The Biggest Threat to Black Folks...

The biggest threat to the Black community is by far, and away, drugs.  No, not the drugs you might think; but the drug of liberalism!

The biggest drug dealers in America are radical liberal quasi journalists like Roland Martin, Joy Reid, Don Lemon, and Richard Princess.  And the biggest institutional drug dealers are radical liberal groups like the NAACP, The National Urban League, and the Congressional Black Caucus.

Martin, Reid, and Lemon have their own TV shows that rabidly promote the radical liberal talking points of the Democrat Party.  Princess is like the crazy old uncle that writes and says crazy things that no one pays attention to; but many Black journalists seem to revere him and his radical thoughts on racism that seem to have no end.

They all claim to be journalists but, are in daily violation of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) code of ethics.  SPJ’s code of ethics is supposed to be the Bible for all journalists; they lay out the dos and don’ts of journalistic conduct. 

The SPJ’s preamble states, “Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough [emphasis added]. An ethical journalist acts with integrity.”

They go on to state that the foundation of ethical journalism is: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, be accountable and transparent.  You can read the details on SPJ’s website:  https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp.

Can anyone with any shred of integrity prove these quasi journalists live up to their own industry’s code of conduct?

They all claim to be registered “independents,” but they all are liberal Democrats, notwithstanding their claims to the contrary. 

On a daily basis, they serve as unpaid surrogates for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).  They constantly assert their opinions into their quasi coverage of news and are afraid to engage with “real” Blacks who are “real” Republicans.

They either go out and find millennial Republicans who don’t know their butt from a hole in the ground or find a Black who will criticize the Republican Party and the Trump administration.

They want weak, Black Republicans that they can embarrass on national TV in order to create the perception that all Black Republicans are ill-informed, have no connection to the Black community, and are buffoons.

On the institutional side, the NAACP, The National Urban League, and the Congressional Black Caucus are just as bad as these quasi radical liberal journalists, if not worse.

They represent their membership, not the Black community.  There is a big difference.

Each of these groups, without evidence, claim to be non-partisan.  They all are dependent on the expansion of government programs and the continued intrusion of government into the lives of Blacks. 

They all aggressively advocate for radical liberal policies that are indistinguishable from the Democrat Party.  I was once told that the sign of a great teacher is one who makes himself increasingly unnecessary. 

These group’s very existence is contingent upon the constant dependency of Blacks on government programs; i.e., the governmental drug of liberalism.

It is estimated that the federal government has spent over $ 22 trillion on the War on Poverty since the sixties.  Yet, the problem has not been solved and one can argue that it has gotten worse.

These radical liberal quasi journalists and institutions have continued to get yet another generation of Blacks hooked on the drug of liberalism.

They cause more damage to and in the Black community than anyone with a white sheet over their face.

Herein lies my frustration with my Republican Party and my current president.  We have a great story to tell to the Black community but, the story is not being told.

These radical liberal quasi journalists and institutions would lead you to believe that they speak for and represent the mainstream of the Black community.  THEY DO NOT!  But a lie that is repeated enough times becomes the truth.

The Black community is sold a bunch of lies daily from these sellouts to our community and because Republicans are totally disengaged in the debate, the narrative is deemed to be true.

The Republican Party and the Trump administration would be wise to engage with respected Black Republicans like former Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, businessman and civil rights legend Richard Finley of Birmingham, businessman and economic genius, John Burnett of New York City, to name a few.

Blacks are totally fed up with liberalism and do not consider Maxine Waters or Al Sharpton their leaders.  They are “media” appointed leaders.

I am a graduate of Oral Roberts University and Oral would always tell me, “Go into every man’s world and meet them at the point of their need.”

When will the Republican Party and the Trump administration take our message of “traditional values” to the marketplace of ideas within the Black community?

We don’t need to be persuaded, because we already believe; we don’t need to be convinced because we have no doubt that liberalism has failed us; we need only be invited to be “part of the team”.

Raynard Jackson is a Pulitzer Award-nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur.  He is also President & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC, an internationally recognized political consulting, government affairs, and PR firm based in Washington, DC.  Jackson is an internationally recognized radio talk show host and TV commentator.  He has coined the phrase “straticist.”  As a straticist, he has merged strategic planning with public relations.  Call RJA to discuss how they can get you to the next level of your career or business.

For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter @Raynard1223.

Add Raynard Jackson to your facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/raynard.jackson.12

Add Raynard Jackson to your twitter.  https://twitter.com/Raynard1223

Add Raynard Jackson to your Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=5502539&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=loLR&locale=en_US&srchid=55025391407093543596&srchindex=1&srchtotal=3&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A55025391407093543596%2CVSRPtargetId%3A5502539%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary

  

Open Letter to President Donald J. Trump from a Black Republican

President Trump, King Solomon and I went to breakfast last night and he told me to share this Bible verse with you:

Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding (Proverbs 4:7).

Wisdom is simply knowledge gained through experience.  Understanding is knowing when and how to apply this knowledge.  

I want to share with you some of my wisdom from being a political operative in the Republican Party for more than thirty years; I am hoping that my insight will help you to understand why Blacks view you the way they do.

On issues, many in the Black community actually agree with you.

Blacks are with you on the economy, especially with the historic low Black unemployment rate.  Blacks are with you in your opposition to the radical homosexual and transgender agenda.  Blacks are with you in your opposition to “illegal” immigration.

Blacks are conservative by nature; we use the term “traditional values.”  The liberal media wants the public to believe otherwise, but if you simply walk into any Black community; you would be stunned at their opposition to liberalism.

Let me say for the record that I am a huge supporter of yours and support your reelection.  I do not agree with everything you have done since your election as president.  When I have disagreed with you, I have stated so in my column.

I thoroughly disagreed with you on your comments about Charlottesville; just like I now disagree with you on your comments about the four Democrat congressmen (I refuse to mention their names).

If I were to end my comments here, Mr. President, then, I would be doing a disservice to you.  So, allow me to continue.

Most people are aware of the consent agreement in the HUD lawsuit that your father’s company agreed to in the 1970s; most people are aware that you still hold to the disproven belief that the Central Park Five were guilty.

Despite this notoriety, Jesse Jackson heaped tons of effusive praise upon you at his 1998 Rainbow/Push Coalition Wall Street Project Conference in New York.  There is simply no way to explain away Jesse’s high regard for you based on this video.

In a similar manner, Al Sharpton cozied up to you quite a bit in the 1980s and beyond, according to a detailed expose in the National Review.  You had mutual business dealings that seemed to be based on each of your personal agendas.  You each had something that the other wanted and needed and struck deals based on this set of mutual interests.

You also raised and contributed thousands of dollars for Sharpton over the years according to National Review.

Even Oprah Winfrey got in on the act.  She and you were known to have socialized together on occasion according to Fortune magazine.

President Trump, you are neither all good nor all bad.  You are like most of us, a combination of both.

As one of your supporters, I wish you would spend more time talking about the low unemployment rate you have produced for the Black community; the aid you have provided Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs); or putting the well-being of Blacks ahead of those in the country illegally.

Every time you make an incendiary tweet or statement, especially those with racial overtones, that’s less time people like me have to focus on the substance of your accomplishments relative to the Black community; and you make it more difficult for us to expand your base of support in the Black community.

All of the media’s criticism of you is not based on their extreme hatred of you and your administration.  This current controversy involving you is all self-inflicted and is totally your fault.

So, how do you move forward, especially as your reelection campaign gears up?

The first thing I would recommend is to find some “real” Blacks who have “credibility” in the Black community.  I am unaware of any Blacks around you who meet this criterion.   

You must surround yourself with Blacks who understand the political strategy and strategic communications.  These Blacks must also be highly skilled in engaging with the media.

Mr. President, you have a great story to tell within the Black community; but there is absolutely no communications strategy in place whatsoever.

Blacks are looking for a reason to vote Republican, you simply must give them a reason to do so. 

Blacks are with you on many of the issues; they need to see you surround yourself with “real” Blacks who are not entertaining you and not with Blacks whose only claim to fame is the number of twitter followers they have.

You have “real” Blacks all across the country who have supreme “credibility” within the Black community who have disengaged from the party.

Your administration and your reelection campaign must reach out to these esteemed Blacks if you have any hope of increasing your share of the Black vote above 8%.

If you get north of 15% of the Black vote next year, mathematically a Democrat cannot win the White House.

You have a fast-closing window to begin substantively engaging with the Black community, but you must tone down the racial rhetoric and focus strictly on the accomplishments of your administration. 

If you are willing to do this, you will get a second term because the country is on your side; the liberal media simply refuse to show the public how “real” Americans view your administration.

So, it’s incumbent on your administration and your campaign to take your message directly to the Black community.  But again, you must have “real” and “credible” Blacks at your side. 

“And with all thy getting; get understanding!!!!!!!!!!!”

Raynard Jackson is a Pulitzer Award-nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur. For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter @Raynard1223.

The Mueller Report: Blacks Better Be Careful

As I always say, “Weak people take strong positions on weak issues.”

Exhibit A for this is the recently released Mueller report.  

Democrats have lost their damned minds over this report.  They didn’t get the result they wanted, an indictment of President Trump, so they figured if they keep investigating, they will come up with something they can use to remove Trump from office.

Mueller’s report was very clear, on both the accusations of collusion and obstruction, there was NOT
sufficient evidence to bring charges in either circumstance!  Period. End of sentence.

Was there unflattering information about Trump and his aides in the report?  Yes. Did Trump and some
of his aides walk up to the line between legal and illegal?  Yes. But, in our system of justice either you
violated the law or you didn’t, and Mueller clearly concluded that Trump and his aides did not cross the line.

So, legally Trump and his aides are in the clear; politically is where the problem is-- for Democrats,
especially Black Democrats.

Let’s get one thing straight, Democrats don’t have the guts to actually file articles of impeachment
against President Trump after Mueller has clearly stated there is not sufficient evidence for him to
bring any charges.

Now radical liberal Democrat members of Congress like Maxine Waters and Al Green are running
over each other demanding that the president be impeached.

Hmmm, do you really want to go down that road?

Let me paint a picture for you to consider.

Jussie Smollett, the actor who concocted a fake story about being assaulted in Chicago, had all charges dismissed against him.  Legally, like Trump, he is in the clear.

In all probability, the U.S. Department of Justice is going to file federal charges against Smollett for mail
fraud because he mailed a fake letter threatening himself but made it seem as though the letter was mailed
by someone else.

I can guarantee as clear as day that Waters and Green will be the first to claim that the Justice Department
is only doing it because Smollett is Black, with absolutely no evidence to support their claim.

But wait.  Let me make sure I understand.  Mueller found insufficient evidence to bring forward charges of
collusion and obstruction against Trump; but Democrats say to hell with Mueller, we want impeachment.  

But, if and when something similar happens to a Black, then it is racist?  I am through. I have a headache!

The one takeaway for me in the Mueller report that no one seems to be talking about is how the report made clear that in America we have two systems of justice.  One for the rich and well connected—Jussie Smollett and Hillary Clinton; and one for regular people like Pookie and LaQueesha.

Russian intelligence knew how corrupt and vulnerable the Clinton’s were to their intelligence operations.
They knew that Clinton’s loyalty was to money, not America.

Every country, let me repeat, EVERY country that has the means, spy and interfere in the internal affairs
of other countries.   

I laid this out in a column I wrote two years ago titled, “Russia is Winning the War for American Minds.”

Americans, for the first time in history, have had a front row seat to a psychological operations campaign
live and in living color; in real time.  This, indeed, is unprecedented.

So, to radical Black liberals, you better be careful!  You didn’t like the results of the Mueller report, so you
want to treat Trump as though he was indicted.  

When this happens to someone Black, remember you started it!

In liberalism, the intent is more important than results.  As a matter of fact, that is the sole basis of liberalism
not results.

So, when white folks hold you to the same standard; please spare me your cries of racism!

Democrats are in the process of ensuring the reelection of Donald Trump as president.  They have provided
absolutely no serious vision of where they want to take America.

They have offered nothing but grandiose platitudes to the American people, especially to Blacks; reparations,
DC statehood, etc.

Have you noticed that not one Democrat candidate for president has mentioned anything about the killings
going on in Chicago?  Or the stagnant wages of the Black worker despite the phenomenal Trump economy
for Blacks?

They have spent more time talking about amnesty for the upwards of 30 million illegals because they are too
ignorant to realize that when you increase cheap labor into the marketplace wages go down!

The reason Democrats are obsessing about the Mueller report is that they have nothing of any substance
by way of policy to offer the American people.

The reaction by radical Black liberals to the Mueller report should serve as a cautionary tale for the Black
community.  

There will be a “Black” version of Donald Trump and he will be subjected to the same treatment as our
current president.  When it happens just admit that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander; and
it has nothing to do with race!

Raynard Jackson is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur. For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter @Raynard1223.

One Moment In Time

Last Sunday, on my flight back to Washington, DC, I, like millions of people all over the world, was captivated and mesmerized by the play of Tiger Woods during the final round of the 2019 U.S. Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. 

As Woods tapped in his final putt to ensure his victory, there was a loud cheer that went up throughout the entire golf course; there was also a very audible cheer that you could hear throughout my plane.

For those of you who don’t follow golf, Tiger Woods had totally dominated golf in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Woods turned pro in 1996 at the age of 20.  In 1997 he won his first Masters by a historic 12 strokes, making him the youngest player in history to win this tournament.  In his first ten years as a professional, Woods won thirteen majors, which was and is unprecedented.

Tiger was so dominate in golf, that the majors began to redesign golf courses to make them more difficult; thinking this would give Wood’s competitors a better chance of defeating him.  This was called “Tiger-proofing.”

During the next decade, Woods encountered all sorts of personal and professional problems; marital infidelity and numerous health issues.  Many of Woods detractors and the so-called experts predicted that Tiger would never win another major and was all but washed up.

His Masters win on Sunday was his first major victory in eleven years.  Tiger’s victory on Sunday will go down as one of the greatest comeback stories in sports history. 

So, while everyone was celebrating Tiger’s improbable comeback on Sunday, my mind drifted in a different direction.

I heard the voice of Whitney Houston singing the 2008 Seoul Olympic theme song, One Moment In Time.  One of the verses goes like this:  …”I want one moment in time, when I’m more than I thought I could be, when all my dreams are a heartbeat away, and the answers are all up to me, give me one moment in time, when I’m racing with destiny, then in that one moment of time, I will feel free, I will feel eternity.”

For one moment in time, the world and America specifically, didn’t see race; for one moment in time Tiger Woods and America was great again; for one moment in time, Blacks and whites were hi-fiving; for one moment in time, there were no enemies.

What was it about this golf tournament, embodied by Tiger Woods, that gave us a brief respite from all that divides us?

The answer is very simple, my friend.

Tiger Woods is the American story of defeat and triumph; sin and redemption; agony and ecstasy. 

Oh, and did I tell you that Tiger Woods is also Black?  Tiger was celebrated not because he is Black, but because he overcame and excelled.

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, this is what makes America great.

America was birthed in sin with its treatment of the Indians who were already here and the importation of Blacks as slaves.  We have overcome these issues with the various treaties signed with Indians and the various Civil Rights laws that have been passed to make America more equal.

I know my white conservative friends like reading my columns when I call out radical liberals like Holder.  But like in algebra, there are two sides to every equation in a math problem. 

Why was Tiger able to excel?

This answer to, my friend, is very simple.

Tiger was able to excel because he knew what the rules were upfront.  No one started the match with an advantage. 

Income didn’t matter.  Race didn’t matter.  Family lineage didn’t matter.  Religion didn’t matter.  Nationality didn’t matter.

Everyone played on the same golf course.  Everyone was subjected to the same weather conditions.   Everyone’s equipment was based on the same set of standards. 

To qualify for the Masters, either you met the cut-off score or you didn’t.  Once you have established a system based on fairness, then your talents and skills will take you as far as you want to go.

America has come a long way in this regards, but we are a long way from where we ought to be. What makes America great is that we are on the road to redemption from our past; we still have work to do. When our justice system treats everyone the same for identical crimes; when our legal system is no longer tilted in favor of those with wealth; when our school systems are not based on one’s zip code; then, maybe we can have that one moment in time.

That one moment in time when “the answers are all up to me…that one moment of time I will feel free, I will feel eternity.”

Raynard Jackson is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur. For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter @Raynard1223.

America Is Great When It’s Unreasonable

Last week I was totally mortified when I heard former U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder ask on national TV, “Exactly when did you think America was great?”

WOW!!!!

You have got to be kidding me.  This, from a man whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Barbados and their child, ended up being the first Black U.S. Attorney General in the history of our country.  

Really?

I wrote a column about this two years ago and stated, “…Here are a few questions for my liberal friends. If America is so racist, how did we elect a Black man as president? If America is so racist, how did we have two consecutive Black secretaries of state (Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice)? If America is so racist, how did we have two consecutive [Black] attorneys general (Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch)? If America is so racist, how are African-Americans making millions of dollars in sports, music, business and technology?... America was great when former President Lincoln freed the slaves. America was great when Congress passed the Civil and Voting Rights Acts in the 60s. America was great when they elected the first Black president in 2008. America was great when we witnessed, yet again, the peaceful transfer of power to Donald Trump from Barack Obama, despite just witnessing one of the nastiest presidential elections in our nation’s history.”

America is still great when a white Republican congressman friend of mine, Rep. Paul Gosar from Arizona’s 4th congressional district, asks me to work with him to put together a economic summit of some of the top minority entrepreneurs from across the country because he wants to know how he can help them grow their firms and  find out from them what their concerns are so he can be a facilitator for addressing their concerns.

We had a packed hotel ballroom of Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Indians and even the Vice President of the Navajo Nation.  Attendees came from all over the country.

What is more indicative of America’s greatness than diversity?

A white congressman, co-hosting a major economic forum with a Black from the hood of St. Louis.  Minority entrepreneurs from across the country who would normally never be in the same room together discussing ways they can work together.

A liberal media described “racist,” President Trump thought enough of our event to dispatch three of his top aides to join us:  Henry Childs, II, National Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA); Michael Platt, Assistant Secretary Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Commerce; Anthony Foti, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Congressman Gosar, by any measure, has one of the best staffs in Washington, DC.  His Chief of Staff, Thomas Van Flein and Leslie Foti, Director of Scheduling & Administration, are two of the sharpest staffers in DC; they are all in on promoting minority entrepreneurs. 
America is great when freshman Congresswoman, Debbie Lesko, from Arizona’s 8th congressional district, makes time to participate in our summit and asks me to visit with her in her DC office to find out how she can work with me in my efforts to help minority businessmen.

America is great when the elected Vice President of the Navajo Nation, Myron Lizer, plainly states that he wants to find ways to do business with the Black community. 

America is great when the newly elected chairman of the Arizona Republican Party admits that the party need to do a much better job engaging with the minority community throughout the country; and wants me to work with her in this pursuit.

I told Congressman Gosar that we have definitely struck a vein with our economic summit.  He is reconvening us back in Phoenix in June to execute our next steps. 

The attendees, without exception, have committed to staying engaged with our initiative and are excited that we are totally focused on helping them produce new revenue streams.

We have already begun to receive calls from across the country asking us to bring our show to their cities.

If the Republican Party begins to focus on what makes America great, we can make major strides within the minority community.

America’s diversity is its greatest strength.  If you take our diversity and tie it to the American entrepreneurial spirit, that’s a helluva combination that has broad appeal to the minority voter.

Those who follow my columns know that I have been a big critic of the party’s lack of substantive engagement with the minority community, but I am very encouraged that people like Congressman Gosar and Lesko and Kelli Ward seem to really understand the potential of the minority business community.

As I stated during my remarks at last week’s summit, “the reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man adapts the world to himself; therefore, all progress is dependent upon the unreasonable man.”

I hope the Republican Party and the Trump administration begins to become unreasonable!

Raynard Jackson is a Pulitzer Award nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur. For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter @Raynard1223.

Listen to Raynard "Teddy Bear" Jackson LIVE on

The Exceptional Conservative Show® on TECN® TV

Tuesday Nights @ 10:20 PM ET 

We Are “Us”

Two weeks ago, I went to the theater to see Jordan Peele’s latest movie, Us.  This was his follow-up movie to the box office hit Get Out.


Peele is an extraordinarily gifted writer.  He has written for shows like Mad TV, Key & Peele, The Last O.G., etc.


He won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his horror movie, Get Out; which was also his directorial debut in 2017.


His latest horror flick, Us, is also receiving rave reviews.  It starts off kind of slow, but when it does pick up, you are taken on an emotional rollercoaster ride in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock.


Note to millennials, civilization did not start when yall came out of the womb; nor is Friday the 13th a horror movie; it is simply a blood and guts movie with absolutely no substance to it.


If you want to know what horror movies are, then seeing Get Out and Us is a must!


In this column, I will not give you the typical movie critique, but rather give you a unique observation on Peele and his two hit movies, Get Out and Us.


What Peele is doing is so mind-blowing and so historic, I am truly hoping that he sets off a series of copycat movies, and not for the reason you might think.


Not only is Peele the Alfred Hitchcock of our time; but more importantly, he is the Bill Cosby of our time.


His movies send you on a g-force ridden ride and then drops you back down to that sunken place only to repeat itself again and again, and again.


Just like Hollywood told Cosby that America was not ready for a prime-time Black family that was intact and fully functional; Hollywood, to this day, believes you can’t cast a Black in the lead role of a major movie and have the broad appeal that will make money.


Of course, the movie Black Panther destroyed that myth, but Hollywood said that was because it had an African backdrop and was targeting a Black audience.  Let’s concede these points for purposes of this column, even though I could dissect this erroneous premise.


Us is a “mainstream” movie with not only a Black lead, Lupita Nyong’o, but she is also extremely black in skin tone.

Hollywood and most Asian countries are still under the ignorant notion that a very dark-skinned person is not as marketable as a fair skin Black like Halle Berry, Regina Hall, or Gabrielle Union.


Nyong’o is joined in the film by 13-year-old Shahadi Wright Joseph, a very cute dark-skinned actress.  They both are major characters throughout the film.


In Get Out, the lead actor was Daniel Kaluuya and the main supporting actor was Lil Rel Howery, both very dark-skinned actors.


Kaluuya is of Ugandan heritage and Nyong’o is of Kenyan heritage.  So, Peele is not only destroying the myth that Blacks can’t carry a movie, but he is also proving that Africans can also carry a major Hollywood production and still have global appeal while making money.


I am not sure people truly understand how Peele is making global tectonic shifts in how Blacks who have dark skin are viewed.  This will have a generational impact on Hollywood.


The other issue no one seems to notice about Us is the Wilson family, which the movie is centered on, is a totally functional Black family.  There is absolutely no dysfunctionality in this family.  They work professional jobs, don’t use or sell drugs, the daughter is not having sex or is not pregnant, the son is put in check by the father every time he gets out of line.

They are the Cosby family in a horror movie without sacrificing the Cosby family values for marketability purposes.  This is a major accomplishment for Peele


When was the last time you saw a major Hollywood movie that had no sex, very little cursing, no using of the n-word, and absolutely NO promotion of homosexuality?


There was no Trump bashing or Republican trashing.  There were no overtly political messages or the promotion of Hollywood liberalism.


Us, truly allowed you to escape, for two hours, the reality of all of your daily cares and to actually be entertained in a way that was truly “escapism.”


If Peele stays true to this type of movie making, I think he single-handedly can change the way Blacks, especially those of a darker hue, are viewed by Hollywood; and ultimately the world.


Yes, Black actors can carry a movie globally and profitably; yes, Blacks can be portrayed in substantive, positive roles; and yes, Blacks do have many functional family units, with mom, dad, and children.


Peele is showing the world that there is a full range of possibilities lying dormant within the Black community.  He has chosen to use his platform in the most positive of light; tearing down the tired ole stereotypes that never did properly show who Black folks really were.


This side of the Black community is not an aberration; it is more common than the media or Hollywood will ever show.  Peele is simply one of the few Blacks in Hollywood who has chosen to exercise his power for good by showing that “we are Us.”

Raynard Jackson

Pulitzer Award nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur. For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter @Raynard1223.