The Black Vote and electoral politics

During every election season, all I hear about is the black vote. It’s always how black women will show out for democratic candidates. Or, it’s the infamous soul food plate tactic, when candidates go to different soul food restaurants, buy a plate, and attempt to connect more with black people and win over their vote. But, how do candidates and politicians actually target, or dismiss, black communities? 

Let’s start off by saying this: it is well known that black women come out in large numbers for Democrats. In 2020, 92% of Black women voted for President Joe Biden. For months after the exit polls were released, every news outlet reported on this – but only to make their coverage seem diverse, not because they were truly interested in the subject. Although mainstream liberal media tends to frame Black women as political saviors, this coverage is shallow, highlighting only the names and faces of figures in the movement rather than the work itself. For example, there are people like LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, and Alicia Garza, Principal of The Black Futures Lab. We commonly see people like them on mainstream news stations, not the people on the ground in key states. The Democratic Party as a whole, I believe, needs to connect more with the black community and other marginalized communities as a whole to see what issues directly affect us, instead of getting a simple photo op. 

In my opinion, the more establishment wing of the Democratic Party doesn’t connect with working-class Americans as much as the more progressive members of the party. When on the campaign trail, especially Presidential candidates, they use political tactics to make themselves, mostly white people, seem like they care about black people without asking them what they want to see in a candidate. At the end of the day, we want to see people who best represent our values in office; people who sincerely want to better our community

Before I close out, I want to circle back on the ongoing Voting Rights Movement. The majority of people are aware of Ida B. Wells, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Stacey Abrams. But we aren’t aware of the many black people, specifically black women, who have worked tirelessly to make sure black people are registered to vote, despite gerrymandering and oppressive voting rights laws. First, there is Black Voters Matter. Founded by LaTosha Brown and Cliff Albright in 2016, the organization has played a key role in Southern politics. The BVM team worked heavily during the 2020 presidential election in states like Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina to get people more involved. Secondly, pre-pandemic, we saw Alicia Garza going into black communities and getting the real answers. Garza is best known for cofounding the Black Lives Matter movement, but she has also played an essential role in electoral politics. Aside from BLM, she founded Black Voters Lab in 2018. With Black Voters Lab, she created the Black Census Project, which surveys Black people across the nation and lets them share their experiences as Black people in America. Black Voters Lab also has a voter hub on its website to help people get registered to vote. Alicia Garza used her large platform to further amplify black voices and the issues we deeply care about. 

Overall, black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party when it comes to voting. The mainstream media tends to cover our high voter turnout rate and little about our organizing for Democratic Candidates. Instead of the very few black anchors in the news speaking on the issue, as a community, we should put pressure on major national news stations to ensure they give a voice to various movement leaders. When we all use our collective voices, change within the establishment can occur.