At the end of last week, the Republican National Committee (RNC) officially opened the doors to its Black American Community Center in Jacksonville.
So far, the RNC has opened two community centers in Florida as part of the RNC’s multi-million dollar investment in expanding its presence and engagement efforts with minority voters – and there’s more to come.
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel joined Jacksonville City Councilmen Sam Newby and Terrance Freeman, Councilman-elect Nick Howland, community faith leaders and volunteers for the grand opening.
“So the fact that we’re opening up a center in the community, to where people have questions, they can come in and really find out more about candidates like myself, get a chance to know what we stand for… it just makes it that much easier to open up the lines of communication,” said Freeman.
“Every single person we talk to, every conversation, will make a difference,” said McDaniel who insisted the GOP can make inroads with Black voters. “For generations, Democrats have taken the Black vote for granted while failing to deliver…this week, the Republican National Committee is cutting the ribbon on our first Black American Community Center in Florida.”
“For so long, the Republican Party have never really engaged the Black community here in Jacksonville, the Black community — 30 percent. And it’s just really crazy not to engage 30 percent of the population,” said Newby.
“The RNC is committed to reaching out to every community, including those that Democrats have abandoned in Florida and beyond,” said RNC Spokeswoman Julia Friedland.