In light of the ridiculous clown show that is Kanye West, Ice Cube, 50 Cent, I have been reading this narrative, which purports that black men did not support Hillary Clinton in 2016. The same narrative is evolving now in the context of support for the Biden-Harris ticket. Newsweek went as far as to claim that "Only 36 percent of Black men said that Biden's selection of a Black woman was a good idea."
And yet, I have seen scant reporting on the letter of support signed by 100 black male celebrities in support of Senator Harris during VP Biden's selection process. (https://afro.com/updated-more-than-100-black-male-leaders-sign-statement-of-solidarity-requiring-a-black-woman-vice-president/).
Forgive my language but as a New Yorker, I call BS to the argument and broad labeling that we, black men, are misogynists who do not support the Biden/Harris ticket because of our dear sister Sen. Harris.
A look back at the Pew Research Center's "examination of the 2016 electorate, based on validated voters" show in fact that the narrative that was created about black men lack of support for Hillary Clinton was simply a bold faced lie. It was a lie that served to separate black men from black women and to divide our community. It was one that held us accountable for America's self-inflected wounds while at the same time defining us as less American and less supportive of our own community.
Indeed, the Pew report shows that black men broke 81% for Clinton to 14% for Trump. While I have not seen any new reports on the current breakdown of potential voters this cycle, I will safely venture to say that almost four years into the Trump nightmare, a larger % of black men will break for Biden-Harris over Trump-Pence.
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2018/08/09/an-examination-of-the-2016-electorate-based-on-validated-voters/
In contrast, white women voted 47% for Trump to 45% for Clinton, and white male voters broke respectively 62% for Trump vs 32% for Clinton.
Let me highlight one part. With a woman headlining a history-making ticket, more than 47% of women (many white christian women) supported a man who bragged about moving on a married woman "like a b!tch" and boasted that when you're a star you can "grab 'em by the pu$$y." Moreover, 62% of men (white christian men) was Ok with that attitude and behavior.
As Americans, black people love this country despite its flaws and inasmuch as we want to see the Union be perfected, the Trump fiasco is NOT our cross to bear. The destruction of American democracy does NOT rest on our shoulders.
Black people have and will continue to love this country and stay on the right side of the history. However, white Americans need to step up and right their wrongs on the mistake that is Trump.
We know that Trump's accusations and reflections on others are generally a reflection of what he is actually doing. Therefore, knowing this fact, white Americans have the responsibility and the capacity to make sure that Trump does not turn these United States into a $h!th0le country.
So next time a magazine or Russian troll try to push the narrative of the mysoginist black man, remember that they are fanning the flames of division with the hope that we don't show up at the polls.
To that I say: let's respond by voting. Vote early, make a plan to vote and bring someone else to vote.
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