A black congressional candidate is trying to persuade voters in his diverse New Jersey city that it’s time to try a new approach after the failures of the Democratic Party and Black Lives Matter.
William “Billy” Prempeh wrote in a guest op-ed for the Gateway Pundit that “unlike Black Lives Matter, I will actually work to get justice and change the culture that is causing black lives to be taken on our streets.”
Born to parents who immigrated from Ghana and “sacrificed so much to give us the opportunity to thrive in this great land,” he describes himself as a “first generation American, U.S. Air Force Veteran and patriot.”
In a video on his campaign site, Prempeh insisted he does have “privilege,” “American privilege.”
“Being an American is hands-down the greatest privilege on earth,” he said. “And I’m so proud of our rich American history.”
After serving in the Air Force, he returned to find his hometown had “literally become a warzone.”
Politicians, he said, had allowed the city to be overcome by drugs, violence and “bad education.”
The “permanent elected class,” he said, doesn’t “care about us.”
See the video:
“I love this city, which I have lived in my entire life, and I can no longer sit by and watch it devolve into a dangerous warzone,” he wrote in his Gateway Pundit op-ed.
Violent crime in the city has skyrocketed 60%, and murders now are so commonplace it has become “personal” to him, noting a beloved and widely respected high school friend who was shot and killed.
The “culture” and attitude toward law enforcement needs to change, he wrote, with the lack of cooperation resulting in “a stack of unsolved cases, and subsequently no justice, for people like my neighbor and friend.”
“Where are the calls for justice for them, BLM?” he asked of Black Lives Matter.
“If this culture and attitude towards law enforcement doesn’t change, neither will our crime rates,” he said. “We need community involvement with our police and I will dedicate myself to inspiring it.”
He said his opponent, incumbent Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell, is siding with the far-left idea that “all police are inherently bad.”
Pascrell, he noted, has expressed support for removing qualified immunity and for defunding police departments.
“Of course, it is unclear if he genuinely believes that these policies would help our city or if he is just pandering to the extremes for votes,” Prempeh said. “Either way it demonstrates how out of touch he is with reality.”
When real black lives are being killed, including neighbors and friends, Black Lives Matter “is nowhere to be found,” he said.
“However, when there is something that can be exploited to stoke racial tension, with the help of a complicit media, they suddenly appear.”
He noted that BLM cofounder Patrisse Cullors is resigning after spending millions of dollars on real estate.
“I stand for law and order. I stand with the police. I stand with the people of the NJ 9th district. I believe that the best solution for our city is for all of us to work hand in hand,” he said.
“I am running for Congress to make sure we get justice for my friend Ravel Trejo and the many others who have been killed in our cities — something that Black Lives Matter and their supporters apparently could not be bothered with.”
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