In the ordinary course of the daily lives of anyone living in Northern Ohio, the naming of a federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, would be pretty far off our radar screens. It is also unlikely that we would have any interest in the voting record of Florida Congressman Bryon Donalds. However, this week a friend sent me an article about the defeat of legislation that would have named a Florida federal court building after a distinguished Black judge that has so raised my dislike and abhorrence of certain segments of the Republican Party, I had to share the story.
Six months ago, 29 members of the Florida congressional delegation supported a proposal by Florida Congressman Al Lawson to name the district’s new federal courthouse in Tallahassee after Judge Joseph Hatchett. Judge Hatchett, who passed away last year at age 88, was the first Black man elected to the Supreme Court of Florida. After serving four years on that court, in 1979 President Jimmy Carter appointed him to the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, where he served until 1999. The naming of the courthouse after such a distinguished jurist should have been perfunctory.
The bipartisan effort to pass the legislation was co-sponsored in the United States Senate by Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio — never a card-carrying member of the NAACP — and South Carolina Republican Senator Tim “Oreo Cookie” Scott. In what has become a rare event in today’s Senate, the legislation passed with a unanimous vote.
But when the legislation went to the House of Representatives, Georgia Republican Andrew Clyde dusted off his KKK robes and Confederate flag and rallied opposition to this seemingly innocuous bill. His opposition rested on a 1999 opinion written by Judge Hatchett that prohibited prayer at a public-school graduation. It’s hard to call Judge Hatchett an activist judge since the United States Supreme Court has come to similar decisions in numerous cases dating back to the 1960s, but that was Clyde’s nail in the legislation’s coffin — more like a stake in the heart of a decent and honorable man’s legacy.
Considering Representative Clyde’s background, his opposition is not surprising. He is one of only three members of the House to oppose the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. He called the assault on the Capital Building on January 6 of last year a “normal tourist visit.” Last week he attacked United States Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson with ridiculous and inane allegations that she was soft on criminals that were convicted of crimes related to child pornography.
But here’s where the story gets interesting. Clyde was joined by another 147 Republicans to kill the legislation. Among them was Florida Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida’s 19th Congressional District. He was an original sponsor. But following the lead of Clyde, he joined nine other Florida Republicans who punked out and changed their votes to “No.” The reason I bring up Donalds’ vote is that he is Black — holding the dubious distinction of being one of only two Black Republicans in the House.
According to Wikipedia, Donalds, a transplant from New York, attended Florida A&M College for two years but obtained a degree from Florida State University in 2002. I guess none of the coeds who were his classmates at the historically Black Florida A&M met his fancy. Like his fellow Republican, Justice Clarence Thomas, Donalds is married to a white woman.
In 1997 Donalds was arrested for distribution of marijuana. After being on probation for a year and participating in a diversion program, the charges were dropped. In 2000 he plead guilty to a felony bribery charge relating to a scheme involving bank fraud. After he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, the conviction was expunged. Donalds went on to become the chair of the Florida House of Representatives Committee on Insurance and Banking! Talk about the fox guarding the henhouse!
Today’s Republican Party is the party of Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn who earlier this year attempted to humiliate Federal Appellate Court nominee Andre Mathis — who happens to be Black — over a “rap sheet” that consisted of three speeding tickets, one of which was a 10-year-old ticket where he was accused of going five miles over the speed limit.
It’s the party of Texas Senator Ted Cruz who made an absolute fool out of himself last week as he attempted to attack Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson based on absurd references to a children’s book — all the while checking his Twitter account to see how many Republican loyalists were following his comments.
After the shenanigans of Republican members of Congress, one wonders if they have any morals or shame. Not since 1856, when South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks caned Senator Charles Summer on the floor of the Senate, has there been such venom and hatred among members of Congress. Now they don’t use canes but attempt to beat their opponents with groundless allegations that have no basis in fact other than to play on the fears of their lily-white conservative base. Americans have elected a bunch of mean-spirited racists whose only aim it to put forth their own agenda, kiss the ring and rump of Donald Trump, take away voting rights of poor and brown Americans, and destroy any progress this nation has made toward racial and gender equality in the last 100 years.
Years ago, Cleveland’s Black community was represented by people like Virgil Brown, Judge Lillian W. Burke, and Judge Perry B. Jackson. They were people of integrity who carried an allegiance to the party of Lincoln. But that generation is gone. The current Republican party has an allegiance to one person and that is Donald Trump and his racist party line, typified by the campaign ads for the 2022 Republican candidates for U.S. Senate which all include the same message — Pro God. Pro-Gun. Pro Trump.
Being Black and Republican has always been an oxymoron in my book. It’s like being a Jewish Nazi. You can be expelled from a political party or an organization. Unfortunately, you cannot be expelled from your racial heritage. If I could vote to expel anyone from being Black, I’d nominate Byron Donalds for expulsion, just after I nominated Justice Clarence Thomas.
But Donalds is a party man. He has to tote that barge and lift that bale. If he gets a little drunk with ideas of thinking on own, he’ll land in Republican jail.
On the plantation, Donalds would have been the slave shuffling to the master telling him that another slave was planning to escape. Now he wears a shirt and tie and walks the halls of Congress doing the same thing in the name of party unity and job security. If one existed, I’d nominate Donalds for the Stepin Fetchit of the year award. He would be a deserving honoree.
C. Ellen Connally is a retired judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court. From 2010 to 2014 she served as the President of the Cuyahoga County Council. An avid reader and student of American history, she serves on the Board of the Ohio History Connection, is currently vice president of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission and past president of the Cleveland Civil War Round Table. She holds degrees from BGSU, CSU and is all but dissertation for a PhD from the University of Akron.
4 Responses to “COMMENTARY: A Black Republican Is an Oxymoron by C. Ellen Connally”
Mel Maurer
Well said. Republicans are only “good” at detroying democracy. I wasn’t aware of Donalds until he was nominated for speaker. His only accomplishment mentioned was being married with chidren.
Jim Dowling
Very well said. He spouts republican talking points and debates just like RFK Jr. Both spout out supposed facts & unverified data points so fast & furious, no one has a chance to respond. He’s power hungry like Trump.
Kevin Green
Very well said. He is a damn embarrassment to the black race along with Tim Scott. Very sad because once they become useless they are thrown out in the pasture.
Keevin Berman
You should start the award and on FB ask for nominations and then award it