This past Saturday — before a crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that had just been emboldened by a “winning” Republican presidential candidate, Ted Cruz — Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson entered the stage to announce the end of his campaign. While pacing back and forth, hands writhing and sometimes stopping to gesture upward, seemingly prayerful, Carson failed to offer his endorsement to one of those “loud and boisterous name-calling” fellow presidential candidates who had previously shared many debate stages with him, often sidelining him like he was an afterthought. The debate moderators rarely paid much attention to his mumbling nonsensical responses, and yet for a moment, he was the frontrunner of the field of the original 17. On that CPAC stage, wearing a respectable blue suit, eggplant tie and U.S. flag pin, Carson stated “he had left those junior high and high school days behind him where he could really embarrass people,” and then he went on to state we needed a leader who could provide us some “trickle-down ethics.” Honestly, I don’t really know what that means; it just sounds like another senseless, baseless off-the-cuff puzzling remark. Yet, I was relieved this nightmare was coming to its expected conclusion. The Ben Carson for President campaign, with its slogan, “Heal, Inspire, Revive,” reminded me of a line in that poetic children’s book by Langston Hughes, Black Misery, where he states, “Black Misery is when the only drunk man on the bus is Black.” Carson was that man on the bus, so upon the ending of his presidential campaign, I felt compelled to write him this letter:
Dear Dr. Ben Carson,
Why? Didn’t we suffer enough from the Herman Cain presidential candidacy? Why would you debase your legacy as the long-serving (29 years) director of the pediatric neurosurgery center at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center? We were so proud of you and all your achievements: named by both CNN and Time Magazine as one of the nation’s 20 foremost physicians and scientists; receiving the highest honor bestowed by the NAACP, the Spingarn Medal, in 2006; even receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush in 2008 — all noted on your “Meet Ben” campaign website.
You’re also an accomplished writer, and who could forget that great made-for-television movie, “Gifted Hands,” starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Kimberley Elise — a must watch for all children! What an inspiration, watching your mother, a single parent who was semi-literate and hard-working, encourage you and your brother to focus on education and to pursue your dream of becoming a doctor. She knew her son, you, Ben, would go on to do great things in an area where you held such great passion — the field of medicine and the appreciation for the miracle of the brain.
Granted, just considering the field of Republican presidential candidates, especially those who have risen to the top, I can see where you may have been slightly confused about the possibilities, because the competition presented as so inadequate. However, you should have taken a look at history and considered modeling your campaign after Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, who had a distinguished political career and was the first African-American to run for the presidential nomination of a major party in 1972.
Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968, representing Brooklyn, New York, and was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Chisholm ultimately served seven terms in the House of Representatives, and she was someone who championed educational and employment opportunities, especially for people of color, along with calling for an end to the military draft. In a speech at UCLA in 1972, while running for the Democratic Party nomination, Chisholm offered that it was “time for new blood,” and that she was “no ordinary person,” and that she had both the humanity and the capability of moving this country forward and making it a “haven for all kinds of people, regardless of race, creed, or sex.” As she reflected later on, Chisholm’s presidential nomination campaign was created for people who “did not want to play politics as usual or continue to select the lesser of two evils.” She was a woman of the people and for the people! Dr. Ben Carson, you are no Shirley Chisholm.
Dr. Terri Jett is an associate professor of political science and special sssistant to the provost for diversity and inclusivity at Butler University. Comments can be sent to tjett@butler.edu.
