

The founder of Black Men For Bernie has a new candidate. Bruce Carter is now applying the slogan, “Restoring Families Across America,” that he once applied to Vermont’s Sen. Bernie Sanders — to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

His new organization is Trump for Urban Communities.

Carter is a Dallas native who formerly set up shop in a North Philadelphia barber shop to campaign for Sanders, who lost the Democratic nomination to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Carter has not met with Trump, but has however been in talks with members of Trump’s campaign, whose names he did not disclose.

Through his newest movement, Carter explained, he wants Republicans to invest in Black communities to “H.E.L.P” address four issues in four years: Housing, Education, Lack of ownership and Poverty.

The homepage of the organization’s website reads, “Working to educate urban community voters on decades of abuse by the Democratic Party and the creation of partnership opportunities under a Trump presidency.”

The site also contains videos of ads and debates from Clinton’s 2008 run against Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, as well as from the Nation of Islam’s Minister Louis Farrakhan calling Hillary a “wicked woman.”

“I’m not fearful of Donald Trump because I am from the South. I’m used to being around White men in control and always being able to navigate my way,” Carter said on Monday. “Why are we asking a 70-year-old White man, how do you fix things in our communities? We have our own plans that we know will solve the issues, so we want our plans implemented. We want our partnerships to provide resources to build that process.”

With Election Day less than two months away, Carter says he hopes to mobilize the movement in 25 African-American barber shops here and in Chester. His Black Men for Bernie lease with Barbers on Broad at 905 N. Broad St. expired on July 29.

After Sanders conceded to Clinton this summer, Carter still protested against the Democratic Party decision. In one protest posted to the Black Men for Bernie’s twitter account, you can hear him chanting, “Don’t vote for Hillary, she’s killing Black people!”

“I’m not happy at all with the Democrats, especially after what took place at the (Democratic National Convention),” Carter said. “Then the WikiLeaks (situation) and its history, then with (former Sen.) Chaka Fattah and (former Florida Rep.) Corrine Brown being indicted … they spend more time building their coffers than helping people.”

Vehicles, that once donned the “Black Men for Bernie,” slogan will be converted to “Trump for Urban Communities; Restoring Families Across America,” and will travel to different states through Election Day, according to Carter.

Calvin Tucker, who was a delegate at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and who is chairman of the Philadelphia Black Republican Council, said he was on the phone with Trump’s campaign Sunday night and knew nothing about Trump for Urban Communities or any coordination between the group and the campaign.

“I did not hear of this gentleman, nor have I heard anything about it,” Tucker said on Monday. “This is news to me, and as the African-American media surrogate for Pennsylvania I should know.”

As for Carter, he said he plans on returning to town next week to get his initiative underway, adding that it’s time for minorities to hold politicians accountable.

“If you’ve been voting Democratic day in and day out, and you’re displeased with your disposition, then you need to try something different,” he said. “I was with Bernie based on his past work as it related to the African-American community. And now it is my firm belief that I need to see progress, and it’s hands down under Donald Trump and the Republicans.”

rpersinger@phillytrib.com



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