One Black Democrat lawmaker in Georgia announced during the Republican National Convention on Monday he is ready to break free of the "mental plantation" that Joe Biden and the Democrats have kept Black people captive on for decades. Instead, he wants more Black people to become "independent thinkers" and look to President Donald Trump for leadership.
"I'm a man of color, and I'm a lifelong Democrat too. You may be wondering, 'Why is a lifelong Democrat speaking at the Republican National Convention?' And that's a fair question, and here's your answer: The Democratic Party does not want Black people to leave their mental plantation," said Georgia state Representative Vernon Jones during the convention.
Jones said Black people have freed up their minds to accept another option for president, one that can move the country in a positive direction.
"We've been forced to be there for decades and generations. I have news for Joe Biden: We are free, we are free people with free minds, and I'm part of a large and growing segment of the Black community who are independent thinkers, and we believe that Donald Trump is the president that America needs to lead us forward," Jones said.
He said Black people haven't gotten much from Democrats but apathy from Biden and pandering from lawmakers in Congress.
"This is no time for sleeping in the basement. Joe Biden has had 47 years to produce results. But he's been all talk and no action. Just like so many of the Democrats who have been making promises to the Black voters for decades. We've been their captive audience. When President Trump sought to earn the Black vote, the Democratic Party leaders went crazy. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer literally started wearing Kente cloths around the U.S. Capitol," Jones said.
"These are the common-sense solutions that President Trump supports. True, sincere police reform. That's right, Donald Trump did that too. Education, jobs, safety, security, on issue after issue, and in just a single term, he destroyed these negative forces that have victimized the Black community for decades," Jones said.
Jones praised Trump's accomplishments within the Black community during his time in office, particularly related to jobs and criminal justice reform.
"African Americans have record-high participation in the workforce. He put opportunity zones in the Trump tax bill that would drive investment into our communities for decades to come. He put the interest of American workers, and especially Black workers, first. That's right, Donald Trump did that. He delivered historic criminal justice reform," Jones said.
Jones added, "He ended once and for all, the policy of incarceration of Black people, which has decimated our communities caused by no other than Joe Biden. Democrats wouldn't do it, Obama didn't want to do it, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris definitely wouldn't do it. But Donald Trump did it."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.