The third night of the Republican National Convention , like every night of the convention, has featured Black Americans notably Black men praising Trumps leadership.

Speakers repeated the same, albeit misleading, statistic: that unemployment among Black Americans fell under the Trump administration (They did not mention that Black unemployment has risen the fastest since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and has recovered the slowest, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics ). Theyve highlighted the Republican tax bills opportunity zones and said Democrats take Black voters for granted.

Burgess Owens , a Black former football player and Republican nominee for Utahs 4th Congressional District, highlighted a recent gaffe of Joe Bidens: We have a Democrat candidate for president who says that Im not Black if I dont vote for him, Owens said. Now, more than ever, we need leaders who stand by their principles and wont compromise their values for political opportunities.

Jack Brewer, another former football player, identified himself as a lifelong Democrat who supports Trump, saying that all lives need to matter and telling Black voters to look past Donald Trump s tone.

Because you have an issue with President Trumps tone, you are going to allow Biden and Harris to deny our underserved Black and brown children school choice, Brewer said. Are we so offended by President Trumps campaign slogan Make America Great Again that we are going to ignore that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have collectively been responsible for locking up countless Black men for nonviolent crimes?

And Clarence Henderson, a conservative activist who participated in the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins, said: Donald Trump truly cares about Black lives. His policies show his heart. He has done more for Black Americans in four years than Joe Biden has done in 50.

But in between these testimonials from Black men was a much louder message from Trumps closest allies, one that marginalized Black Americans and those who are allied in their protests against police brutality and white supremacy.