State Rep. Paschal: Voters of Shelby County made MLK’s dream come true — Did not vote for me based on skin color, but solely on my character, beliefs

On Tuesday, State Rep. Kenneth Paschal (R-Pelham) notched a historic win when he was elected to represent District 73, which includes portions of Alabaster, Helena, Montevallo and Pelham.

Paschal became the first black Republican elected to the Alabama House of Representatives since Reconstruction.

Although he recognized the significance of his victory, Paschal told Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show” that he saw the election as an acknowledgment of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech that emphasized the content of character over color of skin.

“It is a discussion topic, but I think we have to be careful how we incorporated it during the discussion,” he said. “We do want to acknowledge the historical nature of it, how it is is very important but at the same time always redirect people’s attention immediately to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in 1963, when he said, ‘I look to the day when we would not be judged by the color of our skin but the content of our character.’ These days, the voters of Shelby County made his dream come true because they did not cast their vote for me because of the color of my skin. I think they solely based their vote on my character, on what I believe in.”

“Our campaign message was simple: God and county,” Paschal continued. “I’m a God-fearing man with integrity. I’m a veteran with military service, and I’ve been invested for the last 11 years in Montgomery, working on pro-family legislation. Citizens wanted someone they could believe in, trust and know he is going to work hard for the people in their district. I don’t think we can downplay the significance of this election being the first black Republican elected to the legislature for over a hundred years. I don’t think we can downplay that, but at the same time, we can capitalize on what this means moving forward. I think this is going to open the doors for the Republican Party showing the Republican Party accepts all regardless of color. We just want qualified candidates, qualified leaders to represent the people in our district and state.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.