On Monday October 14th, VP Kamala Harris introduced her “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men”. The plan aims to close the 17-point deficit amongst Black men voters that President Biden received in 2020. According to some polling, Harris is currently receiving only 70% of the Black men vote while Biden crushed it with 87% in his bid for president.
The reason for the disparity is because Black men have recently taken a staunch position on how their democratic vote has been taken for granted for so many decades. Dems assumed Blacks would automatically vote against Donald Trump by voting democratic. I applaud them for taking such a stance because it spawned action. It made power brokers sit up and take notice—”wait, these Black men aren’t going to vote democratic?”
Now there are some who will insert the notion of identity politics. Those who argue that Black men might benefit unfairly and possibly gain an advantage from Harris’ policies must also factor in the hundreds of years of bigotry, discrimination, and unfair treatment Blacks have had to face in America. There is indeed a lag in American society when it comes to opportunity, and the gaps in areas like wealth, education, and household income were all created with the same intent to see that our white counterparts succeeded while Blacks perished in a racially created storm of inequities.
For those who argue that much progress has been made, I would challenge you to do your research and homework. A simple Google search for example, will reveal how Blacks are 13% of the population, yet more than half of the state prison population. Blacks own more student loan debt, are more likely to live in poverty, more likely to live in a single-parent household, and less likely to finish college than any other ethnic group in America.
Now many will point to poor decision-making and the inability to use one’s “bootstraps” to change their lot in life. If you’ve never been there, if you have not had to face the adversities that exists in impoverished communities and marginalized neighborhoods, the drought of resources and opportunities, then you will never be able to truly understand how it feels to face obstacles specific to the Black community or other communities of color. Until you are deep in the weeds either in that challenging position yourself, or if it is your job to assist this specific group of people, then your opinion about how this group of people should respond to challenges is unsubstantiated and baseless.
Maybe it should be a given that Black men shouldn’t even consider voting for Donald Trump. But why do we only place this onus on Black people? Shouldn’t we also expect white people to choose good over evil, unification over divisiveness, and human decency over cruel and vicious racial attacks? We should all have the same obligation no matter our skin color; the obligation to choose a leader who values equality, justice, and the equal opportunity for everyone to have the same chance at success in life. Is this not what America claims it stands for?
Initially, I questioned the hesitancy of Black men to cast their votes and pledge their allegiance to Kamala Harris. I looked at the options and thought what is there to think about? And while I probably would not have proceeded in the same manner nor endorsed the reluctance to offer support for VP Harris, I must say that I can appreciate the results that were achieved, the attention shown on their issues, and the progress that could be made if she is elected president. I certainly hope that VP Harris has adequately addressed the grievances of Black men and in return, I hope they get out and vote and ultimately greatly surpass the 87% of the Black men’s vote that Biden received. Given that a second Black person is running for President of the United States in a span of only 16 years, I’m expecting us to reach the heights of Harris receiving 90-95% of the Black vote—and because the margins and this race will be so tightly contested—she’s going to need every single one of our votes.