THE GROWING RIGHT: SOUTH CAROLINA BLACK NATIONALIST GOES BLEXIT / CONSERVATIVE

SECOND DEMOCRAT PLANTATION EXODUS GROWS

     When Candice Owens and other young black conservative activists announced their plans to lead the American Black community away from the Democratic Party through a movement christened "BLEXIT", most of the talking heads on the liberal left dismissed the group out of hand as insignificant. Only a few years later we've seen the movement grow to not only include members of the black community, but conservative gay leaders like Brandon Straka have launched #WalkAway leading members of the LGBT community and other minorities from the Democratic Party. 

     Now the BLEXIT flag has been hoisted by one of the most prominent black activists and political commentators in South Carolina. A Black Nationalist who opposed Donald Trump during the 2016 political elections and spends the majority of his time trying to uplift Charleston, South Carolina's impoverished black community, Jonathan Thrower (known more commonly as Shakem Amen Akhet) was no fan of Republicans or conservatives just a few years ago. But shortly after the 2016 election this man, who once sat in a Mississippi federal prison on a drug and gun conviction, began to make shocking moves that caught the eye of the people of Charleston. Now, Shakem set to make waves across the entire Palmetto State, and possibly the country. 

FROM PRISON TO ACTIVISM

     Shakem was released from a halfway-house in Charleston, South Carolina in 2010 after serving an eight and a half year federal prison sentence on drug and gun related charges. Instead of returning to crime the way so many do, he decided to dedicate himself to the black community of the greater Charleston area which he felt had been mistreated and abandoned by local government. Following the police involved deaths of Treyvon Martin and Mike Brown, Shakem helped to found the Charleston branch of the growing #BlackLivesMatter movement. Holding major protests across the South Carolina low country against police brutality and government corruption, calling local politicians out at city and county council meetings, and trying deceitful community leaders in the court of public opinion, Shakem quickly rose in notoriety among South Carolina's black community, particularly in the Charleston area. 

Shakem Amen Akhet (Left) With The Late Charleston BLM Activist Muhiyidin D'Baha (Right)

     Blasting local politicians, police officials, education administrators, and community leaders put Shakem at odds with the Charleston Democratic establishment early on, and Shakem didn't spare democrats in his attacks. He called out Charleston white Democrat mayor John Tecklenburg for posing in photos in traditional African garb while pushing a development agenda that is systematically removing black Charlestonians from neighborhoods they've lived in for generations. He challenged the legacy of Charleston's beloved former Democrat mayor Joe Riley who governed the city for 40 years, during which time Charleston went from approximatly 52% black to less than 25% black . While all of this flew in the face of the Democratic establishment who feel entitled to the support of black community leaders like Shakem, nothing would shock the local political establishment like what would happen in 2017.

THE CHARLESTON ACCORDS

     On August 12, 2017 a clash of political and racial ideologies in Charlottesville, Virginia led to violence, destruction of property, and death. During that time two very different groups were operating in Charleston, South Carolina, which on the surface seemed primed for conflict in the political climate at the time. Shakem Amen Akhet was the leader of the South Carolina Black Nationalist Movement, a black community based movement centered around black autonomy and nationalism, who were frequently holding events, protests, and demonstrations centered around their community based agenda throughout the greater Charleston area. 

     Simultaneously, in the wake of the national calls to remove Confederate monuments and the like, several Confederate Heritage organizations had formed across the South, the most outspoken and active of which was based out of Charleston. The South Carolina Secessionist Party, a self-described Confederate Heritage organization and advocates of the right of States to secede from the Union, were very active throughout the Charleston area, often conducting events which prominently display the Confederate Battle Flag and other Confederate symbols. With two groups such as these operating in such a small city, Charleston seemed primed to provide the stage for the next Charlottesville. However, instead of planning a provocative demonstration, or plotting a first strike, Shakem Amen Akhet reached out to the Chairman of the South Carolina Secessionist Party, and the two met....over a beer.

Shakem Amen Akhet (Right) With SC Secessionist Party Chairman James Bessenger (Left)

     On August 15, 2017, only days after the incident in Charlottesville, Shakem Amen Akhet held a press conference in front of Charleston City Hall with the Chairman of the Secessionist Party and called for peace.  A few days later, the two signed a document called "The Charleston Accords", which outlined a plan for the two organizations to not only be peaceful and respectful in their political protests, but to find ways the two can work together of the improvement for the community as a whole. It was an unprecedented move, and it caught the attention of the political left and right. And while the left attacked Shakem as a "traitor" and "house negro" for his willingness to be civil with those he disagrees, the South Carolina Republican Coalition took a different approach.

SEEING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTYS TRUE COLORS

     Following the signing of the Charleston Accords members of a Charleston based Republican grassroots organization congratulated Shakem on the gesture given the current political climate and invited him to speak at one of the organizations upcoming meetings. Only a few days later Shakem was turning heads in South Carolina with his outspoken rebukes of the White Liberal Establishment. Shakem began to speak publicly and online about the manipulation of the black community by the Democratic Party and its white liberal activists. He began challenging Charleston's very active white liberal protestor community, which he accused of showing up only to hold a sign or call conservatives racist, but who never show up when he needs volunteers to hand out food and clothing to North Charleston's black homeless.

     He held major protests in the famous Charleston Market after the city's Democratic Mayor John Tecklenburg began enforcing a policy which required police officers to arrest black Gullah Geechee children selling Palmetto Roses (roses made by hand from folded and weaved sweet grass) on the streets without a permit. The protests kicked off when a 16 year old black child was arrested near the Charleston market for selling the roses, and signs were posted around the city advising tourists not to buy the roses from the children. Following the embarrassment of the protests in one of Charleston's most beloved tourist sites, and condemnation from State politicians, the mayor was forced to concede. 

Shakem Often Gives Classes On Conflict Resolution To High School Students

    Shakem took on prominent black Charleston area political hopeful Thomas Dixon as late as February of 2020. Shakem has repeatedly slammed Dixon, another Charleston area black community leader who has been called out repeatedly by other black activists for "selling out" the black community to white liberals and sacrificing the real needs of the black community to the needs of the Party establishment. Dixon has made attempts at elected office on the local, state, and federal levels.

BLEXIT SOUTH CAROLINA

     In January of 2020, Shakem attended his first BLEXIT rally, and during an interview said what black Americans across the country are realizing,:

"We have to be able to be more forward thinking. A lot of the things that Trump has done have been beneficial. Look at the second chance act. I actually know men in the federal prison system who have benefited. We have to remember that President Clinton actually put that into place, so Trump is trying to fix what a liberal Democrat has done. 

     Also when you look at Bloomberg, you know, he's apologizing now for policies he's implemented that have affected negatively black and brown men and women. You know, we have these Democrats, look at Biden. Look at Hillary Clinton with the "super predator" comment. We're so caught up in, I would say,  "loving them (Democrats) unconditionally"  that we dont even think that there is another avenue that we could go to get beneficial things passed for our community. I think that's why I'm voting for Trump in 2020. I always tell people around me, we've got to support. We cant keep continuing to put all our eggs in one basket, and just saying 'we're gonna vote blue no matter who'. That's idiotic. That's stupid".

     In February of 2020 Shakem was elected the State Director of the BLEXIT South Carolina Chapter. He helped found the North Charleston Community Resource Center, which provides computer access, free food, free clothing, and career courses to local disadvantaged citizens and youth. He founded the Muhiyidin D'Baha Leadership Academy, and dedicates the majority of his free time to helping the Charleston and South Carolina black youth grow and develop. He also calls himself a conservative and plans to vote for Trump in 2020. 

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: A LEGACY OF BLOOD-SOAKED HANDS

KILLING FROM THEIR BEGINNING


     An outsider to American politics spending more than a few minutes watching CNN and other left-leaning media would likely come away with a less than favorable view of conservatives and Republicans in America, and could very well think of the Democratic Party as a sort of light-in-the-dark of American politics. Democrats and their media bards spare no expense in painting those who fall to the right of the center as heartless monsters with no regard for humanity or the lives of others. While they suggest that Republicans want to send your poor grandmother hurtling off a cliff, or stuff innocent children into dog cages, or see members of the LGBT community beaten in the streets, Democrats go to extraordinary lengths to conceal their own blood soaked hands.

     From the brutal exile of the Native Americans, to the desolation of the Civil War, from the race riots of the mid 20th century, all the way to the deaths of millions today, the Democratic party rivals some of history's worst tyrants in carnage and body count. The Party leaders have become masters of the game of playing savior while dealing death, even at the expense of their own supporters. Whether its breathlessly sending American soldiers to die in their own pursuit of wealth, prestige, and empire, or mindlessly murdering Americans in the streets for being the wrong skin color, Democrats have done it all. If you peel back the Democrats silken veil, the lesus naturae beneath can be seen for what it really is.


NATIVE AMERICAN ERADICATION 

    Today's Democratic Party got its start early on in the life of the nation, forming in the wake of the electoral landslide that gave us President Andrew Jackson. Because of his seemingly overwhelming support across the nation, supporters of Jackson saw themselves as being more in-touch with the will of the American people and took for themselves the name Democrats. Not one to terry, President Jackson wasted no time aiming the ire of his party at one of the countries most vulnerable communities, the native tribes of the southeast. 

    In his 1829 State of the Union Address Jackson called for legislation that would force native   American tribes out of several U.S. states. In 1830 the Indian Removal Act was passed, supported by nearly every Democrat and opposed by nearly every other member of congress. The legislation required the complete removal of the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes from their homes in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana to lands west of the Mississippi River.   

The Cherokee Removal Memorial Park In Tennessee

It Lists The Family Names of Every Cherokee Family 

Forced To Leave And The Number of Members In Each Family

   The Chief of the Cherokee nation, John Ross, traveled to Washington D.C. in an attempt to negotiate alternatives to removal with the U.S., pleading with officials to honor their treaties with his people, but the pleas fell on deaf ears.  Many Christian leaders and members of the National Republican Party (a Party born out of opposition to Andrew Jackson) like American icon Davey Crockett opposed the Indian Removal Act. Well known Georgia missionary Elizur Butler traveled the Trail of Tears with the Cherokee people during their exile, serving as their doctor along the way. When it was over, Elizur estimated roughly 4,000 Cherokee men, women, and children had died, a fifth of the entire Cherokee population.

     Roughly 50,000 natives were forced to march from the southeast to their new homes in the Midwest along the Trail ofTears. More than 1,000 miles in some cases, the arduous journey had to be made on foot. Entire generations-old tribal nations were torn up by the root. When the last resettlements were completed in 1839 roughly 10,000 natives had died along the trail.


IMPERIALISM OVER MEXICO

    In 1844 another Democrat was elected, President James K. Polk. Shortly after taking office in 1845, Polk attempted to purchase Mexico's northern territories, essentially half of the country. When Mexico refused the sale President Polk responded with military provocation, sending United States soldiers to the Rio Grande in Texas, which had long been disputed territory claimed by both countries. Polk was attempting to goad Mexico into a War, and Mexico aimed to defend its sovereignty. 

     The ensuing conflict, known as the Mexican-American War, resulted in an overwhelming victory by the United States. Their technological and tactical superiority allowed Polk to attack Mexico and its northern territories simultaneously, seizing Monterey California, invading New Mexico, supporting the pro-U.S. Bear Flag Revolt in Northern California, and invading as far south as the Mexican Capital, Mexico City.

     One of the most heart-wrenching episodes of the conflict played out on the ramparts of Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City. Six teenage military cadets, affectionately known today as NiñosHéroes or "Boy Soldiers", took up positions in the Castle to defend it from the invading American soldiers.  When it became clear that they would be overrun one of the boys, Juan Escutia, took the Mexican flag flying over the castle, wrapped it around his body, and threw himself from the walls of the castle to prevent the American attackers from capturing it. He sacrificed his life to do so. 

Monument To The Six Boy Soldiers In Mexico City

     With their capital city under U.S. control, Mexican officials had no choice but to concede to President Polk's conditions for peace, which were both terribly harsh and predictable. Polk demanded that Mexico sell all of its northern territories to the United States for fifteen million dollars, which include land making up the future states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado, and that Mexico recognize the Rio Grande as the border between itself and Texas. By the end of the war more than 25,000 Mexicans and 13,000 Americans were dead.


SLAVERY AND CIVIL WAR


  It's no secret that it was the Democrats determination to maintain a slavery based agricultural economy in the South that ultimately led to the events of 1861-1865. The Confederate government, made almost entirely of Democrats, was blisteringly clear in their legislation, speeches, and ordinances of secession that maintaining African slavery was paramount to the cause of the Confederacy. Democratic Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens claimed that slavery "was the immediate cause of the late rupture and current revolution". He gave what came to be called "The Cornerstone Speech" on March 21st of 1861 during which, while comparing the Confederate Constitution to the Declaration of Independence which asserts all men are created equal, he said "Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition".

     But slavery and the bloody clash of soldiers aren't the only specters to haunt this chapter of the Democratic Party's history. Draft riots broke out in the Summer of 1863 in Manhattan, New York when hundreds of northern democrats took to the streets to attack black citizens and burn black businesses and homes, including an orphanage for black children and  a Republican newspaper office, expressing outrage that their sons and husbands were being sent to die in a war to free slaves. More than 100 people would be killed during the riots. The anti-black and anti-Republican sentiment was so strong among Northern Democrats that President Lincoln had serious doubts about his ability to be reelected in 1864.

Arlington National Cemetery Began As A Civil War Military Burial Ground

     By the time the war ended dozens of cities were left in ashes and an entire generation of American's were dead. While official casualty numbers rest around 620,000 northern and southern combined deaths, most historians acknowledge that rural civilian deaths due to shortages, sickness, and mistreatment by military occupiers likely put the number slightly closer to 800,000. By comparison the United States would have to suffer roughly 6,000,000 casualties today to equate to the losses of the time. Democrat lust for power and continued disregard for human life had resulted in an American holocaust.



RECONSTRUCTION AND THE KKK

     The period after the end of the war known as Reconstruction saw the rise of America's original homegrown terrorist organization. The Ku Klux Klan was formed by former Confederates in Pulaski, Tennessee, and would lead a reign of terror across the country as the paramilitary wing of the Democratic Party. They engaged in the lynching and murder of countless white Republicans and now free blacks. Their vitriol was especially brutal toward southern white Republicans who they saw as race traitors of the highest order and their reign of terror would last well into the 20th century.

     The Ku Klux Klan's violence became so destructive and widespread that the Republican led Congress passed the Ku KluxKlan Act in 1871, authorizing Republican President Ulysses S. Grant to use military force to suppress the KKK and implementing martial law in nine South Carolina counties which had essentially been taken over by the organization. The organization went through surges and falls in membership before losing most of its influence shortly after the time of the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Between 1882 and 1968 more than 4,700 Klan related lynching's were officially reported in the United States. How many actually took place we will never know. 

Reconstruction Era Democratic Party Propaganda

Democrats Relied On Racial Division As Much Then As Now

     But the Klan didn't lose all of its influence with Democrats. In fact, some "former" klansmen remained politically relevant even well into the 2000s. Former Ku Klux Klan recruiter Robert Byrd would go on to represent West Virginia in the U.S. Senate. While he claimed to have left the Ku Klux Klan in 1943, he wrote a letter to the Klan's leader in 1946, saying in part "The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia". When Byrd died in 2010 he was still a member of the U.S. Senate and he was mourned by modern Democrats like Barak Obama, who said of Byrd after his death "He was a Senate icon, he was a Party leader, he was an elder statesmen, and he was my friend". 2016 Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was a very close friend of Byrd, and referred to him as a "mentor" after his death. 


THE INVISIBLE GENOCIDE    


     One of the Democratic Party's most entrenched political positions is that for support of the unfettered murder of unborn, and in some cases born, children. "The Right to Choose" is championed by Democrats as much, if not more so, than any other political position in modern American politics. They dont only defend the practice. Democrats have stood shoulder to shoulder with the organization Planned Parenthood in their crusade to end the lives of those seen as "undesirable" to the organizations founder for nearly a century.

    Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was painfully clear about the goal of her work: to rid the world of people of whom she didn't approve through abortion. Besides being a believer in the ideology of eugenics (the practice of removing undesirable traits from humanity on a genetic level), Sanger was an unabashed racist, said to have referred to people of african descent as "the lowest known species of the human family, just a step higher than the chimpanzee in brain development". Shes a hero to the Democratic Party to this day.

Memorial To The Unborn

 Lacrosse, Wisconsin 

     Unfortunately, the Democratic Party has been working tirelessly to help Sangers dream become a reality, and they've been doing it with taxpayer money. The overwhelming majority of Planned Parenthood facilities which perform abortions are located in economically vulnerable communities and communities of color. Visit any predominate black community in America and chances are there is a Planned Parenthood clinic not far away. Year after year, abortions are performed on black children at extremely higher rates than their white counterparts. In 2015, according to theCDC, 60.8% of abortions conducted in the State of Georgia were performed on black mothers, while black citizens made up only 32% of the population. That same year in New York State more black babies were aborted than born.

     But this epidemic isn't just about race, its a tragedy for America as a whole. According to the CDC the leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2014 was Heart Disease, killing 614,348 Americans. That same year 926,000 abortions were performed in the country. In 2017 the leading cause of death remained Heart Disease, despite the fact that more than 862,000 American children were murdered before they drew their first breath. Killing more Americans each year than anything else, over 62 million of our fellowAmericans have been put to death through this practice since 1973, and the blood is on the hands of the Democratic Party.

THE RED AND THE BLUE: AN AMERICAN TWO PARTY HOAX

MOST AMERICANS DON'T FIT EITHER PARTY

    If you've ever defended or advocated for one of the two American Political parties in a debate or exchange with a friend, colleague, or even a stranger, you've almost certainly found yourself having to disavow one piece of your party's platform or another. Whether you're a Democrat who opposes abortion or a Republican who supports your gay brother and his husbands right to be married, its not likely that you line up with your political party on all or even most points in its platform. Still, because the two party system is all Americans have known for the last 150 plus years, most of us find ourselves rushing to the party line every election cycle, sacrificing half of our values in the process.

If youre a white Christian you're expected to side with the Republicans. If you're African American, you must be a Democrat by default. If you're a gun owner, step to the right side of the aisle please. If you believe abortion should be legal, tack on a blue "D" pin. Have concerns about illegal immigration? You must belong in the GOP. Are you a homosexual who just wants to live their life? You get to sit under the Democratic tent. But what if you're a gay gun owner whose concerned about illegal immigration and supports your sisters right to an abortion?

     The media begins playing the broken record of talking points, political commentators begin playing the heart strings of their listeners, and political candidates start saying whatever they think will appeal to the most people just to get themselves elected. 

     This cycle has left the United States more fractured than the election before for almost 40 years, driving a wedge deeper and deeper into the political foundation of the country year after year. When the topic of politics comes up many Americans dawn a metaphorical cloak in the colors of Red or Blue and prepare themselves to cut to the white meat those who aren't in line with their party. But how much are any of us truly in line with party platforms? Polls by various organizations tell us that most Americans agree with each other far more than they do any specific political party. Lets look at it by the numbers, shall we?

TAXES

     While both the Democratic and Republican parties have their own reasons for wanting to raise certain taxes (and despite what Republicans say, they want to raise taxes just as often as Democrats), the majority of Americans believe that they're already paying too much in taxes and want to see significant change made to the abysmal American tax code. 

     According to a 2017 Gallup poll 53% of Americans believe they're already giving the government too much of their hard earned money, and who can blame them. Americans have to hand money over to the government when they earn money (income tax), when they hunt (hunting license fee), when they fish (fishing license fee) when they spend money (sales tax), when they own a vehicle or home (property tax), when they make money from investments (capital gains tax), when they get married (marriage license fee) and some even pay taxes just for dying (death, estate, inheritance taxes). In all, American citizens and businesses pay hundreds of different taxes and fees. And Democrats and Republicans want more? Most Americans agree that this is beyond ridiculous, regardless of whatever talking point their party leaders decide to push.

Same-Sex Marriage

     Despite the traditionalist and religious drum banging by Republicans, most Americans actually have some common ground when it comes to some of the country's biggest hot-button issues. From abortion to gay marriage, your everyday citizen can and do see eye-to-eye with most of their fellow Americans. 

     A 2017 Pew Poll found that 62% of Americans support the idea of Same-Sex marriage, even though many of them admit their opinion has become more favorable over the last 30 years. While many say that this is due to the fact that American society is becoming increasingly secular, the same Pew Poll also found that the number of individuals that identify as Evangelical Christians who support Same-Sex Marriage rose from 27% in 2001 to 35% in 2017, indicating that religion is playing less of a role on the increase in acceptance than some would have people believe. But its not just the religious that have changed their position. The poll found that in 2001 only 21% of Republican voters and 43% of Democrat voters supported Same-Sex marriage. In 2017 the Republican voters supporting marriage equality had risen to 40% and Democrats 73%.

Abortion 

     Abortion, a major talking point for both parties, doesn't quite unite their bases as much as their vocal activists would have you believe. A 2016 Pew Poll found that 61% of Americans opposed efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that granted women the right to an abortion. Nevertheless, Gallup reported in 2018 that only 29% of Americans support abortion without question, 50% of voters believe abortion should only be permissible under certain circumstances such as to save the life of the mother, rape, or incest. Those who would outlaw abortion outright, only 18% according to the Pew Poll, find themselves closer in number to those who believe abortion should be a free for all than those who believe there should be some restriction. 

Gun Control

     While Gun Control has become a major point of contention between some of America's most outspoken political commentators, many on the left suggesting guns should be banned outright, the vast majority of Americans oppose any such thing. While Gallup reported in 2018 that 61% of voters believed there should be some additional requirements, qualifications, and restrictions on the purchase of fire arms, they also found that 71% of voters would oppose efforts to disarm the American public outright. Gallup also reported in 2018 that 57% of voters would oppose legislation to outlaw the manufacturing, sale, or possession of semi-automatic rifles. The same 2018 poll showed that 56% of voters held a favorable view of the NRA while only 42% indicated an unfavorable view. When it came to preventing future school shootings the 2018 numbers were similar, with 56% of voters believing that increasing security at schools and improving the healthcare system was a superior solution than increasing legislation against weapons and ammunition. 

Illegal Immigration

     Today mainstream media pumps out two very different narratives when it comes to the issue of illegal immigration. By the left Americans are told that there's nothing to worry about when it comes to illegal immigration and any talk of limiting those crossing the Mexican border is racist and bigoted, making this a major current talking point for Democrats. On the right, the narrative calls for deportation of those in the country illegally and firmly securing the southern border. So where do most Americans actually stand?

    In 2018 Gallup found that 54% of American voters were worried about illegal immigration while only 21% said they weren't concerned about it at all. The same year Gallup found that 70% of voters saw large numbers of undocumented immigrants entering the country as a threat to the nation while only 29% did not. Even then, construction of a wall along the southern border doesn't seem to be the solution most Americans support, as the same pole found only 40% supported construction of the Trump wall while 60% opposed it for either moral or financial reasons. A 2019 poll by the same organization found that 75% of voters supported increasing the number of border patrol agents on the Mexican border while only 24% opposed. 

Things Almost All of Us Agree On

     A 2013 Associated Press poll found 12 topics that 90% of American voters agreed on, despite their political affiliation, including:

• Considering themselves Patriotic
• Belief in God
• Admiring those who acquire wealth through hard word
• Believing all citizens deserve equal opportunity to work for success

SO WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

     Basically, most American's political affiliation is a bad attempt at fitting the square through the circle. The American political system as it is today damns the people to be in a perpetual state of half-cocked and ticked off, given that no matter the outcome of any given election or political battle approximatly half the country is going to be left pissed. But it doesn't have to be that way because, as the numbers show, if we take off our political hats and talk about our truly held values and beliefs (not those our parties expect us to champion) most of us really aren't that different. 

     Imagine if all of those who actually meet in the middle on most of these issues decided to cast their contentious, constraining, insincere political parties aside and chose to pursue a path that would bring the actual will of the people back to the forefront. Imagine an election where Democrats and Republicans had to contend not only with each other, but with those of us who see past the lies and agendas of both parties. Imagine if we started seeing each other as Americans instead of Reds or Blues, Conservatives or Liberals, "Nazi's" or "Communists", and saw each other as brothers and sisters with far more in common than we've realized. Imagine if instead of trying to keep patching this tattered wheel we decided to break the wheel outright and take the power from the parties and give it to the people. 

    How would that work out?

CHARLESTON, SC: A DEMOCRATIC FORCED EXODUS

 CHARLESTON, SC HAS A DIRTY SECRET 

    

     For the droves of tourists that pass through Charleston with historic landmarks and exquisite cuisine on their minds it might be easy to overlook the fact that the city has undergone a dramatic demographic shift in the last half century. For those that have moved to Charleston from out of State (yes, we're talking to you too Ohioans), it may not have ever occurred to them how few Black neighbors they have compared to other parts of the Palmetto State. But for those who have lived in Charleston more than a couple decades the reduction of black residents on the peninsula is very obvious.

LETS TAKE IT BACK TO CHARLESTON IN 1860

 (Charleston, SC circa 1860)

      James D. Johnson owned a tailor shop on King Street and owned two homes on Coming Street, numbers 7 and 9. Mr. Johnson's tailor shop was frequented by some of Charleston's most elite, including Judge Andrew Gordon Magrath. The Johnsons were wealthy enough to own their own slaves, which were very expensive at the time, to help with the shop, and sent their children away to school. Mr. Johnson was also a free Black man.

     In 1860 there were more than 3,000 free Blacks living in what we now call the Downtown area of Charleston. Free Blacks owned houses and businesses on the most prominent streets in the city. The Johnsons are just one example of such families. The black community was intertwined with the white community, with Charlestonians visiting shops owned by individuals of the opposite race on a regular basis. Today, however, its a different story.

LETS JUMP FORWARD 110 YEARS

     If you walk into a shop in downtown on your next visit to Charleston, you can almost guarantee its not black owned. Charleston South Carolina is one of those few places in the South that has remained under the control of the Democratic Party almost continuously since the end of the Civil War. For the better part of that time the demographics didn't change that much . Charleston was still a very integrated city with Blacks making up nearly 50% of the population in 1970. Then in 1975 something happened that would change all that.

(Joseph P. Riley)

     Inf 1975 Joseph P. Riley Jr., a Democrat, was elected Mayor of Charleston. Mayor Riley touted himself as a champion of Civil Rights and made a spectacle of challenging the presence of the Confederate Battle Flag at the South Carolina State House in 2000 with his "March to the State House" and championed the program to build the new International African American Museum. With all of that its easy to understand why Democrats and the Black Community lauded Mayor Riley has a hero. But that's only half the story.

     When Mayor Riley took office the black community made up nearly 50% of Charleston's population. When he left office in January 2016 that number had dropped to less than 25%. How, in just four decades, did the black population that had been rooted in Charleston for generations become so small? The answer is simple: Gentrification. But Riley didn't act alone. He enjoyed a Democrat controlled City Council.

THE MAN THAT BROUGHT BUSINESS TO CHARLESTON

     Its difficult to point out this side of the tenure of Mayor Joe Riley in Charleston without getting sour looks and evil glances. To the wealthy white population of Downtown Charleston, most of which are from out of State, Mayor Riley is a hero who brought businesses to Charleston in rapid succession. It's easy for these rich northern Democrats to ignore the underlying cost of this development because they are the ones taking advantage of it while Black owned families and businesses in downtown have become essentially non-existent.

                                          (Charleston, SC Skyline circa 2014)

     Most of the new or "up and coming" neighborhoods in Charleston that developers are fighting over were once the generational homes of Charleston's Black community. Homes that were once passed down generation after generation within the Charleston Black community are now being "modernized" and "refurbished" and sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars to rich white northerners. Entire neighborhoods of black Charlestonians are being turned out of their homes to make room for more affluent northern whites. 

     Neighborhoods in Charleston like Wagner Terrace, Hampton Park Terrace, and Elliot Borough have lost more than 50% of their black population since 2000. Many of these black families are being priced out of their neighborhoods. With the prices skyrocketing due to development and "revitalization", Charleston's black families have found themselves forced not only out of their neighborhoods but out of Charleston all together. All of this has happened under the watchful and "loving" eyes of the Democratic Party.

CURRENT MAYOR AND POLICE TARGETING

     Charleston's current mayor, John Tecklenburg, has taken extreme fire in recent months after it was reported that official documents surfaced proving the Charleston Police Department is disproportionately targeting African Americans in the downtown area and beyond, all while African Americans remain a micro-minority in downtown. This was brought to public attention by South Carolina Community Leader and activist Shakem Amen Akhet, who called on black democratic leaders in the area to address the situation with the local government, but the citys Democratic leaders refused to publicly challenge the mayor on this. 

     Mayor Tecklenburg drew fire when he posed for photos at the College of Charleston wearing traditional African Dashiki. Members of the Charleston black community lashed out at the mayor, challenging on his decision to pander to blacks by wearing traditional African clothes and attending African heritage events while supporting policies that are systematically driving African Americans out of his city. 

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg (Facebook)

A CENTURY AND A HALF OF DEMOCRAT DOMINATION

     While liberal activists and Democratic politicians will rant and rave in the streets and in the halls of Congress about the Republican Party being the party of genocide, racism, bigotry, and intolerance, the decimation of the Charleston Black Community has absolutely nothing to do with the Republican Party and everything to do with Democrat manipulation. 

     The last Republican mayor of Charleston, George I. Cunningham, left office in 1877. Yes, the last Republican mayor of Charleston left office the same year reconstruction was brought to a halt by the resurgence of white supremacist Democrats in the South. This seems to fly in the face of the Democratic mantra that the two major parties went through a "big switch" during the first part of the 20th century, which would suggest a Democratic Party elected by white supremacist sympathizers in the 1870s wouldn't have been very popular in the civil rights era, yet the Democrats held power and do to this day.

CHARLESTON'S DISAPPEARING BLACK COMMUNIT

     As we said earlier, in 1860 there were more than 3,000 free Blacks living in the downtown area. Today, in a city with a population of more than 120,000, there are less than 1,000 black families living in the downtown area...and that number is dropping. The Party that is today screaming "racism" and "white supremacy" from the rooftops is the same Party that is systematically eliminating the Black population of Charleston South Carolina through a system of rapid and unfettered gentrification. 

   (Gullah Geechee Cultural Exhibition)

     The Gullah Geechee once flourished in Charleston, but now the community is suffering. The Gullah Geechee have been in Charleston for generations and are on the verge of having their entire culture and history eradicated. 

     For those Black Charlestonians who remain in the downtown area, and for those who have been forced off the peninsula into North Charleston and beyond, we urge you to take a closer look at your elected officials. The Black community has played a vital role in making Charleston the city we all know and love. For the Democratic Party to succeed in removing that community from the face of The Holy City would be a cultural, economic, and historical catastrophe.