As the general election draws nearer and nearer, Americans are starting to pay more and more attention to their local races and how they are going to use their vote at the ballot box this year. That is why we sat down with Dr. Drew Montez Clark (R), the District 20 Republican congressional nominee challenging incumbent Rep. Shelia Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) in November.
This exclusive interview gave us a lot of insight into where Clark stands on the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, the economy, and Critical Race Theory (CRT).
“I’m done giving ground,” said Clark when asked about the BLM movement. “Even though I am 100% against BLM – the organization. Strategically it was a great marketing ploy, but how in the world do you say that black lives don’t matter? You can’t say it. So I always had to from the very beginning make a unique distinction that says ‘yes black lives matter and I’m 100% against the organization’…We know now that the organization didn’t do anything to benefit the black community.”
Also, within the interview, Clark went in depth about what he wants to fix in his first days as a freshman Congressman when he stated, “I think we have to get back to basics. And one of the things impacting everybody across the board is the economy.”
Clark also mentioned what possible future constituents have told him while on the campaign trail so far. “Let’s get the economy back on track and this inflation under control. Energy has to be roped into that now because that is a part of what is straining the middle class and definitely people in this district.” He also brought up a few stories saying, “People have been calling me, ‘Energy bills, my energy bills have gone up.’”
Later on in the interview, Clark, an African-American, said that how U.S. history is taught in different households, and how the education system needs to address these voids of important history, especially black history.
“All these Republican talking points, these conservative talking points about why we're against CRT and I'm against CRT, but if you're going to use all the standard talking points let's really get down and add the context behind it because here's the reality in this country,” said Clark. “In this country. I went to school, I learned one history, and I went home and learned another one as a black American. That is a fact. Right? If we can't acknowledge that, then we can't just destroy something without providing context, because on the other side, this is what they do. The other side says, Oh, well, you don't care about history. No, we do want to teach it all but you're not teaching at all, and nor did you ever try to teach at all.”
Clark rounded out this interview with one final thought: “So, because we could not acknowledge the problems that existed, those are the things that created a void for what CRT is trying to fill. So, without acknowledging the problem, I can't just shoot down what they believe is the solution even if I disagree with that solution.”
Dr. Drew Montez Clark will face Cherfilus-McCormick on November 8th for the District 20 seat.
