Guest: Mantra of the left: Racist, Racist, Racist

Tamara Leigh
Special to Historic City News

“Racist, Racist, Racist!” It’s the new “Russia, Russia, Russia” mantra of the Left.

Wait for it… now that Ron DeSantis is the officially declared victor in the Florida Gubernatorial race, the #MSM and local Florida media will likely make a “yuge” deal of DeSantis’ first black appointment in his administration.

In their recent article, Ron DeSantis hire a Democrat? After the election, a shift in tone, the Tampa Bay Times already asserted that now that DeSantis will be Governor, he is changing. Does this also mean he is willing to be less racist than the evil “monkey it up” white candidate he was while campaigning? Emily L. Mahoney writes in that article, “But in the two weeks since he [DeSantis] won on Election Day, the 40-year-old former congressman has been tinkering with his brand. He’s called for unity and even invited Gillum to “to join (him) in the days ahead in a conversation about the future of our great state.” That conciliatory tone is not just strikingly different than the one DeSantis set on the campaign trail…”

DeSantis is not “tinkering his brand” when it comes to not being a racist. The “conciliatory tone” is not new or different. DeSantis’ minority inclusiveness in his campaign and in his minority and black outreach as a congressman were always there, the Left just ignored those inconvenient truths.

Fact: As a freshman congressman in 2015, DeSantis attended an event honoring black veterans at the Black Veterans Cemetery in Armstrong, Florida at the invitation of one of his constituents, Derek Boyd Hankerson. Hankerson’s family, of Gullah Geechee descent (West Africans who came to America), is native to St. John’s county, Florida, an area represented by DeSantis, and Hankerson’s father, grandmother, and other family members are buried there.

As the US Congressman representing the 6th District, DeSantis has also been an avid supporter of Hankerson’s documentary, Gullah Geechee Corridor and the East Coast Greenway (GGCATECG) that was filmed in St. Augustine, Florida. Hankerson wrote, produced, directed, and narrated the film that highlights the culture and history of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor and the “rails to trails” of the East Coast Greenway.

The declaration of the Cultural Corridor and the creation of the series of East Coast Greenway trails for cycling, hiking, and other outdoor recreation was the result of collaboration from both private and public sectors at local, state, and federal levels, including Congress, the Department of Interior, Parks and Recreation, Department of Transportation, Department of Tourism, and more. Additionally, DeSantis is a strong advocate for resolving the algae bloom water crisis in Florida that has adversely impacted the state’s tourism, and so he enthusiastically advocates for the robust cycling, eco- tourism and agri- tourism featured in the GGCATECG film.

Another fact that opponents of DeSantis crying “racist” either never checked or ignored is that the DeSantis for Governor campaign used Hankerson’s photo on his gubernatorial website as well as Hankerson appearing in DeSantis for Governor television commercials, which ran all over the state of Florida.

Ironically, not one reporter asked who the black guy was in the commercial with DeSantis.  Instead, when DeSantis used the term “monkey it up”, the fake liberal press’s collective heads exploded calling DeSantis a bigot without first fact-checking or talking to that black guy who clearly had a presence in the DeSantis campaign.

Isn’t that hypocritical??

And, shame on gubernatorial opponent Andrew Gillum, on playing the race card when Gillum and his staff certainly saw the commercials like the rest of Florida. Is it not more racist to insist voters elect you, as Gillum did, because you are black, and you would be the first black governor never mind merit or platform?

Fact is, DeSantis, who is part Hispanic, has always been inclusive. Florida is a plethora of minorities, cultures, and demographics. Political consultants, analysts, and pundits can dissect and divide the nation’s third largest state’s population ad nauseam as it serves their purposes, but the unifying factor of the Sunshine State is that residents for the most part get along and are happy to live and let live. Another fun, but little recognized fact, is that Florida was united before it was divided. The story that has not yet been told to modern day Americans but will be as the next film project of Hankerson-Henry Productions, LLC, is the true history of Fort Mose. In the Battle of Fort Mose on June 26, 1740, Florida’s first “minorities” — Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans — united with the early Europeans Colonialists to win a historic victory that would set the stage for the Revolutionary War and the creation of the United States of America.

Fort Mose was in District 6, DeSantis’s former congressional district. But now it is in District 7 due to redistricting. As Governor representing the whole state now, the non-racist DeSantis will work to make all of Florida great. DeSantis remains aligned with President Trump and #MAGA agenda. If there is a take-away from the 2018 Elections, it is that America is not more racist, it is less.

We are seeing a growing desire for unity among Americans of all ethnicities. As more minorities #WalkAway and #Blexit the Democrat Party that failed them, they want to embrace the Trump America Exceptionalism. They want inclusion in our country’s story. President Trump has given minority Americans an honored and recognized role in writing our current history of Making America Great. With the Governor’s office win, DeSantis can continue to strengthen that unifying message to minorities in Florida.

Don’t be surprised when there’s a diverse DeSantis administration. It’s not new news. DeSantis is not that “racist”.