Jimmy Lee Tillman II Interview

Image credit: MLK Republicans website

This interview features someone from the Heritage Foundation. Jimmy Lee Tillman's communications director reached out to me, asking if I'd be interested in speaking with Jimmy, which was amazing to do. The last person to ask if I'd be interested in doing an interview with them was Gavin Rollins! We spoke about many topics. Check out our conversation!

Question #1: Tell my audience about who you are.
Answer: "I'm Jimmy Lee Tillman II. Founder of the Martin Luther King Republicans. I'm an author, historian, civil rights activist. I'm also a member of the Heritage Foundation Academy, I'm a fellow there. I also worked for Blacks for Trump. I also wrote a book recently."

Question #2: "Could you give us more details about your book?"
Answer: "It's called Tillman's Handbook of Great Black American Patriots. It includes national landmarks or parks or anywhere that was dedicated to these great leaders. It was written to highlight all the accomplishments from black Americans. It was partly written to show white America that black Americans are more patriotic than they seem to be. I start my book with Crispus Attucks and Phillis Wheatley, who are two great patriots. Not black or white Americans, just two great patriots. This country went to war, Americans of all races, to stop the British from ruling over them. Phillis Wheatley, I discussed her and the encouraging words she sent George Washington so he could continue his campaign to free us from Great Britain. What people don't realize is that many African Americans gave their blood to free this country."

Question #3: What led you to be a Republican?
Answer: "Me being a historian has a lot to do with it. If you look at the history of this country, and who really supported freeing the slaves, it was always the Republican party. I'll be honest, being part of the Republican party is new for me. The day Obama got elected, I was in the Trump hotel with my friends, watching the gatherings to see my man, and I told everybody in the room that 'It's all over.' Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. It was like a premonition. I looked out the window, and I said to everyone that was in the room that the Democratic party is about to play us. They were going to tell us 'We did everything for you guys. Don't ask for anything else.' Everybody thought I was crazy, but I added, 'They're going to say, we gave you Obama.' I think what really woke me up to the truth of the Democratic party was after I voted for Bill Clinton. He was the last Democrat I voted for. After I saw the 1994 Crime Bill get signed. At the time, I was in college. When the crime bill got signed, so many black Americans supported it, saying it would help black people. It was a lie. It incarcerated more black people than helped. Some of them were locked up until Trump's crime reform bill. That crime bill from 1994 gave the U.S. government the authority to lock up many African Americans. As a black American at that time, I went from being an ordinary citizen to potentially being the victim of an illegal search and siege at any time. That was a defining moment for many black Americans because that bill stripped us of our constitutional rights. The only thing a black man has is his God and the Constitution. The Bible and the Constitution, without those two, we would not have even half the freedoms we have today."

Question #4: Why did you run for office? Do you have any intentions in running again?
Answer: "I ran for office as a test. I first ran for something small at first, to see if the black community was ready for a change under the Republican banner. Unbeknownst to me, they were. I received close to 200,000 in that area, which was impressive for a Republican. I decided to look at the map to see what happened. There's a message the Republican party needs to have. Let's see which district or area I do well in. It's an uphill climb, because of the view black Americans have of Republicans, compared to Democrats. I looked at who was running for Congress, which was Bobby Rush. A guy I've known and used to respect, until I looked at his voting records. A lot of his policies were similar to the 1994 Crime Bill Clinton signed. This was having a devastating effect on our community. That's why I decided to run. Last time I decided to run, I only needed 29,000 votes to win, from the previous time I ran. Unfortunately, the Never Trumpers didn't want people who were Trump supporters to win. One of the other reasons I ran was to inform and educate that the best way to rebuild our community was through conservative values. I decided to put myself out there to get these ideas out. Since I've been with Blacks for Trump, I've seen that the black community and the white community are listening to what I am saying. I've had a lot of people ask me why other black Americans don't think the way I do. I disagree with that rhetoric. Many do think the way I think, but they don't want to be shamed or shunned. I want people to see that it's not white versus black. To make them think that we are not a racist country. Surprisingly, many took my message to heart. We need someone to push this message out. Nobody is calling out the politicians who hurt black people. Joe Biden and Bill Clinton being the two main ones. Republicans aren't calling a spade a spade. There's an election coming up, but I haven't made any decisions of if I will run again. I might be running again, but who knows."

Question #5: "Why did you found your organization, MLK Republicans?"
Answer: "Just two hours before Obama gave his speech in Grand Park, I founded my organization. I created it so when African Americans woke up and realized that the party of slavery, the party that incarcerated us, and took our rights, they were never for us."

Question #6: What are your thoughts on Critical Race Theory?
Answer: "The critical race theorists want to have you believe that the slaves weren't allowed to read, write, think or move, but in my book, I mentioned Wheatley because here you had a black slave writing letters to Washington, at a time these theorists said black people couldn't read or write. I even mentioned Benjamin Banneker, who led the designs for this great nation in DC. He had patents, knew science and mathematics, he even argued to the Supreme Court that slaves should be freed. CRT makes you believe that African Americans only worked as slaves, and never contributed to making America great. They want you to forget people like Harriett Tubman, who came from the North to the South to help free slaves. These theorists would have us believe America was a dark place, and that all African Americans were caught up in this darkness. That's why I wrote my book. It's to show Americans that black people didn't build this country or contribute to this country through their servitude. It was through their patriotism, their sacrifice. These stories need to be told. Instead of being told stories of the heroism and patriotism from these black Americans, we are being told they were uneducated individuals picking cotton in the fields."

Question #7: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to get involved in politics?

Answer: "Be patient. Don't get discouraged. Be prepared to both win and lose. Know that every loss isn't a loss. Most people go run for office with lofty ideas and want to change the world, but think the world isn't ready for them and just give up. If you believe in that idea and believe that they had enough people to hear them and their views, then they will be successful. My advice to anyone is that it's not about the money, nor is it about how you can get on TV. It's about endurance, perseverance and courage. Can you endure it, can you preserve, and do you have the courage to see have no one vote for you? Were all humans, and we all hate loss. But we keep in mind that our losses are gains. If you only get 70 votes, that's 70 people who heard your idea. Maybe next time, 700 will vote for you. It will just keep growing. If you believe in yourself and the ideas you wish to pursue or bring attention to, don't stop fighting for them. Sometimes the party won't support you, as the deep state runs deep on both sides. Be engaged Study these three things: the Constitution, the Parliamentary Procedure, and Robert's Rule of Order. Take your ideas, run with them, and the world can't stop you.

Thank you once again to Jimmy for this interview! I really enjoyed his perspective! Hope you all liked the interview too!