain traits, such as having crossed eyes, as “weirdoes.”

“In high school, there are individuals who are cross-eyed like [name redacted] and [name redacted], which is a dominant trait,” the question stated. “We call those individuals ‘weirdoes’ [sic]. So, if you crossed two weirdoes [sic] that are heterozygous for being cross-eyed, what is the offspring that would result?”

Multiple classes saw the exam until students reported the issue to administrators. Despite the school’s principal, Jim Peterson, collecting the physical copies, students in the next period also took the test with a projector displaying the questions.

“On one hand, it’s laughable with its grotesquely poor reasoning, and on the other hand very racist,” shared Chris Zamora, a fellow teacher at the high school. “That somebody felt so confident in their racism, so confident with memorializing their racism this way into written words on an exam, is incredible to me.”

However, Nguyen faced racism and discrimination accusations before. He allegedly called a Black student “boy” while also not accommodating students with learning disabilities. He was placed on administrative leave in light of this most recent incident.

In the aftermath, Peterson has apologized to parents whose children dealt with the racist and offensive material. However, students and their families await more accountability from Nguyen himself.

RELATED CONTENT: Parents Demand Action Against Racist Incidents In School

• History

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

July 14, 2024

Howard Cooper’s Lynching And Legacy Before Emmett Till’s Tragedy Remembered

Now, the Maryland Lynching Memorial project honors Cooper's life, doing so annually on the anniversary of his death.

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Before Emmett Till’s 1955 lynching, a Black teenager in Baltimore faced the same fate nearly a century before. However, Howard Cooper’s story remained relatively unknown until 2018.

Cooper, a 15-year-old from the Baltimore area, was accused of sexually assaulting a young white woman in 1885. After days of evading a racist mob, law enforcement found and charged him with assault and rape. While Cooper did not deny the assault, he claimed that he never raped the woman, a charge punishable by death by hanging. Despite this, an all-white jury took only one minute to convict Cooper of both crimes, as reported by The Baltimore Sun.

A potential federal appeal of his conviction, spearheaded by Rev. Dr. Harvey Johnson of Baltimore’s Union Baptist Church, led to the mob snatching Cooper from his cell in Towson Jail. In the early hours of July 13, Cooper’s body hung from a sycamore tree. He uttered his last words of “Goodbye, gentlemen.”

Where his body rests is an unmarked grave. As for the jail where he stayed, it now serves as an office building. While Till’s untimely death forced America to reckon with its racism, the tragedy of Howard Cooper stayed buried.

Now, the Maryland Lynching Memorial project honors Cooper’s life, doing so annually on the anniversary of his death. The work of this organization, part of the Equal Justice Initiative’s Community Remembrance Project, rectifies this forgotten history.

“Not only is the history not appreciated, and not known, but the connection of these legacies of lynching to the inequities we see today, and making that connection clear, is one of the reasons it’s important to do this,” said Will Schwarz, president of the statewide nonprofit, to the news outlet.

Cooper’s killing is among at least 38 lynchings in the state. Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan issued pardons for Cooper and 34 others during a 2021 ceremony. Cooper’s name and memory are also displayed outside the former jail with a historical marker. It remains one of two dedicated to lynching victims in the state.

The annual ceremony takes place in the park across the building where Cooper was last seen alive. The memorial serves as a remembrance of lynching victims whose lives were unjustly taken due to racism, within and beyond the Maryland community.

RELATED CONTENT: Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act

• Health and Wellness

by Shanique Yates

July 14, 2024

New Research Shows 40% Of Cancer Cases Linked To Preventable Risk Factors Like Smoking And Obesity

The American Cancer Society reveals that preventable risk factors like smoking and obesity are responsible for more than 40% of cancer diagnosis and deaths.

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A new study revealed that nearly half of adult cancer deaths can be avoided through simple lifestyle changes.

The American Cancer Society reported that its recent research shows that 40% of new cancer cases in adults ages 30 and up are linked to “preventable risk factors.” The leading risk factor at this time is smoking, which the study reveals is responsible for almost 1 in 5 cancer cases and roughly a third of deaths caused by the disease. 

“These are things that people can practically change how they live every single day to reduce their risk of cancer,” said Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer with the American Cancer Society.

Other risk factors linked to cancer diagnosis and deaths include “excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity,” as well as “diet and infections such as HPV.”

The study, which analyzed 18 modifiable risk factors across 30 various cancer types, showed that more than 700,000 new cancer cases and over 262,000 deaths were linked to preventable risk factors in 2019. According to Dr. Kamal, cancer spreads due to DNA damage or a fuel source. While genetics and environmental factors play a huge role in the disease, preventable risk factors are the cause of a significantly higher amount of cancer-related cases and deaths than any known factors.

“With cancer, it oftentimes feels like you have no control,” Dr. Kamal explained. “People think about bad luck or bad genetics, but people need to feel a sense of control and agency.”

The second largest cause of cancer, behind smoking, is excess body weight, which the study says is linked to 5% of new cases in men and around 11% of cases in women. Moreover, this contributing factor is responsible for more than a third of cancer deaths caused by the disease spreading in a person’s endometrium, esophagus, gallbladder, kidney, and liver.

Additionally, it has been found that the risk of certain cancers has declined for those currently on popular weight-loss and diabetes medication like Ozempic.

“Obesity is emerging, in some ways, as just as potent of a risk for people as smoking is,” said Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. 

Not only are experts recommending that people make lifestyle changes to prevent the risk of cancer and other deadly diseases, but they are also calling on health officials and policymakers to “create environments where it’s easier for people, where the healthy choice is the easy choice.”

Plescia says “It’s never too late to make these changes,” and urges people to get serious about making lifestyle changes around preventable risk factors like smoking, obesity, and diet to avoid a cancer diagnosis or death. 

RELATED CONTENT: Weight Loss Medications Linked To Lower Cancer Risk, According To Study

• Sports

by Daniel Johnson

July 14, 2024

NFL Veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad Honored With Key To The City From Newark, NJ, For Community Impact

'I’ve learned a lot of great things and I’ve done a lot of great things in giving back to the community, the kids in Newark, just to let them know that they can be successful, and they can make it out,' Muhammad said.

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On July 12, the City of Newark, New Jersey honored eight-year NFL veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad with the key to the city to honor both his success on the football field and his generosity to the youth of Newark. Muhammad, who starred at Paterson Catholic School and Don Bosco Prep Academy before taking his talents to the University of Miami, is a hometown hero. 

According to Pix 11, Benjie Wimberly, New Jersey State Assemblyman and a former coach of Muhammad at Paterson Catholic, part of the reason Muhammad received the honor is his commitment to letting the kids in Newark know that if he made it out, they can too. The player hosts an annual youth camp for local kids.

“What he’s given back to the Newark community and even kids from Paterson who still know who Quan is, that is the most important thing I can say.” Wimberly told the outlet. 

According to Muhammad, the camp, which has taken place since he was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 2017, is still ongoing even though he is currently a free agent. And, the camp has become an outlet for hundreds of Black youth in Newark, which is 47.03% Black, according to World Population Review.

But Newark was not always a majority Black city, according to Newark Changing. Like many cities in the northern part of the country, the demographics of Newark were altered by two phenomena during the 1960s: The Great Migration and white flight. 

“At least six million Blacks fled from poverty, unemployment, and racial tensions in the south to northern cities they hoped would be better. As internal immigrants within America and as a people at the bottom of the class system, these Blacks settled in the same Newark neighborhoods as earlier generations of white immigrants. Many of Belmont’s Jewish synagogues and Catholic churches were soon sold off and given new life as Black Baptist congregations,” according to Newark Changing.

According to History Reads, Newark, similar to Detroit in 1967, underwent an uprising centered on the abuses of its Black residents at the hands of the police. Newark’s uprising ended about a week before Detroit’s began, and the two events signaled to President Lyndon B. Johnson that there was a larger problem, which was further examined via the 1967 Kerner Report on Urban Riots commissioned by the Johnson Administration. 

“Now, five decades later, we are locked in the same old, stale arguments about the causes of riots. Liberals blame poverty and the need for massive federal spending; conservatives fault a lack of respect for authority and the need for tough law enforcement. Neither side has been willing to acknowledge that the disturbances are often justified, or that well-intended but poorly trained police officers sometimes turn minor disputes into major incidents of rebellion,” noted Steven M. Gillon, a senior fellow at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia and a professor of history at the University of Oklahoma, in a 2018 essay for History. 

Muhammad, through his camp and inspiration, is addressing the challenges Newark youth still face.

“The camp is still going, I do a camp every year,” Muhammad told Pix 11. “What I would like to accomplish is letting kids in the city and all over, no matter where they come from, that they can be successful and they could do the same thing I’m doing, and more, and better, no matter the circumstances. Anything you want to accomplish or anything you want to achieve you got to consistently work at it on a daily basis.”

Muhammad continued, “I’ve learned a lot of great things and I’ve done a lot of great things in giving back to the community, the kids in Newark, just to let them know that they can be successful, and they can make it out.”

RELATED CONTENT: Mayor Ras J. Baraka Launches ‘Newark 40 Acres and a Mule’ Investment Fund To Support Black Businesses

• Arts and Culture

by Daniel Johnson

July 14, 2024

James Baldwin Focus Of Special Exhibition At National Portrait Gallery As The Late Author’s 100th Birthday Nears

The exhibition examines Baldwin's legacy and positions it alongside his contemporaries in art, music, literature, and activism. 

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James Baldwin, arguably the finest essay writer that this country has ever produced, will be honored through a new exhibit at The Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. The exhibit, curated by the gallery’s Director of Curatorial Affairs, Rhea L. Combs, and consulted by New Yorker critic Hilton Als, examines Baldwin’s legacy and positions it alongside his contemporaries in art, music, literature, and activism. 

According to Essence, the one-room exhibition titled This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance will encompass Baldwin’s ideas about sexuality, faith, art, and masculinity. As Combs told the outlet, Baldwin’s legacy represents the unapologetic presentation of truth to power. 

“(Baldwin) has been a torch-bearer for so many things that still hold true for today. I think that his legacy is about being able to speak truth to power, and that it is important to be able to live in your truth, and to do that creatively, to do that unapologetically, and to make sure that you use your art or your time on this planet in a way that is seeped in love.”

The exhibition will be on display from July 12 to April 20, 2025, and will also feature the work of artists Lyle Ashton Harris, Richard Avedon, Beauford Delaney, Bernard Gotfryd, Glenn Ligon, Donald Moffett, Sedat Pakay, Faith Ringgold, Lorna Simpson, and Jack Whitten. In addition, work from creatives in Baldwin’s circle like musician Nina Simone, filmmaker Marlon Riggs, and poet Essex Hemphill will be displayed alongside images of Baldwin with gay civil rights activists who influenced him, like playwright and author Lorraine Hansberry and civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. 

According to Combs, Baldwin’s impact has persisted as we approach what would have been his 100th birthday. “I realized that 2024 would be his 100th anniversary, a centennial for his life, and I wanted to acknowledge and recognize him, because he has such an important presence in contemporary life right now. And it wasn’t always the case, but at this moment, I thought on the heels of so many things that have been going on, especially in the last four years, and even when you scroll through social media, there’s rarely a day that goes past when there’s not a quote from him or an image of him that is sort of on your feed.”

Combs continued, “And it was within that moment in the zeitgeist that I thought, “Okay, this would be important for the Portrait Gallery.” But also I want to acknowledge that I was really taken aback and really moved by Hilton Als’ exhibition that he did at the Werner Gallery in 2019.”

Combs also told Essence that she feels like the exhibition honoring Baldwin is yet another way to honor him as his work continues to speak from beyond the grave. “Yes, and the thing is now that in the late ’80s and the ’70s, he was kind of persona non grata, and that’s another way in which we feel like this show becomes a bit of a reckoning for him. When you think about it, when he passed away in France, he was not getting all the love and adoration that he’s receiving now. He had seen sort of the rise and the fall, and so it is really special to be able to continue, like you said, to give him his flowers. They’re very well-deserved, I think.”

RELATED CONTENT: Billy Porter Slated to Produce and Portray James Baldwin in Biopic

• Media

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

July 13, 2024

Chaos And Mayhem: Trump Injured, Suspect Killed During Pennsylvania Rally

Reactions to Trump’s injury, the shooting and the election were varied.

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On the evening of July 13, Secret Service agents hurried former president Donald Trump off stage during an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, following an unconfirmed alleged assassination attempt on the felony-ridden mogul. 

Secret Service agents quickly addressed the threat, with Trump taking cover behind the podium. Blood was visible on his right ear as agents escorted him off the stage to a waiting vehicle.

Trump is “fine,” according to a spokesperson. Police on the scene confirmed that the alleged shooter was killed by the Secret Service. The unnamed person reportedly fired multiple rounds from a rooftop adjacent to the rally location.

President Joe Biden took to the X app to share his thoughts and concerns regarding the harrowing ordeal.

“I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally as we await further information. Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it,” a tweet read from the commander-in-chief. 

I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania.

I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.

Jill and I are grateful to the Secret…

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 13, 2024

Other reactions to Trump’s injury, the shooting and the election were varied – but here are the best tweets. 

And it wouldn’t be a Trump rally without supporters drinking his bath water.

• Celebrity News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

July 13, 2024

Eddie Murphy Ties The Knot After 6-Year Engagement

The 'Beverly Hills Cop' star marries Australian model Paige Butcher.

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Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy has just gotten hitched as he embarks on his second marriage.

According to People, the Saturday Night Live alum married Australian model Paige Butcher, who he had been engaged to since 2018. The couple has an 8-year-old daughter, Izzy, and a 5-year-old son, Max Charles. The nuptials took place on July 9 in a private ceremony in Anguilla. This is Murphy’s second time taking the vow while this is Butcher’s first marriage.

Murphy and Butcher started dating back in 2012 and had their first child on May 3, 2016. Their second child was born on Nov. 30, 2018. Max was born two months after the couple got engaged.

Murphy was previously married to Nicole Murphy from 1993 to 2006.

This wedding comes after the premiere of Murphy’s latest movie, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which came out on July 3 on Netflix. The movie is the fourth one for the successful Beverly Hills Cop franchise. The original was released in 1984, followed by two sequels in 1987 and 1994, and the franchise has grossed $735.5 million worldwide.

And speaking of weddings, Murphy may be involved in another one soon. Murphy’s son Eric has been dating Bad Boys actor Martin Lawrence‘s daughter Jasmin for several years.

People reported that Murphy discussed the relationship between his son and Lawrence’s daughter on a recent episode of CBS Mornings earlier this month. He spoke to Gayle King and mentioned that he thought it was “cool” that their kids were in a relationship. He anticipates that if the two have a baby, with the comedic genes from him and Lawrence, the child is destined to be funny.

“They’re both beautiful,” Murphy told her. “They look amazing together. And it’s funny [because] everybody [asks], ‘What is that baby going to be funny?’”

“Just our gene pool is going to make this funny baby. If they ever get married and have a child, I’m expecting the child to be funny.”

RELATED CONTENT: Eddie Murphy Reflects On David Spade’s ‘Racist’ SNL Joke About Him From ’90s

• Politics

by Daniel Johnson

July 13, 2024

Tim Scott Defends Trump’s ‘Black Jobs’ Remark In Interview

Scott also took aim at the media.

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Republican Tim Scott continues to defend Donald Trump; this time the South Carolina Senator claimed that the criticism Trump has received for a remark made during the presidential debate on June 27 is misdirected. During a July 12 interview with The Root, Scott said that Trump was actually trying to defend his record on job creation. 

According to The Huffington Post, Scott offered up a defense that when Trump said that those coming into the country were allegedly taking “Black jobs” the former president really meant that he created jobs for Black people.

“I think what he meant to say was the fact that two-thirds of the jobs he created…went to African Americans, Hispanics, and women,” Scott told The Root. “I think we should take a whole look at the picture, and I don’t think that happens.”

Scott also took aim at the media, attempting to hold publications responsible for creating a “biased” perspective of himself and the Republican Party at large.

“Whoever they [media outlets] say I am, they’re not just trying to distort my picture, they’re trying to lie about my record,” he told the outlet, before adding that it’s “incredibly unfortunate” that the media makes “Black success today about liberal success.”

Scott was not the only Black conservative to try and rescue Trump from the criticism he faced post-debate. According to Politico, Diante Johnson, the president of the Black Conservative Federation said that Trump’s “Black jobs” comment was self-explanatory.

“He meant the jobs of Black people. And we’ve been using that term for a while,” Johnson told the outlet. “It’s any job. Instead of Black people having unlimited accessibility to all types of jobs, illegal immigrants are taking their jobs from them.”

Despite Johnson’s defense of Trump’s statement, Michael Blake, the founder and CEO of the Kairos Democracy Project, placed the onus on those who believe in diversity to defend its merits from fearmongering. 

“It is the responsibility for us to then tell the story of the benefits of diversity, rather than the fears of it. And the notion that those people are taking from you is a fear-only message as opposed to asking: How do we all win? When you embrace all races, we all win. We should not allow fear of the past to supersede the prosperity of the future, because we all can win.”

In contrast to Scott’s statement, however, the media is not to blame for the Republican Party’s negative reputation. According to Tasha Philpot, an assistant professor of Government and African American Studies at the University of Texas and the author of Conservative but Not Republican: The Paradox of Party Identification and Ideology among African Americans, it is the company Republicans keep that has earned them a negative reception from Black Americans in general.

“Certainly, we see based on presidential approval ratings that it has not translated into support for the Republican party. And a lot of it has to do with the heightened racial tension that we’ve been experiencing over the last four years.” Philpot told the Niskanen Center in 2020.

Philpot continued, “You see a lot of racial rhetoric being used, not just among Donald Trump but other Republicans. And of course, the rise in white nationalist groups, neo-Nazis, the Klan that have endorsed the republican party and have become tightly aligned with the Republican party in the eyes of African Americans, which ultimately would prevent blacks from voting republican even if they agree with the Republican party on a number of other dimensions.”

RELATED CONTENT: Tim Scott Connected PAC To Spend $14.3 Million For Black Voter Outreach In Support Of Trump