Heading into the ultimate stretch of the 2024 election, it appeared each cable information program had a phase devoted to this one query: What is going to Black males do?
Progressives on the bottom had been voicing considerations about Black male voter turnout lengthy earlier than the 2022 midterms. However as a result of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade enabled Democrats to keep away from a “pink wave” then, the urgency concerning Black males was muted. That rapidly modified as soon as former Vice President Kamala Harris turned the presumptive nominee and media personalities reminiscent of Stephen A. Smith and Charlamagne tha God started questioning her {qualifications} with out a trace of irony.
Ultimately, nearly 75% of Black men voted for Harris, and all of these cable information segments in regards to the considerations of that voting bloc went away. That’s unlucky as a result of in some ways the query on the heart of all of it — “What is going to Black males do?” — is extra related in the present day than it was seven months in the past. Since President Trump has retaken workplace, federal civil rights workplaces have been gutted, grants for minority enterprise packages canceled and the names of enslavers are making a comeback on army bases. Cable information could also be ready till the subsequent election to speak in regards to the considerations of Black males, however the Black group can’t wait that lengthy. Khalil Thompson and Bakari Sellers agree.
The pair are a part of the management crew for Win With Black Males, a political advocacy group that started in 2022. Thompson stated he was impressed to start out the group by Win With Black Girls, which began after the homicide of George Floyd in 2020. Each organizations had been key to jump-starting the keenness for Harris, particularly financially, with every elevating hundreds of thousands of {dollars} inside days of her marketing campaign’s launch.
Now, with the election behind us and three years of a hostile White Home administration forward of us, Thompson’s group has introduced an 18-city listening tour beginning in July to strategize about methods to assist the group outdoors of the political system. The aim is to succeed in 3,500 Black males in individual and one other 25,000 via a nationwide survey in hopes of constructing a database to raised serve the group. Thompson stated it’s significantly essential to maintain folks engaged now that the election is over due to how the White Home continues to check the bounds of each presidential energy and the assist from his social gathering.
“There needs to be a second the place proper is correct,” stated Thompson, a former operative for President Obama. “We elevate our youngsters to know the fundamental tenets of being individual. … We have to construct a system that may adequately accommodate and assist the overwhelming majority of individuals on this nation who simply wish to take pleasure in this small period of time we now have on this planet. I see the protests occurring and the raids and I’m reminded of Ruby Bridges or the lunch counter in Greensboro. What is going on now in our cities — ripping dad and mom away from their kids — doesn’t converse to our higher angels.”
Sellers added: “Democracy is participatory, and quite a lot of time folks overlook that. The alternatives are to be on the sideline or get engaged — both means, you might be concerned.”
He made that selection at a younger age, changing into the youngest Black individual in elected state workplace throughout the nation in 2006, as a 22-year-old state consultant in South Carolina. His early social justice work echoes that of his father, Cleveland Sellers, who was a part of the management for the Scholar Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the course of the civil rights motion.
“I’d quite get within the struggle, be knocked round a little bit bit, face terror head on, understanding I’m doing it for a simply and righteous trigger,” Sellers stated.
Thompson stated that along with engagement, Win With Black Males is trying to be a vessel for serving to folks financially with their utility and grocery payments, because the steep federal cuts and job losses threaten to ship hundreds of thousands of Individuals into poverty. The present fundraising aim is $2.5 million. And whereas the group is nonpartisan, Sellers stated a distinguished Democrat is the unofficial North Star: “We have to get again to the politics of Jesse Jackson. Meet folks the place they’re, concentrate on the working class and facilitate conversations that uplift folks, not demean them.”
Few issues are extra demeaning than feeling like your voice issues solely as soon as each 4 years. If nothing else, this upcoming listening tour is a reminder to Democrats that Black males are greater than a vote.
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Concepts expressed within the piece
- The article emphasizes that media retailers disproportionately centered on Black males’s voting conduct in the course of the 2024 election cycle, typically questioning Kamala Harris’ {qualifications}, however largely ignored their ongoing struggles post-election, reminiscent of federal civil rights rollbacks and financial disparities underneath the Trump administration[3].
- Advocacy teams like Win With Black Males argue for sustained, year-round engagement with Black communities via initiatives like listening excursions and monetary help packages, quite than counting on electoral cycles to handle systemic points[3].
- The piece critiques Democratic methods for treating Black males as a monolithic voting bloc solely throughout elections, urging a return to grassroots organizing impressed by figures like Jesse Jackson to prioritize working-class wants and dignity[3].
Totally different views on the subject
- Polling information reveals vital shifts in voting patterns amongst Hispanic males, who moved 35 factors towards Trump in comparison with 2020, suggesting political methods could have to prioritize different demographics experiencing faster-changing allegiances[1].
- Regardless of media narratives about declining Black male assist for Democrats, research present 82% of Black males in the end voted for Harris in 2024, mirroring historic traits of robust Democratic alignment and excessive voter turnout inside this group[2][3].
- Broader voter turnout analyses spotlight persistent gender and age gaps in political participation, with Black girls and youthful voters demonstrating increased engagement, probably decreasing the urgency for focused Black male outreach[4].
