On the surface, the name of a political action committee — Black Americans for the President’s Agenda — sounds like Black people who are in favor of President Trump wholly fund it. But, it turns out, the Super PAC has a Black figurehead, yet is funded by a number of wealthy white conservatives.
A radio ad created by the PAC supports Republican Rep. French Hill, who’s running reelection in Arkansas, and warns, “Democrats will be lynching Black folk again.” Hill is running against Democrat Clarke Tucker.
Donors funding this PAC “appear to be rich, conservative ideologues, not the actual ‘Black Americans’ they claim to be,” according to ThinkProgress.
Charles B. Johnson, the principal owner of the San Francisco Giants, gave $1,000 to the committee.
“Other top donations include $1,000 from Trish Duggan, an artist and the wife of pharmaceutical billionaire Robert Duggan, $1,000 from Arthur “Tim” Choate, an investor and game fishing enthusiast, and $1,000 from investor Norman Waite Jr.,” the publication reports.
In the radio ad to support Hill, which has gone viral, two Black women discuss the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh brought forth by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and two others, without naming any of them.
“What do you think about what’s happening in Washington” one of the women asks.
“Our Congressman French Hill and the Republicans know that it’s dangerous to change the presumption of innocence to a presumption of guilt, especially for Black men,” the other woman responds.
“If the Democrats can do that to a white justice of the Supreme Court with no evidence, no corroboration and all of her witnesses, including her best friend, say it didn’t happen.”
French Hill black radio ad in Arkansas –
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“What will happen to our husbands, our fathers, or our sons, when a white girl lies on them” the first woman asks.
The second woman replies: “Girl, white Democrats will be lynching Black folk again.”
“Honey, I’ve always told my son, ‘Don’t be messing around with that. If you get caught, she will cry rape,” the first woman replies.
“I’m voting to keep Congressman French Hill and the Republicans because we have to protect our men and boys,” the second woman in the ad says. “We can’t afford to let white Democrats take us back to bad old days of race verdicts, life sentences and lynchings when a white girl screams rape.”
Both Hill and Tucker condemned the political action committee’s radio ad on Thursday.
On Friday, Johnson said in a statement he didn’t know his donation would be used for the ad.
“I had absolutely no knowledge that this donation would be used in this manner and I, like the Giants organization, strongly condemn any form of racism and in no way condone the advertisement that was created by this entity,” he said.
Vernon Robinson, the figurehead, is the PAC’s co-founder and treasurer, and has been called the “Black Jesse Helms,” a staunch conservative who was notoriously racist.
Robinson said the ad has been running in Little Rock, and is part of a $50,000 buy that includes a similar ad running on stations in Missouri, where Republican Josh Hawley is running against Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Reader Question: What do you think of the radio ad
