Tag Archives: The Franchise

African-American Males, African-American Men, Black Males, Black Men, EDUCATION, POLITICS

A Few Thoughts Regarding Why Many Black Men Will Not Be Voting In This Year’s Election: It’s A Missed Opportunity

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Y’all telling me that I need to get out and vote, huh, why?
Ain’t nobody black running but crack-kers, so, why I got to register?
I’m thinking of better shit to do with my time!!!!!

Andre 3000 (OutKast)

 

The criticism hurled at Black males always increases during political season. One could set their clock by it. Politically engaged Black men realize they are destined to be blamed when a candidate such as Stacey Abrams loses while receiving little of the celebratory kudos when Barack Obama ascends to the Oval Office.

As with most things involving Black men, the injection of their presence into political discussion problematizes matters exponentially. Predictably, much discussion about Black men and the franchise occurs without their input. We are frequently relegated to lab mice commented upon by political talking heads.

If only the political pundits that speak with unwarranted authority resting on little more than copious amounts of historical illiteracy regarding America’s convoluted racial history abandoned such foolishness, they may learn that Black males’ non-participation is attributable to the perceived irrelevance of American politics. Far too many poor and working-class Black men have been positioned in a “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” situation. OutKast’s Andre 3000 insightful lyric that he is “thinking of better shit to do with my time” sums up many Black males’ view of the worthlessness of political engagement.

It is difficult to argue against well-known data that highlights Black men lagging behind their contemporaries in a host of areas such as:

  • Educational Achievement
  • Life-Expectancy
  • Income
  • Incarceration Rates

When one considers that we are all conversant on the myriad issues facing Black men, it is time that we begin searching for solutions to the above societal maladies.

The most crucial question facing Black America should revolve around Black men’s inability to recognize that their past, present, and future plights are inextricably linked to the political arena.

Unlike many of my contemporaries, I place the blame for Black males’ withdrawal from the political arena at the feet of Black America. I fully realize that it is a contentious thought to place the blame for Black male struggles in the political arena at the feet of our kind; however, such an assignment is the only one capable of alleviating the matter. Put simply, if we don’t own this problem, we will never take the definitive steps to mitigate it.

As has been consistently stated by those interested in uplifting Black males, “no one is coming to save you Black man.” Hence, we must educate our own in regard to history, politics, culture, economics, etc. Relevant education is the only path capable of reversing the unfortunate pattern of Black men ignoring the political process. I am sure that you agree that an absence of understanding regarding politics guarantees Black America will continue to reap the worst things this society has to offer.

The onus is on Black educators to teach, re-teach, and teach important life-saving material to their brethren. Yet, those in desperate need of such illumination also have a responsibility to listen and learn from those experts who are willing to teach.

We must never forget that “WE ALL THAT WE GOT!!!!!”

 

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We’ve Seen This Political Dance Before: Why The Shift from Biden to Bloomberg Says So Much About Inept Black Political Leaders

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Maybe it is God’s fault for making Blacks the way that they seemingly are. Meaning the propensity to be so eager to forgive any non-Black person who issues half-hearted insincere requests for forgiveness. On second thought it could be Black parents who should be blamed for not developing a semblance of common sense in their offspring. Better yet, it may be the school system that shoulders the brunt for Black America’s on-going failure to recognize their collective interests, develop a plan, and then execute the plan. Regardless of where the blame should be placed, I am sure that we agree that there is something wrong in regards to how Blacks deal with what can only be termed the commonsense political matters.

Evidence of Black America’s penchant for forgiving political figures who dedicated significant portions of their public life rallying the White community to aid in their efforts to further oppress their darker brothers and sisters abound. The latest example of what can be best termed Black America’s political stupidity is found in their escalating support of former New York City Mayor Michael “Stop and Frisk” Bloomberg.

Black America’s affinity for White political leaders who led the charge to harm them may be the lynchpin that activates Black political support. Could it be that the reason Black political leaders have advised their constituents to shift their support from Joe “Crime Bill” Biden to Michael “stop and frisk” Bloomberg is a subconscious, yet omnipresent self-hatred referenced by Black psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark’s “Black and White baby doll test?” When one considers the illogical decision-making of Black political leaders, questions regarding pervasive self-hatred are rather reasonable. Put simply; does the self-hatred of Black America run that deep?

I honestly thought it a joke when I heard that Black political and civic leaders in Houston, Texas were orchestrating a political rally called “Mike for Blacks” in support of “Frisky” Michael Bloomberg. After a moment of incredulous laughter, I realized that the alluded to event is what I have come to expect from a Black political leadership cadre perched between the lack of wisdom and political strategy. If nothing else, the alluded to leaders have proven consistent in their ability to fumble political opportunities.

Nevertheless, here we are AGAIN, witnessing self-appointed and White endorsed Black political leaders shifting their political allegiance from Joe Biden, the architect of a draconian crime bill that disrupted Black America in untold ways, to Michael Bloomberg, a man whose policies reveals a segregationist heart that reminds one of Strom Thurmond and Bull Connor. Although unfashionable to state, Joe Biden’s Crime Bill and Michael Bloomberg’s rationale and execution of his “stop and frisk” policy would be applauded by ardent segregationists of yesteryear and even today. Let me be clear on this matter, Michael Bloomberg, Black leaders political darling of the moment, was a key cog in the building, maintaining, and executing of institutional racism throughout New York City.

It is time that Black America wakes up and realizes that the thoughts, viewpoints, and activities that Michael “stop and frisk” Bloomberg executed as Mayor New York City represent his true identity and only a fool will believe that his public affinity for Blacks is anything other than a ploy to secure the crucial Black vote in his pursuit of the Democratic Party nomination. In many ways, it is criminal for Black leaders to convince naïve trusting constituents that Michael Bloomberg has had a “come to Jesus” moment that turned his heart of stone into one of flesh when it comes to Blacks.

As mentioned earlier, I am unsure of who to blame for the continuing existence of an uninformed Black electorate whose political expectations are not met by the rewards they have historically received for their crucial support. There is no room to argue against the assertion that the tradition of Black elected officials being installed for decades to serve as modern-day members of the know nothing and do- nothing party serves as a prerequisite to Blacks pervasive pessimism regarding the political process.

I am sure that you understand my hesitation to term the current Black political economy as an occurrence of “plantation politics”; I have no choice considering the evidence. There is no doubt that an uninformed Black populace has placed their votes in the pockets of opportunistic leaders whose most meaningful actions are the trading of those precious votes for a personal favor.

Black America’s never-ending “have not” status leaves one to deduce that Black leaders are some combination of grossly inept in their dealings with powerful Whites and sly like foxes in their dealings with uninformed, yet very trusting Black voters. This wicked formula invariably results in a continuation of Black misery and suffering of Black men, women, children, and babies. And as you well know, when mired in such a terrible situation the question of whose fault it is, finds itself a distant second to how do we get out of this situation. One thing is for certain, the solution to Black America’s problems will not be provided by inept political leaders who seemingly have made the alluded to suffering secondary to their opening of increasing their personal situation.

What a shame!!!!!!

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

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The Time has come to Take Definitive Action to Save America’s Working-Class Voters from Themselves: The Call for a Pre-Qualifying Test

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As an African-American Studies Professor, I long ago realized the sickening reality that America’s traditions of unadulterated irony and shameless contradiction began when slave owner Thomas Jefferson penned the words that “All men are created equal.” In the wake of the most pregnant moment in this nation’s history, America birthed a disappointing child that has yet to display character traits such as truth, justice, and honor. Such failings has forced African-Americans to engage in a never-ending battle for crucial politico-economic resources.

The battlefield for this contest is a political arena that theoretically provides all Americans some level of influence via its “one man, one vote” ethos. Unfortunately, a cursory examination of American history displays that many times, “the franchise”, the most crucial component in America’s Representative Democracy, has not always been accessible to all Americans.

Succeeding generations will review this moment in time and pen a historical record that details the shocking reality that the vast majority of our contemporaries lacked understanding of the vote’s supreme utility. There is no greater evidence for this assertion than the average American’s propensity to vote against their interests.

Poor and working-class Americans’ penchant to vote against their interests has grown to a level that the time has arrived for decisive action. This unbridled display of ignorance must be stopped “by any means necessary.”

Although I assert the following with a heavy heart, it is time that this nation to institute a logic test as a prerequisite for access to the franchise. As a historian of the African-American experience, any call for a qualifying test prior to the casting of a vote terrorizes doesn’t sit well within my soul. I am well-versed in the literacy tests and other qualifiers used by Whites to prevent Blacks from voting in this nation. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. America needs to be protected from the hordes of uninformed voters whose allegiance is won via phrase-mongering instead of proposed political policy.

I am certain that a few skeptics will consider this call a covert means of lessening the influence of a particular political party, it is not. This request flows from a desperate attempt to save America from low information voters guided by emotion, not intelligence.

One could argue that one of the fatal flaws of America’s Representative Democracy is that it provides all citizens an opportunity to voice their opinion via the vote; unfortunately, those political utterances are increasingly motivated by everything but intelligence. Unfortunately for Democracy’s sake, far too many Americans have proven incapable of evaluating their present situation and voting with an enlightened understanding of where the nation needs to go in the future for their lives to improve.

It is a bit embarrassing that the most marginalized among us are not the most engaged in the political process. They have yet to understand that their non-participation dooms them to continued politico-economic marginality. Unfortunately for the sake of Democracy and equality, America’s poor and working-class citizens have detached from the political process and doomed themselves to an inheritance of misery and suffering. Political strategies of misinformation will never cease by the ruling class as it is a primary pillar in the maintenance of their power quotient. It is only through voter education that this gross exploitation can be appropriately addressed. There appears to be no better way to guarantee the generation of an informed voting populace than to place an obstacle in front of the voting booth. Hopefully, it would raise the general understanding of Americans whose ability to voice their concerns via the ballot is a foundational principle of our representative democracy; I just hope that they have something substantial when they enter the voting booth.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

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