4 Takeaways from Listening to Black Men
On election day eve, I hosted a live unscripted discussion on the Politicking platform to engage black men in a discussion of the 2020 presidential election. Learn what they are fighting for, their take on the last four years, and what drives them to the polls.
Our guest panelists were DeRay McKesson, Jeff Johnson, Ayo Duville, and Pierry Benjamin. Each guest contributed experience-rich insight on what they were fighting for, their take on the last four years, what influences them, motivates them, and drives them to the polls individually and as they organize. The first three men backed Biden and the third unapologetically voted for Trump.
For the men who spoke in favor of Biden, the choice at the ballot is not three-dimensional chess with the democratic party. Among other facts, they cited black viewers who lost family members due to the virus are not as concerned with whether democrats take our vote for granted. That’s later. After the incompetence is stripped from the White House. Right now, it’s about limiting the harm. They are asking what more they can lose? What more harm can be done with a second Trump term?
More, these brothers connect policy with rhetoric in no uncertain terms. Most may find this as common sense, but I’ll spell it out anyway.
Stark examples include when the president says, we will respond with “fire and fury, the likes of which you’ve never seen before” when referring to North Korea. They see world war. It’s not strictly emotional, it has a real-world data-driven consequence. Resulting in a very real and calculated death toll. When the president’s campaign aides and advisors are arrested and convicted, they see a criminal. The consequence is a web of corruption. They have higher expectations for our nation’s moral and policy outcomes than their black male dissenters.
Don’t Talk About Us Without Us
The reason to create this space was to dive into the complexities of the black male experience in the electorate. Showing up for each other in this space means disagreements and healthy tension. I’ll get to that. All in, our guests agree that the limitations of national coverage and the structured forums do not feature our voice.
Yet we play a critical role in modern elections. As alleged in the post-2016 exit polls, which highlight us as a deciding demographic who vote “against our own interests” — backing Trump and betraying the democratic party. Yet on national stages pre-election day speaking to us directly is limited. This year’s presidential debates featured black men as the primary audience in disturbingly few segments: criminal justice reform, police brutality, unemployment, and a Trump nod to HBCU funding. With this context, our role in the electorate primarily centers around disenfranchisement. There’s truth to that. But…
What would that do for those who feel they are enfranchised? And others who genuinely want their piece of the pie to grow? They may listen closer to the “what do you have to lose?!?” rhetoric. Turnout may spike and motivations get more sinister. It’s possible it did [2012 saw 10% in battleground states for republican messaging, by 2020 upwards of 15% of black men voted republican].
Further logical leaps ensue, in fact, our final guest asked, “what has Donald Trump done explicitly that hurts black people and us. Not, just what he says, but his policies?” The standard for this guest is harm, not benefit in this question. Although he started with convinced of benefits, just a few moments before. In response, I lightened the exchange, I directly answered with withdrawal from the Paris Accord and the response to the pandemic. The subject shift at this moment comes with an important caveat. Our viewers have lost family members due to the administration’s response to COVID-19.
Appeals to Morality Shifted the Dialogue, Slightly
On morals, our republican leaning guest spoke directly to “wanting the bully on his side [team].” I heard this within a win-lose framework our politics have devolved into, strikingly similar to the Proud Boys faction of the republican party who feel like they are losing [economically] to the new majority and alleged rising progressive movement. The irony here is exactly what you’re thinking.
A black republican man has something in common with white men who want him eliminated….cue the Clayton Bigsby clip... If you are scratching your head in confusion, I was too. At this point, attempting to unpack this perspective is as bizarre as it is fascinating. Let’s try, just with the bullying line. In his view 1) bullying is inherently acceptable now, 2) there is a sense of confidence that the bully is on your side, rather than his own side, and lastly 3) we somehow trust the bully who’s known to lie, regularly.
Do Black Men Vote for Their Wallet?
Earlier in our discussion, cousin Jeff dropped some gems that later proved to be true for the right-leaning segment. He told us that those who lean republican do so because “black men vote for their wallet, and black women vote for their community.” The reasoning connects to the growing segment of black men supporting republican voters, who believe somehow that pro-business means better for them personally and their kin. Despite the fact that from Truman to Trump, under democratic presidents the US fared better economically (real GDP) by an average of 1.6x faster. More, private-sector job growth has been faster under Democratic presidents [says the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress, The Economy Under Dem v. Rep Presidents, June 2016].
On the question of decency and on to expansive debate on racial equity, we touched lightly on “good people on both sides”, “stand-back and stand-by”, and the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. This was all taken as no different than “grab-em by the ____”. The topics had no effect on a black man who believes in benefits accrued as the bottom line look better for him under Republican rule in the White House. Again, he relied on the “talk is not policy” talking point. That I find unconvincing. We are what we say. Our word does matter. What we say holds weight. History has extraordinary lessons on this subject. Especially for the president.
What brings us together
Here’s what we were looking for and we think we got it.
A safe space for dialogue about these issues and an opportunity to feature different perspectives. As for the mysterious demographic of black men, DeRay and Jeff both highlighted a takeaway worth noting. The vast majority of black men do not support discriminatory rhetoric, the policy that follows, and bullying as central to the character of foreign policy nor for our individual interests at home. We seek our own individual truths when analyzing political news and get them from varied sources. Inevitably, our perspectives are inherently tied to our diverse stories. What we have in common is that relationships with each other, our fathers, and our grandfathers are what binds us together. We need to talk more, about our differences and invest in platforms that connect us.
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We’ll do this again soon.
