The 2020 election has come to a relative close. After exposure of a deeply divided America, weeks of anticipated state poll results, and threatened riots from each side, it has been officially declared that Joe Biden will serve the next four years in office as the President of the United States of America, and it appears as though the two run-offs in Georgia will also flip the senate to Democrat control. This is certainly a win for the Democrats. So how did we end up here? Well, if you desire to, you can thank Black Americans.
Black America has only recently started gaining credit for the things they created and pioneered such as clothing trends, music, and slang (much of which comes from African American Vernacular English) to name a few. During President Barack Obama’s eight years in office, the recognition of the power in Black voters rose to the surface of the media and opened the eyes of white America, as well as the eyes of Black people individually.
As Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright stated in The Guardian,“What we’re all re-learning, both the pundits in DC and uninspired Black voters, is the value of our net worth when we show up at the ballot box. Even when we’re suppressed, depressed, or misinformed, we still show up.”
This election, there was an interesting divide between Black Democrats and Republicans. Candace Owens, a conservative political activist, has claimed that Black democrats are stuck in a “plantation” or slave mindset, dividing many Black voters. Black Democrats, however, have successfully ignored these claims and continued to vote independently of such vitriolic rhetoric.
Interestingly, Joe Biden actually considered dropping out of the race after he received negative results from early voting states, until South Carolina came in to save the day. And according to The Guardian, “Black Americans once again stepped up to give the Democrat the backbone of his support, especially in key battleground states including Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.” Further, “Black voters backed the Democratic candidate by a margin of 87% to Donald Trump’s 12%. But Seawright had ‘been saying Black voters will decide the election since 2017’, last predicting South Carolina’s loyal Black moderates would propel Biden to victory in the state’s February Democratic primary.” This represents quite a shift in perspective on Black power.
Black people have shown time and time again that we will persist. Through a pandemic, through systemic racism, and through prejudice; we will show up.
