GOP mocked for celebrating 'record number' of Black Republican candidates

The Republican Party's official Twitter feed celebrated Black History Month on Sunday by touting the "record number of Black Republicans running for office and winning at all levels." That number was "over 40," and those races were "GOP primaries for local and federal office."
This tweet presumably was meant to showcase the GOP's inroads with Black voters, but not everybody was impressed with the "over 40" number, which is under one candidate per state.
The GOP was also reminded of all the Black Republicans elected across the (smaller) United States after the Civil War, before Jim Crow laws effectively quashed Black voting rights across the South for three generations. "They can't even get their own history right," University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck sighed at the GOP, quoting the History Channel: "In all, 16 African Americans served in the U.S. Congress during Reconstruction; more than 600 more were elected to the state legislatures, and hundreds more held local offices across the South."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Today's Republican Party is significantly different than the one Abraham Lincoln launched on the national stage — and today's Democratic Party has also changed a lot since its Jim Crow/Dixiecrat days.
But if you are not familiar with Reconstruction, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me host Peter Sagal suggested you will probably still have to check out your own books on the subject. "In 1868, Black freedmen made up a majority in the [South Carolina] legislature's lower house," he tweeted. "Teaching what happened to them and why is now illegal in many states."
The GOP does have Black Republicans in prominent offices they can point to, including Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Virgina Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears. And the Republican National Committee was led by a Black Republican for the first two years of the Obama presidency. But that RNC chairman, Michael Steele, doesn't seem thrilled with the direction the party has taken.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Prince charming: Harry’s tea with King sparks royal reconciliation rumours
Talking Point Are the royals (and the UK public) ready to welcome the Duke of Sussex back in?
-
Has Israel’s Qatar strike scuppered a ceasefire?
Today’s Big Question Netanyahu ‘gambles’ on ‘overwhelming strength’ rather than diplomacy in attack on Hamas negotiation team in Doha
-
Deaf Republic: ‘an experimental epic of war and resistance’
The Week Recommends Ukrainian-American writer Ilya Kaminsky’s poetry collection is brought to the stage in this ‘enthralling’ production
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants