By Dave Devereaux
Changing Our Narrative
With the most divisive election only two weeks away, America has set the stage for one of the most important performances of any country in the last century. The dissension among voters from both sides is being played out loudly and sometimes violently. Once upon a time, we were able to agree to disagree, but today all those rules appear to be old and nonexistent during this political race. This election has strained friendships, weakened family dynamics and made enemies of the other side, along with ill feelings that accompany a strong demand for racial equality, a review of women’s rights and a demand for renewed social justice.
The one issue that seems to not be a focus of the mainstream media is the importance of the black male’s vote. Statistics are compiled on black women voters, who are discussed as a group, but not on black males. This discussion is crucial during this election in order to solidify our need for a concise plan of how to change the way black males are viewed and treated in America. The one group that is more likely to leave home in the morning and never return due to police abuse, street violence or racist retaliation is the black male.
There are 41.99 million African Americans in America and of that total 19.74 million are black males and 60% of those males are of voting age. If that’s not a statistic worthy of discussion, I don’t know what is. In 2000, over 1.4 million of those men had a felony and in many states could not vote. Since then, many states have changed those laws to allow a felon the right to vote upon completion of parole or probationary status. Even with the loss of those numbers, black males still make up a large number of potential voters for any candidate. A demographic worthy of courting for significant numbers that could actually win a candidate’s campaign. Polling this group should not be ignored as black men possess significant power during an election year. Yet we are not seeing that happening from either side, Democrat or Republican.
There are a number of issues that the black male could raise during this election. One of them is poor employment numbers, despite COVID-19 and the lie that Donald Trump keeps telling that he has done more for the black community than any other President. Which by the way is so far from the truth, it sounds ridiculous when he says it. In February 2020 we were at 5.8 % unemployment, but as of September 2020 we have climbed to 12.6%. A huge increase during a six month stretch of the pandemic. Numbers like this have not been seen since President Obama began to work on improving employment statistics, of which fell to 7.2% by the time he left office in January 2017. Yet, much of this could have been avoided had Trump handled the pandemic differently from the onslaught. Now these numbers have come back to haunt him, but he is still unwilling to take responsibility for poorly handling this issue and causing so many to lose their jobs, livelyhoods, businesses and ultimately health care. This further exacerbates the economic state of black Americans as well as poor LatinX and whites.
African American males have a disproportionate level of access to good mental health services. Our community has been less tolerant of mental health support than our white counterparts. It was once believed that mental health support was not something we engaged in and most definitely did not talk about. As a result however, masses of men who could have benefited from therapy went undiagnosed and untreated. To confuse a man who may be having a mental health episode as opposed to being defiant with the police has caused many lives. Yet when there is a need for accountability, nothing happens to law enforcement personnel. They walk away with qualified immunity and the victim’s family is left with no closure, only anger and despair. This is a subject that black men should be speaking out and loud about. To change a culture of repeated abuse requires honest and sometimes bold dialogue. The steps toward this dialogue have taken place in the form of nationwide protests, but have somehow gotten lost under the number of other issues that have been lumped into the Black Lives Matter movement. I’m not saying that’s bad, but an issue as important as mental health has to be singled out.
Black males have and continue to experience a legacy of trauma. Just our mere existence requires us to reconcile with some level of trauma much more extensively than white males. Daily we are reminded of some aspect of being black that is not accepted. When you are unable to be yourself in certain environments, it leads you to feel guarded, anxious and misunderstood. This has been identified as P.T.S.S. or post traumatic slave syndrome, caused by centuries of slavery and oppression. Change will not take place during one administration, it has taken 400 years to even be identified, yet it has to be addressed and some effort made to change norms and beliefs in order to move forward. Black men must be willing to share their experiences to open dialogue with whites and other races in order to build empathy.
The issue of criminal justice system reform must be brought to bare. The system is unevenly set up to penalize men of color. It’s always obvious when you hear news reports of verdicts delivered differently for the same crime to black people versus a white person. When a black man receives jail time for a $25 item and a white male receives probation for rape, there is a huge problem with the way our criminal justice system works for all people. Punishments are not being doled out fairly or evenly. The laws state the punishments, but racist judges unfairly target black males with harsh, sometimes impossible sentences for crimes that garner a white perpetrator a far less sentence. Criminal Justice reform has to be a topic for discussion along with the development of a plan of how to meet those metrics for change. A review of the actions of judges may have to be a part of that review to determine if perhaps certain judges are the problem, since they wield such incredible power, they should be held accountable for following the law as well. Stop unfairly tacking criminal charges onto black men as a tool of systemic racism, under the guise of the law.
All these issues lead to my initial purpose for writing this article, and that is all black men within the voting age, must vote. You cannot complain about change, unless you take advantage of your right to be involved. So many people throughout history have paid with their lives to make sure that black people have the right to vote.
I could make issue with the recent declarations by Ice Cube and 50 Cent, but I will reserve that for others. My only comment is why make any Contract for Black America three weeks before a contentious election that few understand. However, the 13 point document which addresses concerns of the black community, is well written, but the timing falls short of being a document that many black Americans can get behind, especially since nobody knows who, other than Cube came up with these requests. While 50 Cent’s support of Donald Trump just makes the money mogul seem very selfish because his only concern is money. He acknowledges that Donald Trump is a racist but that does not matter to him. While any man has a right to support who they choose, I was disappointed that 50 Cent appears so shallow here with all we have been through the past four years and the blatant racism coming out of the White House.
November 3rd can’t come fast enough. I am worn, tired and anxious for the results. The misleading ads and fake accusations being made by both sides becomes confusing and causes you to question the real issues. I would suggest that prior to casting your vote, you become familiar with issues and question their real aim. Let’s make sure we do our part to make our voices heard gentlemen. Get out there, VOTE!
