There is no denying that black Americans on balance are better off economically today than they were four years ago or at any point under the previous administration. If presidents deserve credit for such developments, give Mr. Trump his due.
Among other things, the president’s pitch to blacks includes touting his bipartisan criminal-justice reform and support for school choice. My guess is that the former won’t hurt him but that the latter could pay higher dividends at the ballot box. On Twitter and MSNBC, blacks might obsess over the defects of our criminal-justice system. But outside those progressive bubbles, most black voters understand that the underlying problem in poor black communities is crime, not policing or the length of sentences handed down to lawbreakers. Black families care far more about safe neighborhoods and functional schools, and Mr. Trump’s push for more education choices is very much in line with those priorities.
According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, 67% of charter students are nonwhite and 58% come from low-income families. Nationwide, five million students are on waiting liststo attend charter schools, which had strong backing from the Clinton and Obama administrations. Yet Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and other leading Democratic presidential candidates seeking the endorsement of teachers unions have vowed to curb the growth of charters.
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