Vernon Jones, a Democratic state representative from Georgia, spoke on the first night of the Republican National Convention on August 24, 2020.
Transcript
Hello America. My name is Vernon Jones and I’m a state representative from the great state of Georgia. As you can see, I’m a man of color, and I’m a lifelong Democrat too. You may be wondering, “Why is a lifelong Democrat speaking at the Republican National Convention?” That’s a fair question. Here’s your answer. The Democratic party does not want black people to leave their mental plantation. We’ve been forced to be there for decades and generations, but I have news for Joe Biden. We are free. We are free people with free minds, and I’m 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.
This is no time for sleeping in the basement. Joe Biden has had 47 years to produce results, but he’s been all talk and no action. Just like so many of the Democrats who have been making promises to the black voters for decades, we’ve been their captive audience. When President Trump sought to earn the black vote, the Democratic party leaders went crazy. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer literally started wearing kente cloths around the US Capitol as if pandering were enough to keep us satisfied.
Let me tell you why I’m supporting our president. I grew up in the South in Laurel Hill, North Carolina, Scotland County, the green pond community to be exact. My parents, Robert and Rufer Jones 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 those tobacco fields of North Carolina to those hallowed halls of the Georgia general assembly. My parents taught me if I believe in God, work hard and treated every person fairly, there was no limit to what we could achieve.
I attended North Carolina Central University, a historical black college. For generations, HBCUs have been the incubators that developed black scholars and math and science and religion, engineering and politics. They have been important springboards for the black success, but Democrats haven’t treated them that way. When President Trump took office, he changed everything. He delivered historic funding to HBCUs and he guaranteed it for 10 years. Something that has never happened in the history of this country. That gave our HBCUs stability, the chance to grow and produce the next generation of black leaders. That’s right. Donald Trump did that.
He’s also supported school choice to assure that no child, no matter their race or zip code is left behind. Every child should have access to a quality education, but education is just the beginning. The president also built the most inclusive economy ever with a record low unemployment for African Americans and record high participation in the workforc
He put opportunity zones and the Trump tax bill that would drive investment and to our communities for decades to come. He put the interest of American workers and especially black workers first. That’s right. Donald Trump did that. He delivered historic criminal justice reform. He ended once and for all the policy of incarceration of black people, which has decimated our communities caused by no other than Joe Biden. Democrats wouldn’t do it. Obama didn’t want to do it, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris definitely wouldn’t do it, but Donald Trump did it. He’s also working every day to make our community safer. As a former executive of DeKalb County, Georgia, I directed one of the largest public safety departments in the Southeas
I seen tragic shootings on both sides, officers, killing citizens and citizens killing officers in the line of duty. Police officers are a fellow citizens. They live in our country. They have families too. They live in our communities. Unfortunately, Democrats have turned their backs on our brave police officers. They call it defunding, and it’s a danger to our cities, our neighborhoods, and our children. Isn’t it ironic that Democrat politicians have personal security to protect them? So, why don’t they forego their security and replaced them with social workers, especially since that’s what they want for you and me. Our police need more funding, not less for frequent psychological examinations, for non-lethal remote restraint technology and for more deescalation and use of force training. These are the common sense solutions that President Trump supports true, sincere police reform. That’s right, Donald Trump did that to
Education, jobs, safety, security, on issue after issue and in just a single term, he destroyed these negative forces that have victimized the black community for decades. He gave us the opportunity to rise. Now, when I made the public announcement of my support for President Trump, all hell broke loose. I was threatened, called an embarrassment and asked to resign by my own party. Unfortunately, that’s consistent with the Democratic party and how they view independent thinking black men and women. But, I’m here to tell you that black voices are becoming more woke and louder than eve
The democratic party has become infected with a pandemic of intolerance, bigotry, socialism, anti law enforcement bias, and a dangerous tolerance for people who attack others, destroy their property and terrorize our own communities. That’s what this election is all about. That’s why right now, more than ever, more than ever before, America needs Donald Trump in the oval office for another four years. God bless you and vote Donald J. Trump. Thank you.
