How about this? It’s the relationships. Black people understand the importance of this election. Right now, we’re voting based on what we know and who we know. And we know Hillary Clinton. Do you think we don’t care about wars and foreign policy? People don’t see pictures of every soldier, marine, airman, or sailor that dies in these wars. Yet, we know that our sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, nieces and nephews, and grandchildren are among the many lost to war. We are the ones sending them off to fight these battles. And we are the ones receiving their bodies if they don’t make it home alive. You think we do not care about economic inequality? Black and brown people are the most economically disadvantaged people anywhere. You think we don’t care about free college? What does that matter when we are graduating children from high school that can not read? Or filling our communities with children that give up and drop out long before graduation? Or filling your jails because of the lack of education and opportunity? Please don’t talk to me about how we got here. We know all too well how we got here and it was not Hillary all by herself. Yes, there has been bad policy. Yes, she has voted/supported the wrong way on some issues. Yes, she has told us things and then changed her mind. So have many others that we have supported.
Some people are all about forgiveness until it comes to Hillary Clinton. There is no sin so slight that it can be overlooked. For her there is no redemption. Well, some people in general and this black woman in particular don’t think she is the Devil. We can see the flaws in people, forgive them their mistakes, hope that they learn from them and move on. I’m not looking for a savior, I already have one of those. I’m looking for someone who will hear me, will take my concerns into consideration, and make a decision based on the many voices being heard. She’s already been pushed more to the left in this primary season. And that’s great. “Oh she’s just saying what people want to hear.” Really? What politician do you know who is saying things people don’t want to hear?
After this election, we need to have a seat at the table. We’ve been at the table with the Clintons for many many years. Suddenly, we need to beg some unknown to invite us to sit at his table. And according to a recent photo, that too late invitation has not been reciprocated.
I asked a millennial, a black male, who he was voting for. He said Bernie Sanders. I asked him why and he told me. I then asked, what if he doesn’t win the nomination. He replied, “I’ll vote for Hillary Clinton; I’m not stupid.” Right now Hillary Clinton is the favorite. I equate it to the horse races. Hillary already has the Kentucky Derby. She’s a proven winner. We are now at the Preakness. If she wins, we’ll work for a Triple Crown. And if she doesn’t, we will switch to the one that stayed on her tail and work to win Belmont. We know that whatever bad things you think will happen to you with a Trump presidency, multiply that a thousand times and you get the lives of black and brown people.
But either way, know that we are not going away after this election whether our candidate, or our side, wins or loses. Our work will be harder if our side loses. But our work has always been hard. Hundreds of years and generations of fighting for voting rights, women’s rights, basic human rights, economic equality, racial justice, criminal justice reform, and anything else on that progressive agenda of yours since landing on these shores. We won’t give up; we can’t afford to. We won’t be quiet. We need to be heard.
And, if YOU were hearing us, you would stop asking that ridiculous question about why black people support Hillary Clinton. I supported Hillary in 2008, until Barack Obama convinced me that he would be the better choice. It was never that my support was hers to lose, it was his to win.
And it was the same with Bernie. I liked Bernie Sanders; still do. I liked what he had to say. But here’s the thing, “Millionaires and Billionaires” is not the answer to every question. He lost me early in this season. I’m unconvinced. You want to help him? Teach that man another song.
And teach him how to pick his friends. It’s not just you, it’s the company you keep. Cornel West? Really? Who is listening to him? Killer Mike? My millennial daughter, who is also a Hillary supporter, asked, “Who is he? And I don’t care.”
You cannot randomly select a few brown faces to pass on your message. You cannot hire one black woman to funnel all your messages through. You cannot show up in a handful of brown spaces in the months, weeks, days, or minutes before you need us, to convince us that you get it. Get what exactly? He hasn’t been gathering the data and cataloging the issues we face. He hasn’t been on the ground with us all of these years. He cultivated ZERO relationships with this diverse “minority” community in order to actually address any area of genuine concern. Until Bernie spends some real time in our communities listening to us instead of talking at us, he can go ahead and take a seat.