E-mail a friendJ. Kenneth Blackwell
original airdate August 31, 2004
J. Kenneth Blackwell began his career as a middle school teacher and later became an associate professor of education at Xavier University in Cincinnati. He was first elected to public office in 1977, and served as Cincinnati's mayor before being elected as Ohio's Secretary of State. Blackwell is an outspoken school choice advocate and has written commentaries in major newspapers across the U. S.
J. Kenneth Blackwell
Tavis: I do have some black Republican friends. One of them is a guy named J. Kenneth Blackwell who just happens to be the Secretary of State in the state of Ohio, and some believe perhaps the next Governor in the state of Ohio. He hasn't said that yet. But I've heard a lot of people in Ohio saying it. Mr. Secretary it's nice to see you.
J. Kenneth Blackwell: Tavis, good to be with you.
Tavis: Are you okay, man?
Blackwell: I'm doing just fine. Let me just thank you. The other night I saw the Governor was on, Bob Taft, and you had to help him with my name. Well, thank you for that brother.
Tavis: Well, it was a fascinating conversation because we were talking about the fact, to the credit of the Republican Party, and I think, you know, at times, I think the Democrats are really sleeping on the fact that Republicans are picking up more and more, slowly, picking up more and more African Americans. You guys have doubled the delegate count at this convention from 2000.
Blackwell: Absolutely.
Tavis: And your Governor, Mr. Taft and I were talking about the fact, he was talking about the Lieutenant Governor, Ms. Bradley.
Blackwell: That's right, absolutely.
Tavis: A black Republican, Lieutenant Governor of Ohio.
Blackwell: hat's right.
Tavis: A black Republican, Michael Steel, Lieutenant Governor in Maryland. So that there are a number of African Americans that are finding their way into the GOP and why do you think that is?
Blackwell: Well, you know, let me just say. Michael Williams is going to introduce the President along with Governor Pataki.
Tavis: On Thursday night.
Blackwell: On Thursday night, another African American statewide elected official. The most significant thing for me during this convention is that when we visited in Philadelphia, there were more black folks on the stage...
Tavis: Than in the audience.
Blackwell: --than in the audience. We went back and we said we have to work on that. That's a contradiction. And you're absolutely right. We've more than doubled the number of minority delegates and we're still very much integrated, not only on the stage but in the administration in very powerful and important positions. But in the final analysis, it's how you speak to the interests of African Americans. This administration has expanded home ownership more significantly than any other Presidency in the history of this country among African Americans. We've in fact put the economy back on a growth path. There are pockets that haven't realized the uplift of the national economy, but the President is going right into those communities and saying, 'You know, I'm here. I understand that we have work to do and I'm ready to do that work.' School choice. You know, whether you agree with, you know, No Child Left Behind or not, the reality is, is that, on principle, this was a President that said, we're not going to let you hide the misinformation and miseducation of black kids in the aggregate numbers that you use.So we're going to disaggregate the numbers.We're going to measure how effectively or ineffectively you're educating black kids, and we are going to hold you accountable. That is a very, very strong statement. That's what brought Ted Kennedy and others along to support the No Child Left Behind program. The President is speaking to the education of our children, expanding home ownership, improving the job situation, and I think, in light of that, and on top of that, you have that this is a President that, whether you like it or not, has spoken to a head-on, frontal confrontation with global terrorism.
Tavis: Let me ask you this, and this is a question that I've not asked anybody at least in these two days. So I saved this one just for you, just for you. Even the folk who supported Bill Clinton, black folk, Democrats white and black who supported Bill Clinton for eight years. There were things that Bill Clinton did that still made those persons upset.
Blackwell: Right.
Tavis: When he signed that so-called welfare reform bill. It made a lot of people upset.
Blackwell: Right.
Tavis: When he signed that crime bill, a hundred to one disparity crack/powder cocaine, white folk, black folk, it made a lot of people upset.
Blackwell: Right.
Tavis: So Bill Clinton wasn't perfect by any stretch, as we well know. Let me flip the question and ask you this. With all the touting that's being done about President Bush now, if President Bush is reelected and you get his ear, and you will have his ear, what do you say to him about what he needs to do in the second term? What has he not done, be honest with me now, what has he not done a good enough job of this first time around?
Blackwell: Well, I think what he has to do, and he has started it, he has to go into the pockets of our nation that haven't been lifted by the economic rising tide. He has to go in and say this is going to be a focus of my administration to make sure that we get a more level uplift. And I think he's prepared to do it. I was on a bus ride with him through the state of Ohio on...
Tavis: He ought to take up residency in Ohio; he's been there so many times.
Blackwell: Oh absolutely. We were together last weekend, and we were going into those pockets; we were not on the interstate. We went in the back roads of Ohio, and we talked to folks in small cities and towns where jobs have fleeted. Manufacturing jobs, and he basically said, 'Look, I'm here to listen, to learn, and to lead us as a nation, all of us, you know, to better times. And I need four more years to do that.' And so I think that he'll go in and he will speak to that. I think that he will expand on it with Alfonso Jackson, Secretary Jackson. I think he'll expand on the home ownership and I think that we have an excellent opportunity to focus in on creating more small-to-medium sized businesses.
Tavis: I've got a minute to go. Let me close with this question back to you. I don't mean to be ahead of you, and I'm not trying to be disrespectful here, and I don't want to get ahead of you in any announcement you might make. But is a state like Ohio, any state, ready for an African American chief executive in the Governor's Office?
Blackwell: Oh I think absolutely. I mean, the fact is that I've been elected to two statewide offices, first as Treasurer and now as Secretary of State. I am on the cutting edge of leading this state back to economic greatness and I think people will reward experience, skill, and vision with their votes. And in the final analysis, the people of the state of Ohio have proven time in and time out that race is becoming less and less a factor in who they elect to important jobs.
Tavis: In 20 seconds tell me why some people obviously in Ohio, are still undecided at this point. That's why Kerry and Bush keep hanging out there. Who is undecided and why?
Blackwell: Well, its a small slice of undecideds in Ohio, it's probably four to six percent. And I think they are probably undecided because on the economic issues some are saying well, maybe we need a change, but then, you know, Kerry, who might be that change is promoting same-sex marriage. Or saying that he's going to roll back tax cuts. And that confuses people and so they are on the fence to see who it is.
Tavis: It's a divided state.
Blackwell: It is a divided state.
Tavis: Nice to see you.
Blackwell: Always good to be with you.
Tavis: You enjoy the rest of the convention.
Blackwell: Thank you sir.
Tavis: Ken Blackwell, Secretary of State in Ohio.
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