Oakland NAACP President Shannon Reeves condemned apathy in black communities and shared the struggles of being black and Republican in a speech Tuesday night in Annenberg Hall.
Blacks must take a more active role in fixing the problems in their communities, Reeves told about 70 people in a two-hour lecture that was broadcast live on C-SPAN.
“The black community asks questions like, ‘Why aren’t the streets in my neighborhood paved?'” Reeves said. “Every young person needs to be part of the solution. If you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.”
Reeves challenged audience members to get out of their comfort zones and get to know other communities. And while lingering racism still is a factor, Reeves said he refuses to make excuses.
“I can’t allow racism to be an excuse anymore,” he said. “Go around it to get a piece of the American dream.”
Changing a historical mentality of victimization is critical to moving forward, Reeves said.
“When blacks look into the mirror, they have to think victor, not victim,” Reeves said, “America wouldn’t be America without the contribution of African Americans.”
Reeves was raised by a single mother and did not receive any financial assistance from his father. He told the audience his life’s hardships: growing up as the only black student in grade school, receiving food stamps and benefiting from subsidized programs.
“Your beginning doesn’t determine your ending,” he said. “If you were born in a certain situation, it does not determine your life to be the same as an adult.”
The key is following role models who have suffered through racism, Reeves said. Jesse Jackson’s campaign for president in 1988 proved to Reeves that blacks could aim for goals they had never considered before. But at the same time, the defeat caused Reeves to re-examine his Democratic beliefs and ultimately pushed him toward the Republican party.
“Change comes from inside,” he said. “A new message and a new messenger was needed.”
Still, Reeves knew that his decision to change parties would anger many in his community.
“If I became a Republican, they’ll run me out of my neighborhood,” he recalled thinking at the time.
In the year he switched parties, Reeves encountered the first of many challenges as a black Republican: David Duke, a Ku Klux Klan member, had just won the Republican nomination for Governor of Louisiana.
He confessed that being black and Republican is the major ongoing struggle in his life.
“If I want to affiliate with the Republican Party and people choose to write me off, sharpen the pencil,” he said. “I choose what I believe in.”
Issues of racism continue to plague Reeves, he said, most recently at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, where he was invited as a delegate. In three days, he was asked 10 times to do jobs like calling taxis or carrying luggage, he said.
Despite these slights, Reeves insisted that blacks must give Republican views a chance. For that to happen, Republicans must first understand black communities before trying to win their votes, he said.
“You can never harvest a crop if you don’t plant the seeds,” he said.
James Strong, former president of College Republicans, said Reeves’ idea of reaching out to blacks as partners would help the party recruit new members.
“He gave good suggestions on how to get the African Americans and Republicans together,” Strong said. “It has to start slowly, breaking down stereotypes.”
Other students said Reeves is fighting a losing battle in trying to convert black voters to a party that has historically been insensitive to their needs.
“His dedication to the black community is quite admirable,” said Howard Lien, a Weinberg sophomore. “I feel, however, he can accomplish his goals more effectively by working with a party that shows more interest in African-American issues, instead of constantly fighting to change the viewpoint within his party.”
Reeves, however, urged the audience not to generalize about black interests and insisted that black people do not all think alike.
“So why should blacks vote alike?” he asked.
