(ThyBlackMan.com) Politics in America is quite confusing and grimy to say the least. There is so much red tape, false promises, and flat out lies that it is difficult to decide who will act in your best interest. It is no secret that African-Americans, in large number tend to lean towards the Democratic Party. One could day the Democrats take the African-American vote for granted, and once elected the promises give for the vote fade from their mind. There are some African-Americans that do vote Republican; they argue that we’ve trusted Democrats, but nothing has come it. Though they tend to make some sound arguments, too many African-Americans simply can’t get past the blatant provocation the Republicans either engage in, or allow that is a threat to our very existence.
One party clearly takes us for grants, while another is offensive to our face. There are those of us that would argue the best course of action is simply to leave both parties behind, and create our own part to represent the needs of our people and communities. Though this may sound like a great idea it’s neither simply…nor feasible. Creating a new party would require money, backing, and a constituency large enough to make the party a contender. We would miss the mark in all areas.
In our capitalist nation money talks even when it should not. We are seeing more African-Americans amass wealth; this is definitely a plus and a show of some progress. The problem is there are not enough of us in those multi-million dollar brackets that would be willing to dump money into a new party. You see, not every African-American with the wealth necessary would not back this cause. Furthermore, they are aware that even if they were content to write checks…it would take more than even whey have. Starting and maintaining a political party is no easy task. The division among the people on this matter would greatly affect the financial backing.
There are many political parties, however the Democrats and Republicans, as we all know, dominate the ballot of every election. This is something to consider before deciding we should abandon both parties. A any given time African-Americans are anywhere from 11-13% of the population. This would me we’d need support from other groups in the country to create a strong party. Basically, other people would need to leave the Democrats & Republicans also to join us in creating a party that will speak directly to what our people, and most Americans need. One could argue that it takes African-American being killed by say law enforcement on video, where it can’t be denied, for other POCs to rally to our cause. There would need to be people that are genuinely in our corner regarding issues that effect our community, and others. What we would not want to see is us putting in blood, sweat, and tears to get a party off the ground only to have it hijacked from us. Let’s not be naïve…it could happen.
Currently we simply don’t have the pooled resources, the backing, nor the population numbers to immediately create a new political party that would actually be a contender come election time. Don’t get me wrong African-Americans can start their own party…but will it be able to stand toe to toe with the Democrats and Republicans as of now, no it won’t.
However, we can begin to organize and look for ways to create a party that will be viable and beneficial given what we have to face. In the meantime, we must put pressure on the representatives we have currently. It is vital that we put pressure on local and state elected officials. We must vote in these elections as it can be argued Congress isn’t accountable to its constituents.
As a group we know African-Americans are not a monolith, but our threats and challenges in this country are pretty universal to all of us. No matter your education, station, tax bracket, gender or orientation being Black in America alone can pose challenges. These things need to be strongly taken into consideration when organizing and voting. No party should be made to feel that the African-American vote is guaranteed. Furthermore, no party should feel comfortable hurling insults then telling us we’re practically dumb for not voting for them. If you pay attention to Democrats & Republicans, you can see both of those behaviors present. Though many of us know exactly how corrupt the system is and feel that it has never truly served our community we must become more involved in the process. We must do this with our own voice and agenda verses that of the ruling majority. We must continue to work for betterment until it consistently shows itself in the manner that is best for our community.
Staff Writer; Christian Starr
May connect with this sister over at Facebook; C. Starr and also Twitter; MrzZeta.
