At a time of political uncertainty, one thing is for sure: The American electorate is shifting. Voters are up for grabs. The top polling candidates are the least popular. People are on the look out for new options—including Black people.
Republicans have mistaken the consistency with which Black Americans vote for Democrats as enthusiastic support, rather than choosing the devil they know over the one they don't know. Of course, Democrats, too, act as if Black Americans voting blue is something encoded in our DNA, rather than us choosing what is familiar and cultural. But culture inevitably changes, and so can voting patterns.
When I was a Democrat, the only Republicans I knew of were on my television, and they were never shown in a positive light. They were illustrated by the mainstream media apparatus as buffoons with idiotic ideas who were callously individualistic, and, of course, bigots. When I was introduced to politics, I was told there were two parties: The Democrats are "for Blacks" and the Republicans are racists. But here's the thing: I had no personal example of a Republican whom I could point to who could challenge this simplistic perception. This political theory was backed up by what seemed like the facts on the ground. No Republican took the time to disabuse me or anyone in my community of our perception.
Today I understand that many of the narratives put forth by the media are heavily biased and purposefully misleading, designed to create a misinformed population that will have no interest in challenging the media's narrative. And yet, like me 10 years ago, many Black Americans have no personal relationship with any Republicans, a situation that's compounded by the lack of initiative put in by the Republican Party to campaign where the majority of Black people live, in or around urban city centers.
We're easy enough to find. According to Census Bureau data, 60 percent of Black Americans live in 10 states, and you could probably name those states by their major cities that are located in them. Yet those cities are seen by the GOP as impenetrable Democrat strongholds unworthy of wasting money or effort in competing for the votes of the individuals that reside within them.
It's a real shame—especially because the concerns of today's Republican Party are much in line with those of many Black Americans. Today's Republicans claim to be the party of the working class and advocates of the forgotten American. They say they care about the state of education and hammer on about the failures of government-run schools. They see how progressive district attorneys are giving leniency to criminals and creating a chaotic environment for the innocent throughout the country. They're angry at the FBI targeting American citizens for their political views.
These are the issues Black Americans care about, too. We've long experienced the failures of the public school system in educating our Black children while the party of the teachers' unions places their donor money ahead of giving our children options for educational success. In the one-party ruled state of California, only 24 percent of Black boys and 38 percent of Black girls meet the state's reading standards. I went so far as to pull my son out of a failing public school and am homeschooling him to keep him safe from a violent and chaotic public school.
Why aren't Republicans trying to get my vote?
When those progressive district attorneys give leniency to criminals, where do you think those criminals go? Whom do you think they're likely to violate when they return to the streets?
Why aren't Republicans showing up to tell us they've got our backs?
Like many Republicans, we see how the Biden administration nickel and dimes the American public but will indiscriminately fund foreign conflicts and nations without hesitation. We see the divide between winners and losers and watched how our preferred political party encouraged continuously locking us down, forcing many of us into unemployment or into losing our small businesses while allowing massive corporations like Amazon, Walmart, and Target carte blanche operational capabilities.
Why aren't Republicans banging down our doors?
The GOP could absolutely be a home for Black Americans—but they have to want it. From the perspective of many black Americans, the Republican Party is an absentee party that doesn't care enough to get their vote.
When the Democrat cities that we reside in begin to deteriorate, they gleefully say "They voted for it" but they rarely show up as an option on a ballot for us to vote for.
How exactly do you vote for someone that isn't running?
The alignment in concerns between Republicans and Black Americans is there—but in order for there to be a change, the Republican Party needs to show up.
Adam B. Coleman is the author of "Black Victim To Black Victor" and the Founder of Wrong Speak Publishing. Find his writing Adambcoleman.substack.com. Follow him on Twitter @wrong_speak.
The views in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
