A lot of strong words were thrown about in this year’s presidential campaign, but few packed as powerful a punch as a single question that Donald Trump asked black voters in August.
“What do you have to lose?”
The pundits didn’t seem to understand,
but many of us knew exactly what he
 meant. While the black community
has much to celebrate, including its
 rich culture, spirit of strength,
 accomplishments, and progress
in some areas, many African-
Americans are suffering.
Children who should be thriving are
 instead living in broken homes.
 Poverty that should be shrinking
is instead rising. Streets that
 should be peaceful are instead 
rocked by violence. Schools that
 should be nurturing excellence
 are instead factories of failure.
 And seniors who deserve security
 instead fear what tomorrow may bring.
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It wasn’t
 always this
 way. In the mid-1900s, for example,
poverty in the black community
dropped by nearly 50 percent, and
skilled tradesmen saw their income
 more than double relative to whites.
Today, unemployment and poverty
 rates among African-Americans are
 nearly twice the national average,
 and 12 million blacks—including
4 million of our children—live in poverty.
Things are bad on the education
 front as well. Today, fewer than half

of all black students in many large
 U.S. cities graduate from high school.
 Just as shocking, the math
achievement gap between black and
 white students has not changed in
decades and has actually widened
 in reading.
And consider what’s happened to
 our families. As hard as it may be
 to believe, the marriage rate among
 blacks used to be higher than it was
among whites.
As recently as 1960, more than 7 of
every 10 black kids were being raised
by both their mother and father. Today,
 fewer than half of them are.  In fact,
nearly 5 million black children today
live in homes without one or both of
their parents.
Now, I realize a lot of professional
 politicians choose to ignore these
 facts, but, within the black community,
we don’t. Because we can’t.
That’s why many of us understood
what Trump was asking.
I truly believe that there is broad
agreement on the need for change.
 Republicans and Democrats alike
 want to see our education system
 fixed so all children can achieve their
 full potential.
They want to see health care
disparities eliminated so all babies
 are born healthy and no senior dies
 for lack of access to quality health
 care. They want to see jobs created,
poverty defeated, and our economy
 flourish. And they want to see our
 streets safe, our families strong,
and our future bright.
That said, Republicans and
Democrats have some very different
ideas about how to make those
 things happen.
Ever since President Lyndon Johnson
waged his “War on Poverty” over half
 a century ago, the Democrats’
approach has been to spend trillions
 of dollars on nearly 100 government
 programs. Fifty years later, we’re
 now worse off in many respects than
we were before the War on Poverty
began.
And so Trump appealed to the black
community to try a different approach.
It won’t be easy, of course. Some will
disparage Trump’s message and
intent right out of the gate because
they’ve been told they can only trust
 Democrats. Others will accuse
Trump and his agenda of being “racist”
or “bigoted” just because they know
 those words have an incendiary effect.
But I find it striking that no one
disagrees that America’s course
 must be changed. Because, nasty
 politics and fiery rhetoric aside,
even Trump’s most panicked critics
 know deep down what most Americans
 have been consistently telling
pollsters: Our nation has been
on the wrong track.
As the old saying goes, insanity
 means doing the same thing over
 and over again, each time expecting
 different results. Well, we’ve tried
 one government program after
another and we’ve thrown piles
of money and mountains of regulations
at the problems plaguing our
 community. But the problems just
keep getting worse.
Fortunately, a lot of new talent
 is coming to Washington, D.C.
 People with deep compassion,
vast experience, and a willingness
 to put their lives on hold while they
 help America get back on track.
I’ve met many of these people, and
 each time I do, I feel a renewed
sense of optimism about our
 country’s future.
Like me, they are driven by a desire
 to eliminate poverty, create jobs,
 fix broken schools, improve our
 health, and heal our families. Their
focus isn’t solely on the black
 community, but every policy that
 is good for all Americans has the
 potential to be especially positive
 for African-Americans because of
 how far we’ve fallen.
The stage has been set with new
 players and bold ideas. Their
 sleeves are rolled up and their
 purpose is clear.
Now it’s up to us. We can criticize
and attack, as some are already
doing even before Trump takes
the oath of office. We can hurl ugly
 insults and take to the streets, as
many have been doing. Or we can
keep our hearts and minds open,
lend a hand whenever needed, give
good people time to do the good we
 need done, and join hands and
 forces to realize something Dr. Martin
 Luther King said long ago: “We have
 an opportunity to make America
 a better nation,” he told us, “to
make America what it ought to be.”
King was right.  We do have that
opportunity—right now. And
understanding both what we have
 to lose as well as all that we have
 to gain is a great place to start.