Georgia State Representative Vernon Jones (D) slammed his own party during the first night of the Republican National Convention on Monday night, saying that they have become “infected” with “intolerance, bigotry, socialism, anti-law enforcement bias, and a dangerous tolerance for people who attack others, destroy property, and terrorize our communities.”
“The Democratic Party does not want Black people to leave the mental Plantation they’ve had us on for decades,” Jones said. “But I have news for them: We are free people with free minds. I am part of a large and growing segment of the Black community who are independent thinkers. And we believe that Donald Trump is the President that America needs to lead us forward.”
Jones’s message focused more on why he was voting for Trump vs. slamming Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Jones said that when he publicly came out in support of Trump he was “threatened, called an embarrassment, and asked to resign by my party.”
“I grew up in the South. My parents built with their own hands a four room cinder block home with no indoor plumbing. They had very limited education. But they instilled in us a strong work ethic that drove me from the tobacco fields of North Carolina, to hallowed halls of the Georgia General Assembly,” Jones said. “My parents taught me if I believed in God, worked hard, and treated every person fairly, there was no limit to what we could achieve.”
“I attended North Carolina Central University, a historically black college. For generations, HBCUs have been the breeding ground for black scholars in math, science, religion, engineering and politics. They have been important springboards for black success ever since. But Democrats haven’t treated them like that,” Jones continued. “When President Trump took office, he changed everything. He delivered historic funding to HBCUs. And he guaranteed it for 10 years. That gave our HBCUs stability–the chance to grow and produce the next generation of black leaders.”
“He also supported school choice initiatives to ensure that every child — no matter their race or zip code — has access to a great education. But education is just the beginning,” Jones continued. The President also built the most inclusive economy ever, with record low unemployment for African Americans and record high participation in the workforce. He put Opportunity Zones in the Trump tax bill that will drive investment into our communities for decades to come. He put the interests of American workers — and especially black workers — First.”
WATCH:
.@RepVernonJones: "The Democratic Party does not want Black people to leave their mental plantation. We’ve been forced to be there for decades and generations."
Full #RNCConvention2020 video here: https://t.co/ZpNptJvTzQ pic.twitter.com/E5jlt8vcPM
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 25, 2020