1.) When discussing Black voters & our political ideology, it's equally important to understand the nuances of party identity and political behavior.

A majority of Black voters identify as conservative or moderate but don't vote Republican, and understanding why is important.

2.) The first thing this suggests is that an overwhelming majority of Black voters view the GOP as hostile to the interest of the African-American community.

3.) However, this wasn't always the case. When the GOP was seen as reliable on civil rights and civil liberties, the party was able to maintain a competitive edge with the Black vote.

4.) FDR was the first Democrat able to get a significant percentage of the Black vote because of some of the programs included in the New Deal that directly helped African-Americans.

5.) Despite FDR's success, the GOP was still able to compete for the Black vote. Though Truman won, in part because of Black voters, that victory wasn’t guaranteed.

6.) His Republican opponent was Thomas Dewey, a moderate Republican and former governor of NY who likely could’ve won if he ran on his stellar record on civil rights as governor of NYC. Despite this fact, Republicans still courted a sizable percent of the Black vote.

7.) When Eisenhower ran, he received close to 40% of the Black vote, proving that the Republican party could still court African-Americans as long as the party prioritized the interest of the Black community, coupled with the right messaging.

8.) I could talk about Goldwater, etc., but for brevity sakes, I'm going to assume you're aware of his impact on the GOP and the Black vote; if not, research it.

The purpose of this thread is to showcase that the Republican party once knew how to reach Black voters.

9.) Statements from some Republicans today about ”getting off the Democratic plantation” are both insulting and fall short of understanding the complex, nuanced history of Black voters with both political parties.

10.) If the Republican Party ever seeks to compete with Black voters again, I suggest the party study it's past and not just talk about it and see where the party went wrong and correct course.