Last night, Democrats made history with Doug Jones’ win in the Senate special election in Alabama. Going into the race, pundits across the board decided that black people were “unenthusiastic” and “uninspired” about Jones. To that end, Democrats wondered if black voters would turn out in high enough numbers to secure a win, while Republicans did everything they could to suppress black votes in the state. Republicans were also counting on low black turnout (at least the ones they hadn’t successfully marginalized), considering this was a special election taking place in a non-presidential year.
What we now know is that black voter turnout exceeded all expectation and provided the margin Jones needed to win. While blacks make up 26 percent of the population in the state, they made up almost 30 percent of voters in the election. A very wise woman (Daily Kos contributing editor Denise Oliver Velez) had something very important to say about this: it’s time for Democrats to wake up and smell the black coffee.
If you think black people are gonna sit on their hands and ignore Roy Moore lauding slavery, that we have forgotten Selma and Birmingham and those four black girls [killed in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963], and the daily racism we live with just trying to go about our business and live our lives—think again. Wake up and smell the black coffee, folks.
In spite of concerted and ongoing efforts by white people to suppress and disenfranchise the black vote—not just in Alabama—we continue to be the most dependable Democratic Party voting block. Period. Especially black women, though our brothers are far more often disallowed from voting due to having a record or being incarcerated.
Whew. That is real. Let’s take a moment to take that in.
If you know Denise (who is a former member of both the Black Panther Party and Young Lords Party), you know she always speaks the truths that need telling. And this is no exception. Despite our reliability and consistency in showing up to vote for the Democratic Party, there has been a lot of mistrust and blame heaped on black voters for recent losses, particularly in 2016. This is misplaced and incredibly problematic—especially because it means some Democrats quickly shame and vilify black folks while expecting us to do all the lifting needed to deliver a win.
It also ignores the fundamental fact that, in most campaigns, Democrats fail to reach out to their base and turn us out to vote. There has been a predictable pattern of candidates and the party expending an enormous amount of energy and effort in reaching out to the voters (mainly white working-class) who haven’t been with us in decades rather than organizing and mobilizing the ones who have, along with the rising electorate (young people, people of color, unmarried women).
One of the things that made turnout so successful yesterday was the fact that the ground game to get out black votes was much stronger than it has been recently, and most certainly stronger than it was in 2016. The NAACP encouraged local chapters in the state to call registered voters who didn’t vote in 2016 and there was a well-coordinated effort to canvass, register voters, offer rides to the polls, and educate voters in places like Mobile, Huntsville, and Birmingham. This made a huge difference.
But while we are talking about how black voters (especially black women) have saved the day in Alabama and consistently show up and save everyone, let’s also acknowledge that this routine expectation and demand of our labor is toxic. It continues to absolve white people (as a whole) from voting the right way and from doing the hard work of organizing other white people at a time when it is most needed.
Frankly, this whole notion of thanking black women has become lazy—both intellectually and in terms of an approach to creating actual change. Right now, people across the country are patting themselves on the back and feeling proud of themselves for thanking black women. Not only is this self-serving, it comes without any thought as to why black women might be voting this way or how, as a society, we can really show our appreciation. These quotes are from the satirical blog, The Reductress, in a post about how white women are applauding themselves for recognizing black women’s votes. While they aren’t real, if you were on social media on Tuesday night or Wednesday, you likely saw similar comments coming from people around the country.
“It’s really important that we white women take time to thank black women for overwhelmingly doing the right thing in this election,” said Cindy Mulaney of Oklahoma. “And once we do, we should thank ourselves for overwhelmingly doing the right thing by thanking those black women. We deserve it.” [...]
“Black women really deserve most of the credit for voting so influentially,” commented Angela Pierce of Danvers, MA. “And white women deserve the rest of the credit for making sure to publicly thank black women for doing so.”
Here’s the thing everyone should know: black women are not voting the right way to save white people or to save the world. We are actually voting Democratic because we know the Republican alternative is unthinkable—for ourselves and the people we love. We aren’t anyone’s mammies or pets and we don’t go to the poll as martyrs for justice. There is no falling on our swords. We know that when Donald Trump says he wishes the police would be “more (physically) rough” with suspects, he actually means it. And we know that it will have a tangible, negative impact on ourselves and our loved ones.
We know that when Roy Moore says that during times of slavery, families were more unified, this perspective erases our history and does not acknowledge all the ways our families were split apart and our babies ripped away from us for the purposes of keeping us in bondage to grow an economy. We know that when Republicans talk about cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security that it will be harder for us to get necessary medical care and that our poor, elderly, and disabled family members will also suffer. We know that the days of Jim Crow aren’t all that far behind us and that many of the policies coming out the modern Republican Party are pushing us deeper into inequality.
Our votes are about preserving quality of life and creating an alternative reality for ourselves and our loved ones that is greater, filled with possibilities, and more dignified than the one we currently exist in. We know that when we are taken care of, everyone we care about is. Going forward, Democrats can learn a huge lesson here and invest in us. But this goes far beyond what we can deliver at the ballot box. The country can also benefit from our smarts and commitment by investing in creating opportunities for us to lead, create businesses, and contribute to innovation and equality across the board.
But more importantly, this is a time for folks to ask: If black women and men are so routinely thinking about improving conditions for themselves and their families, why aren’t white people? In 2016 and this year in both Virginia and Alabama, white people overwhelmingly voted Republican—even when the candidates were despicable and vile. So much so that being a sexual predator meant almost nothing when casting a vote for Donald Trump or Roy Moore. They were all in. So instead of the hyper-focus on black folks saving the country, perhaps we should really be asking why, especially after this last year, white folks still insist on destroying it?