Herman Cain recently scoffed at the allegations accusing President Donald Trump of being racist.
“I don’t think Donald Trump has a racist bone in his body. And you can quote me on that,” Cain said in an interview with Yahoo News. “I have known him for many years. I have talked to people who work directly for him. The man is a businessman. How could he be a racist? His daughter married a person whose religious belief is Jewish. Good! He doesn’t go around making statements that are racist in nature. No, he says things where some people out there — especially people who don’t like him — try to spin it as being racist.”
On several occasions, Trump has referred to himself as "the least racist person." However, his statements on Charlottesville, Virginia, his history of running racially-charged attack ads and his recent "sh*thole countries" controversy have his critics unsure whether Trump is as tolerant as Cain claims.
According to Cain, critics need to put aside Trump’s language and personality. He instead urges them to focus on the results of Trump's policies in order to truly measure the success of his first-year in office.
Cain said he would give year one an "A" because Trump rolled back regulations and signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which he called “one of the biggest legislative achievements in 30 years.”
When it comes to Trump's campaign rhetoric (including when Trump said the following about Mexican immigrants: "They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."), Cain said that he never observed anything at Trump’s campaign events that would indicate he harbors any animus toward minorities.
Herman Cain recently scoffed at the allegations accusing President Donald Trump of being racist.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t think Donald Trump has a racist bone in his body. And you can quote me on that,” Cain said in an interview with \u003Ca href=\"https://www.yahoo.com/news/herman-cain-says-trump-doesnt-racist-bone-body-180726069.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Yahoo News\u003C/a>. “I have known him for many years. I have talked to people who work directly for him. The man is a businessman. How could he be a racist? His daughter married a person whose religious belief is Jewish. Good! He doesn’t go around making statements that are racist in nature. No, he says things where some people out there — especially people who don’t like him — try to spin it as being racist.”\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>On several occasions, Trump has referred to himself as "the least racist person." However, his statements on \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/donald-trump-charlottesville-winery-both-sides-blame-violence\">Charlottesville\u003C/a>, Virginia, his history of running \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/ava-duvernay-calls-out-trump-for-his-hypocrisy-role-in-the-central-park-five-conviction\">racially-charged attack ads\u003C/a> and his recent \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/trump-reportedly-fussed-about-shthole-countries-like-haiti-and-other-african-nations-for-flocking-to-the-us\">"sh*thole countries" controversy\u003C/a> have his critics unsure whether Trump is as tolerant as Cain claims.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>According to Cain, critics need to put aside Trump’s language and personality. He instead urges them to focus on the results of Trump's policies in order to truly measure the success of his first-year in office.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Cain said he would give year one an "A" because Trump rolled back regulations and signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which he called “one of the biggest legislative achievements in 30 years.”\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>When it comes to Trump's campaign rhetoric (including when Trump said the following about \u003Ca href=\"http://time.com/4473972/donald-trump-mexico-meeting-insult/\">Mexican immigrants\u003C/a>: "They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."), Cain said that he never observed anything at Trump’s campaign events that would indicate he harbors any animus toward minorities.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp content='“When he was campaigning, I spoke at three of his rallies. There were plenty of black people and Hispanic people there trying to help him get elected. I never saw him try to put anybody down. The people who don’t like him are trying to stick him with a racist label, which is not true,” Cain said. At a campaign rally in Atlanta, he vouched for Trump as a \u003Ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/us/politics/behind-herman-cains-humor-a-question-of-seriousness.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">“shucky ducky” kind of candidate.\u003C/a> Trump received \u003Ca href=\"http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/behind-trumps-victory-divisions-by-race-gender-education/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">8 percent\u003C/a> of votes by black people in 2016.’ data-reactid=”26″ type=”text”>“When he was campaigning, I spoke at three of his rallies. There were plenty of black people and Hispanic people there trying to help him get elected," Cain said. "I never saw him try to put anybody down. The people who don’t like him are trying to stick him with a racist label, which is not true."\u003C/p>\n",[20,24],{"name":21,"slug":22,"id":23},"News","news",83,{"name":25,"slug":26,"id":27},"Politics","politics",120,[29,33],{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32,"description":8,"image":8},37278,"Donald trump","donald-trump",{"id":34,"name":35,"slug":36,"description":8,"image":8},31431,"Herman Cain","herman-cain",{"url":38,"thumbnail":38,"credit":39,"title":8,"alt":8,"type":40},"https://res.cloudinary.com/blavity/image/upload/v1518555094/hlftrwf7fqctilz89h1b","Photo: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons","image","2018-02-13T16:18:42-05:00","default",[],false,{"disableAd":44,"disableConnatixPlayer":44,"enabledComments":46,"headScript":47},true,null,{"list":49,"total":250},[50,122,187],{"id":51,"author":52,"authors":61,"title":63,"subTitle":8,"excerpt":8,"slug":64,"body":65,"categories":66,"tags":79,"featuredMedia":113,"publishedAt":118,"updatedAt":119,"type":42,"listicle":120,"disableContentGate":44,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":44,"canonicalUrl":8,"socialThumbnail":8,"additional":121},72749668,{"id":53,"avatar":54,"firstName":55,"lastName":56,"displayName":57,"email":58,"username":59,"description":8,"twitter":8,"facebook":8,"instagram":8,"registeredAt":60},99749,"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/88d26cab5cbc718a48dad4723a532307?s=1024&r=g","Monique","Jones","Monique Jones","Monique.Jones@blavity.com","MoniqueJones","2023-01-12T17:11:33+00:00",[62],{"id":53,"avatar":54,"firstName":55,"lastName":56,"displayName":57,"email":58,"username":59,"description":8,"twitter":8,"facebook":8,"instagram":8,"registeredAt":60},"Zendaya On Channeling The Pressure Of Being 'Twice As Good' In 'Challengers'","zendaya-tashi-challengers-character","\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/zendaya-timothee-chalamet-working-together\">Zendaya\u003C/a> brought her own experiences as a Black woman living under pressure into her \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/entertainment/challengers-zendaya-new-trailer\">\u003Cem>Challengers\u003C/em> performance\u003C/a> as tennis pro Tashi Donaldson. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/WW_F6X9x4Lo?si=GZfoG3xI_UarTrGq\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003C/iframe>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Blavity/Shadow and Act’s managing editor, Trey Mangum, spoke with Zendaya and co-stars Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist about \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/entertainment/zendaya-challengers-poster\">the film\u003C/a>, which follows Tashi, a tennis star whose life-changing injury forces her out of the sport. She changes tactics and begins coaching her husband Art (Faist), but things turn even more when her husband’s nemesis on the court is also her ex-boyfriend Patrick (O’Connor). \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Zendaya identified with Tashi’s sense of pressure, especially with both her and her character being Black women facing unparalleled scrutiny in the public eye. She talked about the burden of having to be twice as good in order to be considered on par with whiteness. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“I think that’s something that I’ve lived and constantly been aware of throughout my career,” she said. I think that plays into my fear of making mistakes or doing something wrong or stepping out of being perfect…so I think that’s something that I’ve personally carried and I think it would be the same for Tashi.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“The reason why she’s so passionate about tennis because of her access to it and her proximity to it, because it’s her whole life. There’s no backup plan, there’s nothing to fall back on, and there’s a lot of pressure to make it or to be the one who does,” Zendaya continued. “I think that driven spirit comes from that and that’s why she puts so much of herself into the sport and that’s why it’s so devastating…for them [characters Art and Patrick], there’s a backup. There’s mom and dad, there’s a level of privilege to being able to be like, ‘Well, I don’t have to go to school, I can do this or I can do that.’ I think ultimately what she’s dealing with is the grief of her career but also this idea of perfection that she’s sculpted for her life, for her husband…the composure is falling apart.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Watch the full interview above. \u003Cem>Challengers\u003C/em> \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/entertainment/zendayas-upcoming-film-challengers-gets-pushed-to-2024-because-of-actors-strike\">comes to theaters\u003C/a> Friday. \u003C/p>\n",[67,71,75],{"name":68,"slug":69,"id":70},"Entertainment","entertainment",3,{"name":72,"slug":73,"id":74},"Film","film",56942,{"name":76,"slug":77,"id":78},"Interviews","interviews-sa-originals",56956,[80,84,88,90,93,97,101,105,109],{"id":81,"name":82,"slug":83,"description":8,"image":8},55047,"Blavity Entertainment","blavity-entertainment",{"id":85,"name":86,"slug":87,"description":8,"image":8},66911,"Challengers","challengers",{"id":89,"name":72,"slug":73,"description":8,"image":8},36896,{"id":91,"name":76,"slug":92,"description":8,"image":8},46740,"interviews",{"id":94,"name":95,"slug":96,"description":8,"image":8},65544,"Josh O’Connor","josh-oconnor",{"id":98,"name":99,"slug":100,"description":8,"image":8},71106,"Mike Faist","mike-faist",{"id":102,"name":103,"slug":104,"description":8,"image":8},34278,"Shadow and Act","shadow-and-act",{"id":106,"name":107,"slug":108,"description":8,"image":8},44529,"top stories","top-stories",{"id":110,"name":111,"slug":112,"description":8,"image":8},36916,"Zendaya","zendaya",{"url":114,"thumbnail":115,"credit":116,"title":117,"alt":8,"type":40},"https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/uni-19.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/uni-19-150x92.jpg","Photo: Jenny Anderson/Getty Images for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc","uni (19)","2024-04-26T13:28:52-04:00","2024-04-27T14:43:29-04:00",[],{"disableAd":44,"disableConnatixPlayer":44,"enabledComments":46,"headScript":8},{"id":123,"author":124,"authors":135,"title":137,"subTitle":8,"excerpt":8,"slug":138,"body":139,"categories":140,"tags":145,"featuredMedia":158,"publishedAt":162,"updatedAt":163,"type":164,"listicle":165,"disableContentGate":44,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":46,"canonicalUrl":8,"socialThumbnail":159,"additional":186},72749285,{"id":125,"avatar":126,"firstName":127,"lastName":128,"displayName":129,"email":130,"username":129,"description":8,"twitter":131,"facebook":132,"instagram":133,"registeredAt":134},99587,"https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/C88B08B0-481E-4F9B-A11C-A79EC5713EAB-compress.jpeg","Martie","Bowser","Martie Bowser","Martie.Bowser@Blavity.com","https://twitter.com/RoleModelPR","https://www.facebook.com/martie.bowser.5","https://www.instagram.com/rolemodelpublicity/?hl=en","2022-08-29T15:11:10+00:00",[136],{"id":125,"avatar":126,"firstName":127,"lastName":128,"displayName":129,"email":130,"username":129,"description":8,"twitter":131,"facebook":132,"instagram":133,"registeredAt":134},"Shaboozey Reflects On Working With Beyoncé On 'Cowboy Carter' And Teases His Own Upcoming Album: 'A Dream Come True'","shaboozey-beyonce-cowboy-carter-new-album-interview","\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/cowboy-carter-features-tanner-adell-shaboozey-willie-jones\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Shaboozey\u003C/a> knows he doesn’t look or sound like the typical \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/beyonce-country-radio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">country music artist\u003C/a> — and that’s okay. His goal was never to be boxed into a \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/nigerian-american-singer-nola-ades-genre-bending-sound-is-the-future-of-afrobeats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">genre\u003C/a> but to simply make music. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“I’ve always been somebody who wants to show people that it’s other people that look like you in other genres and other spaces,” he told Blavity in a recent interview. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Born Collins Chibueze, the Fairfax, VA native, has had his boots to the ground in the entertainment industry since 2014. He grew up listening to various music artists and genres that influenced his overall style. Artists from Ja Rule and Jennifer Lopez to Kenny Rogers impacted him, and of course, J-Kwon, whose 2004 “Tipsy” hit inspired Shaboozey’s No. 1 single, “\u003Ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7bQwwqW-Hc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A Bar Song.”\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“A lot of it just came from being from Virginia,” he said about his upbringing influencing his creative range. “If you look at artists like Pharrell, who’s eclectic as hell, he got into so many different pockets. I think I’m the same. I’m just super creative. Super artistic. I have a lot of ideas. I’ve always been a fan of different artists and different genres of music of people who don’t look like me.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>He was also inspired by his Nigerian parents, who were avid music lovers and allowed him to explore genres. He recalled noticing that his current style of belt buckles and cowboy boots reminded him of his father.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“I look back at pictures and think, ‘Ahh, I’m becoming my dad.’ I need to switch this up,” he joked. \u003C/p>\n",[141],{"name":142,"slug":143,"id":144},"Music","music",95,[146,150,154,157],{"id":147,"name":148,"slug":149,"description":8,"image":8},56859,"Beyonce","beyonce-3",{"id":151,"name":152,"slug":153,"description":8,"image":8},19406,"Country music","country-music",{"id":155,"name":156,"slug":156,"description":8,"image":8},70859,"shaboozey",{"id":106,"name":107,"slug":108,"description":8,"image":8},{"url":159,"thumbnail":160,"credit":8,"title":161,"alt":8,"type":40},"https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/99410008_v1-e1713984817197.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/99410008_v1-e1713984817197-150x97.jpg","Shaboozey","2024-04-24T15:19:08-04:00","2024-04-27T14:43:51-04:00","listicle",[166,168,170,172,174,176,178,180,182,184],{"title":8,"content":167},"\u003Cp>\u003Ciframe title=\"Shaboozey - A Bar Song (Tipsy) [Official Visualizer]\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/t7bQwwqW-Hc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003C/iframe>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":169},"\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shaboozey’s musical style has evolved over the years but has always remained within his \u003C/span>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">own\u003C/span>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> world of singing, rapping \u003C/span>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">and\u003C/span>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> storytelling. \u003C/span>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">At a young age, he learned to embrace his uniqueness by witnessing a friend embrace his love for Prince to the point of dressing and doing his hair like the late legend.\u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":171},"\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">“He had his own thing going on. And I really wanted to figure out what that was for myself, just seeing somebody unapologetically being inspired by whatever inspires them,” he said.\u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":173},"\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shaboozey released his first single, “Jeff Gordon,” \u003C/span>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">in\u003C/span>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> 2014 and gained mainstream exposure in 2018 with the single “Start a Riot” featuring Duckworth from the \u003C/span>\u003Cem>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse\u003C/span>\u003C/em>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> soundtrack. \u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">His sophomore album, 2022’s \u003C/span>\u003Cem>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Cowboys Live Forever, Outlaws Never Die,\u003C/span>\u003C/em>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> piqued the interest of listeners who wanted more. \u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":175},"\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Two years later, Shaboozey was featured not once but twice on one of the most transformative albums of this generation: Beyoncé’s \u003C/span>\u003Cem>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/blavity-original/cowboy-carter-beyonce-roots\">Cowboy Carter\u003C/a>. \u003C/span>\u003C/em>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The trap-country tracks “Spaghetti” and “SWEET ★ HONEY ★ BUCKIIN” were the perfect songs to display his talents, but he revealed there could have been more.\u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":177},"\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">“It could have been three, to tell you the truth, maybe more,” he revealed. \u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He mentions that he “wrote” another song Queen Bey passed on before the album was released. \u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">“I love that song. Anyone I played that song was like, ‘Wow, like that song is incredible,’ but they passed on it. Maybe timing or something,” he said.\u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":179},"\u003Cp>Regardless of what tracks made it onto \u003Cem>Cowboy Carter\u003C/em>, Shaboozey said being included was a “dream come true” and validation of what he’s been doing all these years.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">“I’ve been doing a lot of this by myself with no real features or real big cosigns,” he said. “So, to get a cosign from the biggest artist in the world was a dream come true. And I felt like I did my thing on the features too.” \u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":181},"\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shaboozey is not taking the push of the “Beyoncé Effect” for granted. His music has \u003C/span>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">been introduced\u003C/span>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to a new audience of fans and supporters, whom he welcomes with open arms. “A Bar Song” has snagged the No. 1 position on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart and Apple’s Top Country Songs. He’s headlining some of this year’s largest festivals, including Stagecoach and Outside Land. \u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":183},"\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He’s gearing up to release his newest project, \u003C/span>\u003Cem>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, \u003C/span>\u003C/em>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">due in May, and is excited to show his fans all facets of him.\u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">“It’s going to be very eclectic. It will have some fun poppy sogs on there, but some of are very serious and talking about some truths,” he teased.\u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":185},"\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He added, “Some of those truths are kind of dark.”\u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Shaboozey is ready to show new and old fans what he’s made of — his creativity, versatility and commitment to self. Just don’t ask him to do any line dances.\u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He laughed as he said, “I’m 6’4. I’m not doing that.”\u003C/span>\u003C/p>\n",{"disableAd":44,"disableConnatixPlayer":44,"enabledComments":46,"headScript":8},{"id":188,"author":189,"authors":196,"title":198,"subTitle":8,"excerpt":8,"slug":199,"body":200,"categories":201,"tags":210,"featuredMedia":220,"publishedAt":225,"updatedAt":226,"type":164,"listicle":227,"disableContentGate":44,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":46,"canonicalUrl":8,"socialThumbnail":248,"additional":249},72748975,{"id":190,"avatar":191,"firstName":8,"lastName":8,"displayName":192,"email":193,"username":194,"description":8,"twitter":8,"facebook":8,"instagram":8,"registeredAt":195},99591,"https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IMG_1020-2-compress.jpg","Aria Bell","aria.bell@blavity.com","ariabell","2022-08-29T17:13:08+00:00",[197],{"id":190,"avatar":191,"firstName":8,"lastName":8,"displayName":192,"email":193,"username":194,"description":8,"twitter":8,"facebook":8,"instagram":8,"registeredAt":195},"The Black Food Truck Festival Is A Rapidly Rising South Carolina Event, Founded By A Former College Of Charleston Basketball Player","black-food-truck-festival-founder-south-carolina","\n\u003Cp>The \u003Ca href=\"https://www.blackfoodtruckfestival.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Black Food Truck Festival\u003C/a> in Ladson, \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/angel-reese-and-kamilla-cardosa-will-be-wnba-teammates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">South Carolina\u003C/a> is gearing up for its fourth annual get-together this weekend.\u003C/p>\n",[202,206],{"name":203,"slug":204,"id":205},"Black Owned Business","black-owned-business",70683,{"name":207,"slug":208,"id":209},"Small-Business","small-business",70681,[211,215,219],{"id":212,"name":213,"slug":214,"description":8,"image":8},71071,"food festival","food-festival",{"id":216,"name":217,"slug":218,"description":8,"image":8},35682,"South Carolina","south-carolina-2",{"id":106,"name":107,"slug":108,"description":8,"image":8},{"url":221,"thumbnail":222,"credit":223,"title":224,"alt":8,"type":40},"https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-1125671385.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-1125671385-150x100.jpg","Photo: SolStock via Getty Images","Friends Sharing Pizza at Festival","2024-04-24T11:34:23-04:00","2024-04-27T14:43:40-04:00",[228,230,232,234,236,238,240,242,244,246],{"title":8,"content":229},"\u003Cp>\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>When Marcus Hammond moved to Charleston to play basketball for the College of Charleston, he fell in love with the city, the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.postandcourier.com/moultrie-news/news/business/black-food-truck-fest-founder-reflects-on-growth/article_0c8a56a8-fad9-11ee-92fe-4fa75f8fcb9d.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Post and Courier\u003C/a> reported. After graduation, he stayed in the area and worked in the banking industry as a relationship manager. In 2022, he created the Black Food Truck Festival, which brought out 5,000 guests during its first year.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":231},"\u003Cp>“We’ve got everything from the diaspora to Gullah Geechee to soul food, seafood, Charleston staples like the chewies, Gullah rice and red rice,” he said.\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":233},"\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C3z-mttLRMO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cp style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\">\u003Ca style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C3z-mttLRMO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Black Food Truck Festival®️ (@blackfoodtruckfestival)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cscript async src=\"//www.instagram.com/embed.js\">\u003C/script>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":235},"\u003Cp>Due to the festival’s quick rise in popularity, Hammond left his corporate job to focus on the event full-time to ensure that he and his team produced a successful customer-driven occasion.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>“Two things that have really guided me, [with] the first one being the customer is not always right, but the customer is always first,” he told Post and Courier. “So, everything we do with the festival, we keep the attendees in mind first.”\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":237},"\u003Cp>He added, “We do our best to make sure everybody is safe, and we do our best to make sure that everybody has a good time. We aim for that perfection knowing that we’ll fall short. But it’s always our aim.”\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":239},"\u003Cp>This year, over 15,000 people are estimated to come out and fill up the Exchange Park Fairgrounds with most attendees expected to come from states nearby like North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":241},"\u003Cp>Hammond shared some new additions to the festival that include “Rhythms & Booze” (April 26), The Melanin x BFTF AM Workout (April 27) and the “Trappyoke” Afterparty” (April 28).\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":243},"\u003Cp>“Those are tweaks that we have made seeing the data that a lot of people came here from out of town. So, [it’s] what we wanted to do [with] Charleston being No. 1 in tourism hands down throughout the country for more than the last decade. But oftentimes, when we see those tourist attractions, they’re not always guided toward Black-curated events,” Hammond explained. “So, what we wanted to do is change the narrative from people thinking of the deep south, old Charleston, to being able to come to Charleston for a full weekend and experience Black culture and Charleston, curated by Black people.”\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":245},"\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C5qhJjLgLIG/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cp style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\">\u003Ca style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C5qhJjLgLIG/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Black Food Truck Festival®️ (@blackfoodtruckfestival)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cscript async src=\"//www.instagram.com/embed.js\">\u003C/script>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":8,"content":247},"\u003Cp>\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>For more information about the Black Food Truck Festival, visit the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.blackfoodtruckfestival.com/\">website\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003C!-- /wp:paragraph -->\u003C/p>\n","https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Screen-Shot-2024-04-23-at-3.50.48-PM.png",{"disableAd":44,"disableConnatixPlayer":44,"enabledComments":46,"headScript":8},91,{},{"ufS4tJUexT":47,"WJj5s3EaD3":47},"/herman-cain-says-trump-doesnt-have-a-racist-bone-in-his-body",{"isarticle":255},{"article":44,"cname":8,"iuParts":256},"/11462305847/bla"]