The Wall Street Journal August 24, 2016

The civil-rights group wants a freeze on charter schools, while two-thirds of blacks favor them.

Donald Trump is taking lumps for his clumsy and crude “What the hell do you have to lose?” black outreach effort. Black voters, until recently, seem to have been an afterthought for the Republican presidential nominee, who is much more focused on turning out the millions of white voters who supported John McCain in 2008 but stayed home when Mitt Romney ran four years later.

Republicans who try to reach black voters by going through the civil-rights establishment have nothing to gain…

If Mr. Trump is serious about increasing his minority support, we’ll see him participating in more town halls with large black audiences and campaigning in those blighted neighborhoods that he says he wants to improve. If he really wants his message to reach the black electorate, Trump political ads will air on black websites and be featured during black radio and television programs. Until that happens, expect many blacks, including black Republicans and conservatives, to remain skeptical.

Give Mr. Trump credit, however, for not doing something that too many Republican presidential candidates before him have done, only to have it blow up in their face. When the NAACP asked Mr. Trump to address its annual convention last month, he declined. Good for him. Giving speeches to civil-rights groups like the NAACP isn’t effective black outreach. It’s a setup. Blacks open to Republicanism aren’t likely to be found at NAACP gatherings, which are thinly disguised Democratic political rallies. And younger blacks who might be interested in hearing out the GOP have little use for the NAACP. Republicans who try to reach black voters by going through the civil-rights establishment have nothing to gain, unless they like to watch footage of black people booing them on CNN.

There was a time when the NAACP was a responsible gatekeeper of black communities, attuned to their needs and looking out for their best interests. Its leadership was comprised of serious people addressing serious concerns. But those days are a distant memory. Today’s civil-rights leaders and organizations have their own agenda…

Read the entire piece here at The Wall Street Journal