False: Trump has done more for the African American community than any President since Abraham Lincoln

By: Devika Kandelwal
October 16 2020

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Historic efforts have been made by former presidents like Lyndon B. Johnson and President Ulysses S. Grant, to support the African-American community. On the fourth night of the Republican National Convention, Trump touted that he has done more for the African-American community than any President, excluding Lincoln. Lincoln's achievements in helping African-Americans are historic. He freed the slaves in the Confederacy via the Emancipation Proclamation. He pressed for passage of constitutional amendments to give them equal status under the law. However, there were other presidents throughout who were champions for the African-American community. Most notable among them was Lyndon B. Johnson, who signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that has had the most lasting impact on African Americans' lives. The New York Times listed out the achievements of other presidents. President Ulysses S. Grant sent troops to South Carolina against the Ku Klux Klan to protect the constitutional rights of freed black Americans during Reconstruction. President Harry S. Truman issued an executive order desegregating the armed forces. President Dwight D. Eisenhower enforced the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education. President Jimmy Carter diversified the judiciary, and President Bill Clinton diversified the executive branch. Since coming to office, Trump has passed a few legislations primarily for the African-American community. Trump's Opportunity Zones program aims to channel investments into poor neighbourhoods. But the New York Times reported that the most visible impact so far has been on the wealthiest Americans. They have reaped billions in untaxed profits on high-end apartment buildings and hotels in trendy neighbourhoods, storage facilities that employ only a handful of workers or student housing in bustling college towns. Furthermore, the funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) is a congressional initiative. The New York Times reported that Trump promised HBCUs all kinds of things and has followed through on little. School choice offers families money to attend charter schools or home-school education. Passage of the First Step Act by the Trump administration, which overhauled federal sentencing laws, was a mild version of an effort that began in 2015 and was built on a law passed by Obama. Moreover, even though African Americans' unemployment rates plummeted to an all-time low during the Trump administration, the downward trend started under the Obama administration. The unemployment rate, including black Americans, has been steadily decreasing since 2011. Under former President Barack Obama's administration, African-Americans' unemployment rate declined from a high of 16.8 percent in 2010 to 7.5 percent when he left office. Based on these facts, we can conclude that Trump is not the only president after Lincoln, who has done the most for the African-American community. This claim is false.