What Black History Misses

We have a plethora of black history courses in primary, secondary and post-secondary institutions of learning throughout the United States. Yet and still, there are indications that quantity does not necessarily equal quality.

“As the NRA and other groups started to want to use me as a symbol of the Second Amendment — a black voice — I started reading up,” Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke told National Review’s Charles C. W. Cooke. “I became fascinated.”

“What really struck me was the black tradition of arms. . . . I thought, Wow. This isn’t the black history I grew up reading about.”

“Once blacks were able to arm themselves to protect against kidnapping and lynching,” he told Cooke, “things really began to change in terms of black freedom.”

Sheriff Clarke spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference this year but he may never appear on the rostrum of a Republican convention, and not just because he is an elected, registered Democrat.

“I believe that the Constitution protects individuals and not groups,” Sheriff Clarke told Cooke. “I believe in safe streets here at home. And I believe in states’ rights. For a label for me, ‘conservative’ is more appropriate than ‘Republican.’”

There are many who might identify.

 

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