Rich, white, conservative men are funding the Black Americans for a Better Future Super PAC

By Charles Pulliam-Moore  |  January 29, 2016 | 3:36pm
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To look at the Black Americans for a Better Future’s YouTube page, you might get the impression that the Super PAC is the result of the combined efforts of dozens of well-off, black conservatives seeking to put a Republican in the White House. Technically speaking, you’d be wrong.

According to recent FEC filings, the Black Americans for a Better Future is being almost entirely funded by reclusive billionaire and hedge fund manager Robert Mercer, a white man. At present, Mercer’s responsible for bankrolling BABF to the tune of $400,000—96% of the Super PAC’s funds.

As The Intercept points out, Mercer’s also thrown his financial support behind a number of other high-profile conservative endeavors: He spent $11 million on a Super PAC to keep Ted Cruz’s presidential bid moving and his Mercer Family Foundation contributed than $1.4 million on the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine.

The OISM, you’ll remember, is is the 501(c)(3) run by Art Robinson, the former Chairman of the Oregon Republican Party. The OISM famously launched a nationwide urine collection drive in the hopes of “revolutionizing” diagnostic medicine. (If you’d like to send them a sample of your own, here’s a form.)

Robinson gained national attention a few years back when, in an interview with Rachel Maddow, he doubled down on a number of scientifically dubious claims he’d made about global warming.

Reading through the list of BABF donors, it becomes clearly rather quickly that not a single one of them happens to be an actual black person. “Where,” you might then ask yourself, “is the BABF’s black leadership?”

Raynard Jackson, a D.C.-based political consultant, appears to be the PAC’s go to face for public events and talking points. In the fall of 2015, he spoke at a BABF event hosted at the National Press Club meant to better the relationships between black professionals and the Republican party.

“Having well-trained, credible, experienced African-Americans constantly challenging the liberal orthodoxy in the media,” Jackson explained, “will create a tectonic shift in the perception of the Republican Party within the Black community.”

According to the FEC, Jackson’s roles as the BABF’s chairman and founder netted him a salary of about $155,000 in 2015.

 
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