Date: Feature Week of May 11, 2003
Topic: Black Press Business/Economic
Author: William Reed
Article ID: article_ema051103a

MENDING FENCES, CUPBOARDS AND IDEOLOGIES

Republicans Rebuilding Rapport With Blacks?

Using the Washington, DC hilltop home of �the father of the civil rights movement� as a backdrop, Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert and the Republican leadership signed a $2 million commitment to refurbish the former home of Frederick Douglass.  The top-ranking Republicans in the nation said the Cedar Hill event was to �promote and perpetuate the legacy� of Mr. Douglass and, toward �launching initiatives geared at empowering Black Americans.�

Republicans are building on Douglass� legacy knowing that much of today�s Black ideology is built on the events and issues of yesterday.  Frederick Douglass is the most famous African American of the 19th Century.  An abolitionist and orator, he lived in this home from 1877 until his death in 1895.  A former slave, Douglass was a leading voice in the anti-slavery movement as well as a writer, publisher, activist, and U.S. minister to Haiti.   He lived and worked in Rochester, NY most of his public career, but after the Civil War, moved to Washington to work on behalf of African Americans.  In Washington he served in: international affairs, Council of Government for the District of Columbia, and as the District�s US Marshal.  In 1877 he purchased the home he named Cedar Hill, at 1411 W Street, S.E. in Washington�s Anacostia area, and expanded the acreage and the home from 14 to 21 rooms.  It is now the centerpiece of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site.  Ninety percent of the furnishings are original from his time, and numerous of his personal possessions are on display.

The site hosts 300,000 visitors annually.  It preserves the legacy of Douglass� life of nearly eighty years; from the time that slavery was universal in America to the time it was becoming a memory.  In an late 1800s remark about his achievements, Douglass said: �What is possible or me is possible for you�.  He freed himself from slavery and through the decades helped to free millions more.  His life is a testament to the courage and persistence that African Americans of today need as an inspiration in their struggle for liberty and justice.

The National Park Service has taken care of Mr. Douglass' home since 1962 on an annual operating budget of $495,000.   But lack of funding compromised its ability to preserve the home.  Exterior repair, wallpaper, fireplaces, and carpeting all need rehabilitation, and books, textiles, photographs, and ceramics are crumbling from age.  The site was on America's list of Ten Most Endangered Parks and needed the $2 million to cover rehabilitation and repair in a three-year renovation project.

In the wake of Senator Trent Lott�s racially insensitive remarks, did the new Republican leadership resort to this just to appease Blacks?  Not so, Republican House Conference Chair Deborah Pryce said in an interview.  "We have an opportunity here to preserve the home of Frederick Douglass, an African-American who shaped American history.  He�s a national treasure and his home should be preserved,� said Pryce.  The fourth-ranking House Republican emphasized that, �We are increasingly sensitive that Republicans should be reaching out to African Americans.�  Noting that the �father of the Republican Party,� Abraham Lincoln, and Douglass worked together, Speaker Hastert said, �The values and principles that Fredrick Douglass and Lincoln worked so hard for in the 1800s are the same values and principles that we are fighting for as a Republican Party today.�  Pryce and Deputy Majority Whip Jerry Weller, specified in interviews that Republican leadership is involved in programs toward Black Americans that include: creating jobs; equal access to a quality education; including the DC school choice initiative, investments in college prep programs, and Pell Grants for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Rebuilding rapport among Blacks toward the Republican ideology remains a work in progress.  Among today�s African Americans 63 percent are self-described Democrats - 10 percent are Republicans.  The opportunity is among Blacks 26 to 40, where identification is 56 percent Democrat, 29 percent independent, and 15 percent Republican.  In addition to the Party�s leadership�s efforts; Black GOP activists, such as members of the Washington chapter of the National Black Republican Council (NBRC) who say they will mount fundraising efforts to maintain the Douglass site, Congressional and White House Republicans should work with African Americans at grass roots levels.  GOP leaders insist that if they get 15 percent of Black votes, it would be very hard for Democrats to win statewide elections in many states.

Increasing rapport among African Americans will require Republicans to address important issues such as employment and the economy; world affairs; crime; violence and drugs; and education.

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© 2000-2003 William Reed - www.BlackPressInternational.com