-Source- The American Dossier, Reverend William Devlin -Contributor-
As a life-long Democrat, I served for many years popularly elected, as a Democratic Committee person in the 61st Ward, 17th Division in the East Oak lane section of Philadelphia. I ran as a Democrat in 1999 for City Council-At-Large. I am, full disclosure, a Democrat. I’ve been to every White House since 1985 and have met with every president since Reagan, save Trump. I’ve labored as an urban pastor in communities of color since 1985 in Philadelphia, New York City and around the world. This should be a decent track record.
A frequent blast Democrats levy against Republicans is….they’re racist. The -ist about race is that if you are a practicing -ist when it comes to race, it means that you think you’re better than “that other person of that race.” It may surprise you that in all my political involvement since 1985, locally, state-wide and nationally, I’ve never met a racist Republican-and I’ve met many Republicans. Surprised? I’m not. I’ve been with them; I’ve run against them; I’ve been in their homes, businesses, their clam bakes and their law firms. I see many of them at the Annual Pennsylvania Society meetings every December in New York City. And yes, I’ve never met a Republican, black or white, that is racist. I’ve never met a Republican who has denounced or denounces people of color.
Do Republicans have a different idea of how to move our city, state and nation forward? Yes! Are they racists? No.
Governor George Wallace- he was a racist and segregationist; Governor Lester Maddox-he was a racist and a segregationist; Senator Strom Thurmond-he was a racist and segregationist. Interestingly enough, all three of these politicians were Democrats.
Most people are not aware that the Republican Party was formed in the late 1850s as an oppositional force to the pro-slavery Democratic Party. Republicans wanted to return to the principles that were originally established in the republic’s founding documents and in doing so became the first party to openly advocate for strong civil rights legislation. Voters took notice, and in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President along with a Republican Congress.
This infuriated the southern Democrats, who soon afterwards left Congress and took their states with them to form what officially became known as The Slave holding Confederate States of America.
Maybe you were not aware that the Democrats in the 19th century were the party of slavery, the party of Jim Crow and the party of segregation. The Democrats during that time in American history were racist; the Republicans were far from any ideology that was racist. They created the anti-racist party.
Do we know our history? Maybe not. But you should know and reflect upon the fact that, in 1854 in Ripon, Wisconsin, former members of the Whig Party met to establish a new party to oppose the spread of slavery into the western territories. That would be the Republican Party that we know today. The Whig Party, which was formed in 1834 to oppose the “tyranny” of President Andrew Jackson, had shown itself incapable of coping with the national crisis over slavery. Skyrocket yourself now to 2018 and what people described as a “toxic political environment” within American politics. Is today anymore “toxic” than at any other time in American political history?
Forgive me, but you may have forgotten the outright brawl that took place in the House of Representatives at 2:00am on February 1858. And the heated argument in the middle of the night turned into a huge fist-fight, involving 30 Congressmen.
The fight erupted as Members debated the Kansas Territory’s pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution. Pennsylvania Republican Galusha Grow and South Carolina Democrat Laurence Keitt exchanged insults, then blows. “In an instant the House was in the greatest possible confusion,” the Congressional Globe reported back then. Northern Republicans and Free Soilers joined ranks against Southern Democrats. The melee dissolved into a chorus of laughs and jeers, but the sectional nature of the fight powerfully symbolized the nation’s divisions.
When the House reconvened two days later, a coalition of Northern Republicans and Free Soilers narrowly blocked referral of the Lecompton Constitution to the House Territories Committee. Kansas entered the Union in 1861 as a free state. Toxic in 1858, for sure; but it was the Democrats that were passionate back then to continue the institution of slavery and only allow Kansas into the United States as a slave state.
History, as you know, is a great teacher. More people in our American culture today need to look at our political history, particularly when it comes to racism. If there is a racist Republican out there today, I want to meet him or her; that is, if they exist. Can I give some humble advice to my fellow Democrats? Let’s be careful of what we accuse others of when it comes to calling someone a ‘racist.’ Easy to give that accusation to another human being, including a Republican; but, it probably isn’t true.
Pastor Bill Devlin was born and raised in Schenectady, NY. He enlisted in the Navy in 1970. He was wounded by enemy fire off the coast of North Vietnam and is a recipient of the Purple Heart. He graduated with a nursing degree from Florida Atlantic University and a Master of Arts in Religion from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is the Missions Pastor of Infinity Bible Church and travels the globe bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to hard and dangerous places like Gaza, Iraq, Sudan, Syria and Cuba. The rest of his time is spent in Philadelphia with his wife of 35 years, Nancy. They have five children and five grandchildren. He is president of REDEEM and co-chair of Right to Worship NYC.
Pastor William Devlin is the Missions Pastor of Infinity Bible Church, CEO of REDEEM 501(c)3, and co-chair of Right to Worship NYC.
Read more about Live Reckless
octanefaith@yahoo.com/+1-646-233-7279…..