Fifty-three percent of white women voted against their own interests, but too damn many of us didn't vote at all, and you know we have more at stake with each election than does any other group.
When black participation in presidential elections reaches or surpasses what it did in 2008 and 2012, then you can tell me I'm wrong.
"Hillary Clinton was a poor candidate." "Her ankles are too fat." "Her emails." "The lesser of two evils is still evil." "She pandered to white people when she talked about gang-affiliated black youth and 'bringing them to heel.'" (That one is true, and I'm not happy about it, but I also know why she said it.) All anyone with good sense needed to know was that she wasn't Donald Trump. I'm not calling anyone ignorant, but I'm going to say that their critical thinking skills weren't in order. Did they not see what Donald Trump was? After all that, more black people, most particularly men, voted for Trump than did in 2016. Riddle me that.
I'm a volunteer for a fund-raising organization that supports Democratic candidates in battleground states and voter-empowerment organizations. It is my self-appointed mission to get more people of color involved in electoral politics. I get a lot of excuses for why they can't. In December 2019, my group hosted Stacy Abrams at a $100 per person fud-raising event. There were 400 people there. About ten of them were black, and I was responsible for five of us. That's a shame.
It's also a shame that you won't view the YouTube video I shared. Since you won't deign to watch it yourself, I can only tell you that it is one of the most powerwful arguments for black political participation that I've ever seen. It is well worth watching, and sharing.
I'm also including a little piece I wrote on some disappointment I had with a group of black women who claimed to be politically oriented, but who turned out to have other priorities. They're not the only ones, unfortunately. They did not respond well to it. I'm not afraid of telling the truth either.
As my mother taught me, and this is concerning the YouTube video: "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. You can lead a man to knowledge, but you can't make him think." Shalom and Salaam.
https://untiredteacher.medium.com/from-heels-to-hope-from-chucks-to-change-eff47309dbdf
