Black South Carolina Senator Tim Scott Inspires During "Angry" RNC
Senator Tim Scott. Creative Commons photo.
(OPINION) In the middle of a night of angry political rhetoric in the Republican National Convention was an authentic moment that came from Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who told the story of how he evolved from parents who worked the cotton fields of South Carolina to become the state’s U.S. Senator.
The RNC began with a number of speeches critical of former President Barack Obama, Vice-President Bident, Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party, the Black Lives Matter movement and other progressive causes. On C-Span, Democrat and Republican callers trashed each other. Many got nasty with hosts who try so hard to be non-partisan.
But then came Scott, who transcended race and party affiliation to show something rare: a lawmaker who displayed humility and hope for a nation in desperate need of inspiration at a time when COVID-19, racial protest and stoking the flames of fear is the order of the day.
Former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley appointed Scott to the U.S. Senate in 2013. On Monday night, she talked about being the daughter of Indian immigrants who came to America and settled in a small town in South Carolina.
“My father wore a turban. My mother wore a sari. I was a brown girl in a Black and white world. We faced discrimination and hardship, but my parents never gave into grievance and hate,” she said.
She continued:
The American people know we can do better. And of course, we value and respect every Black life. The Black cops who have been shot in the line of duty, they matter. The Black small business owners who have watched their life’s work go up in flames, they matter.
It doesn’t have to be like this. It wasn’t like this in South Carolina five years ago. Our state came face to face with evil. A white supremacist walked into Mother Emmanuel Church during bible study. Twelve African-Americans pulled up a chair and prayed with him for an hour. Then he began to shoot. After that horrific tragedy, we didn’t turn against each other. We came together, Black and white, Democrat and Republican.
Scott continued with the theme of racial reconciliation Monday night.
“From a global pandemic, to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, 2020 has tested our nation in ways we haven't seen for decades,” Scott said. “But regardless of the challenges presented to us...every four years...Americans come together to vote...To share stories of what makes our nation strong, and the lessons we have learned that can strengthen it further for our children and grandchildren.”
Scott could have just praised President Trump and blasted Biden, but he went beyond that.
“While this election is between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, it is not solely about Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” he said. “It's about the promise of America. It's about you and me... our challenges and heartbreaks, hopes and dreams.”
Many observers say Scott and Haley’s speeches changed the tone of the convention.
This week, a number of un-announced African American speakers were plentiful. In some respects, this week has been an audition for 2024 and a GOP that must define itself whether Trump wins or loses.
For years, the GOP was about less government and more free enterprise – as well pro death penalty and against a woman's right to choose. Under Trump, the party has pushed an ”America First” agenda, more states’ rights and very little of guns in the name of the Second Amendment.
As a result, the Black Americans supporting Trump are often even members of the Republican party.
Paris Dennard, Republican National Committee Senior Communications Advisor for Black Media Affairs, said in a statement at the start of the confab that ”The Republican National Convention will reflect the diverse mosaic of America through the personal testimony of men and women from all walks of life supporting the re-election of President Donald J. Trump.”
Announced speakers included Jack Brewer, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Clarence Henderson, Alice Johnson, Georgia State Representative Vernon Jones (D), Baltimore Congressional candidate Kim Klacik, Burgess Owens, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ja'Ron K. Smith.
In addition, former NFL AND USFl player Herschell Walker spoke Monday night. On Tuesday, Trump gave a Presidential pardon to Jon Ponder, who was arrested in 2004 for bank robbery.
“Jon’s life is a beautiful testament to the power of redemption,” Trump said in a video first released by the White House on Tuesday. Ponder, his wife and retired FBI agent Richard Beasley stood with Trump as an example of crimial justice reform.
On Thursday night, Alice Johnson, a Memphis grandmother who served more than 20 years for drug trafficking will speak. With help from Kim Kardashian, Trump commuted Johnson’s life sentence.
”I am proud to see such a broad cross section of Black Americans speaking at this year’s convention, ” Dennard said in the statement. ”Whether it is a civil rights hero, Criminal Justice activist, or Democrat elected official, the Black voices supporting President Trump we will hear from will speak to the man that has been a true champion for the Black Community.”
During his convention speech, Scott talked about how his parents divorced when he was seven years old and how he, his brother and their mother lived with his grandparents.
“My mom worked 16 hours a day to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. She knew that if we could find the opportunity, bigger things would come,” he said. “Even while I was failing the 9th grade... my mother always said, ‘when you shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you will be among the stars.’ She never lost faith in me, even when I lost faith in myself.”
“I am living my mother's American Dream,” Scott said.
In 2010, Scott was first elected to the United States House of Representatives to represent South Carolina's 1st congressional district, where he served from 2011 to 2013.
He retained his seat after winning a special election in 2014 and was elected to a full term in 2016. Now Scott said he is part of a Republican party that is changing.
“Because of the evolution of the heart, in an overwhelmingly white district... the voters judged me on the content of my character, not the color of my skin,” Scott said in his speech.
Then he took a swipe at Biden and the Democrats.
“Joe Biden said if a black man didn't vote for him, he wasn't truly Black,” he said. “Joe Biden said black people are a monolithic community. Joe Biden said poor kids can be just as smart as white kids.”
Scott praised Trump for pushing for criminal justice reform and increasing funding to historically Black colleges and universities.
On the other hand, he was critical of some Democratic leaders who called him a ”token,” as many Black Americans want to know whether the Republican Party is really sincere about inclusion. Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who was forced out, is not supporting Trump even though he said on MSNBC, ”I am still a Republican.”
Scott said that his grandfather’s 99th birthday would have been this week.
“Growing up, he had to cross the street if a white person was coming. He suffered the indignity of being forced out of school as a third grader to pick cotton, and never learned to read or write,” Scott said. “Yet, he lived to see his grandson become the first African American to be elected to both the United States House and Senate.”
Hamil Harris contributes to outlets such as The Washington Post, USA Today, The Christian Chronicle and the Washington Informer. Harris is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland College Park and has been a lecturer at Morgan State University. Harris is minister at the Glenarden Church of Christ and a police chaplain. A longtime reporter at The Washington Post, Harris was on the team of Post reporters that published the series “Being a Black Man.” He also was the reporter on the video project that accompanied the series that won two Emmy Awards, the Casey Medal and the Peabody Award.