There are growing calls for an end to blind party loyalty, but that’s hardly a new thing. More than 35 years ago, journalist Tony Brown said Black America should be more suspicious of the Democratic Party.
“I think Blacks are very suspicious of the Republican Party and they should be, but I think the fault is the Black community is not suspicious enough of the Democratic Party and it does not demand enough of the Democratic Party,” Brown said during a discussion about Jesse Jackson’s run for president in 1984 on the show “Vibrations.”
William Anthony “Tony” Brown, 87, is a journalist, academic and businessman. He is best known as the commentator for 40 years of the long-running syndicated TV show, “Tony Brown’s Journal.” Brown was the founding dean and professor of the School of Communications at Howard University and the first dean and Dean Emeritus of the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications at Hampton University. He coordinated the largest civil rights march in history in Detroit on June 23, 1963, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., according to Brown’s website.
In 1984, Brown said that the way the Democratic Party was set up at the time prevented a Black person from being able to win the presidency.
“I think the larger question is not a Black candidacy, the larger question is the Democratic Party,” he said. “Now if 90 percent of Blacks are Democrats and the Democratic Party has rules, party caucuses, winner take all, it’s loaded for the front runner, its loaded against any Black person winning.”
Jackson’s run was “symbolic” to give hope to Black Americans, Brown said, and he doubted Jackson’s motives were to actually rail against the machine.
“I would support Jesse Jackson if he were running for a different reason. If he were running against the Democratic Party, I would support him as a Black candidate. If he is running next March to turn over his followers to the white man who wins the nomination then I will see no change in the Democratic Party,” Brown continued.
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A clip of the 1984 show was shared by American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) member @C.EkongJr on Twitter along with the caption, “Watchin’ THIS just reaffirms we was predestined to be here, in this space, at this time. Tony Brown was advocating #ADOS politics way before the movement. An eerily resemblance of ADOS.” He said he was surprised he hadn’t heard the words from the journalist Tony Brown before.
Founded by Yvette Carnell and Antonio Moore, ADOS has been advocating the message, “No Black agenda, no vote” for years now. Brown’s words show the concept, which is gaining more and more traction among Black Americans, was advocated long before the organization formed.
Brown advocated for “No Black agenda, no vote” and an end to systemic racism at other times on the show.
“The Democratic Party, at some point in time, has to be shaken out of its racist attitudes and it has to be during one of these four-year periods shown that it did not get the Black vote; and because it did not get the Black vote, it didn’t win the presidency,” Brown said. “When that happens, it will change. I don’t see any hope of the Republican Party embracing a Black Agenda at all.”
