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By TC Lewis
In a world full of deep fakes, fake news, news burnout and information overload, it can be easy to be overwhelmed by the increasingly chaotic state of American politics. In this election, apathy poses the greatest threat to Black voters. By taking a longer, broader view at the impact today’s vote may have on tomorrow’s Black America, perhaps the apathy of now can be transformed into passion and enthusiasm for later generations of Black citizens.
A Howard University poll found that over one-third of Black voters felt their vote didn’t matter. In the words of National HBCU Coordinator of the Fair Election Center’s campus vote project, Dominique Mitchell, “Our votes matter. If it did not matter, why would they try to suppress it?”
A concentrated effort is being put into voter suppression in the form of voter roll purges, ID requirements for registered voters, redistricting to dilute Black voting blocks, and imposing limits to voting hours and/or early voting.
According to the Carnegie Corporation of New York, “voter suppression tactics…aim to essentially make voting inaccessible.” These tactics disproportionately impact low-income communities of color.
The National Education Association says race-based voter suppression is the 21st century form of Jim Crow.
Kimeka Campbell, co-founder of the Young Professionals of Color, a collective in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, said “Many Black Americans are disillusioned with politics because of pledges made to their communities that weren’t delivered on.”
“I hear people say, ‘Why would I vote? These people don’t have my interests at heart, and I don’t want to subject myself to thinking about it,’” Campbell said.
The truth is, Black votes matter.
Reports from the Center for American Progress, the Democracy Fund, the Brookings Institution and the Bipartisan Policy Center state that black voters are among the most stable voting bloc in politics. Additionally, the Black vote has proved to be decisive in presidential elections, often tipping the balance in favor of candidates who prioritize the concerns of Black voters. In 2020, Black women were critical to ensuring a Biden-Harris victory, stopping a dreaded second term for President Trump.
At the time of publication, both major party candidates are polling within 1% of each other, so this year more than ever, every vote counts.
With Project 2025 looming on the horizon as the perceived gameplan of the Trump 2024 campaign, Black voters may once again make the difference in November. Analysis conducted by the National Urban League finds that Project 2025 aims to dismantle federal agencies that protect the interests of everyday Americans.
The Urban League reported that the time and efforts invested “to make the education system equitable, hold polluters accountable, and expand public health are at risk of complete erasure. In addition, thousands of government jobs are at risk of being lost, many in our community.”
Many of the resources residents may take for granted, namely community-based health services, neighborhood recreation centers, discrimination protections, workplace safety regulations, federal labor standards and environmental protections may be eliminated and forgotten if voter apathy persists. This notion exemplifies the impact voting has on our daily lives and in the lives of our descendants.
What we decide in the voting booth will be the blueprint for the future.
In this election, as in every presidential election, much more than who occupies the White House is at stake. Voting is not just your right, it’s your responsibility to future generations. The (albeit limited) freedoms our ancestors voted for, like integration, public education, public healthcare and disability rights are under attack. When our ancestors voted for these things, they were all longshots, and many of them didn’t live to see the fruits of their own labor, but we still benefit today from the things they voted for back then.
They faced the same choice we face today: speak or be silent. What world will your votes pass on to our future Black Americans? Will you fight today for the citizens of tomorrow, or will you be silent?
At the Democratic National Convention in August, Michelle Obama called the country to honor the legacy of our ancestors.
“Our fate is in our hands . . . We have the power to turn our country away from the fear, division and smallness of the past. We have the power to marry our hope with our action. We have the power to pay forward the love, sweat and sacrifice of our mothers and fathers and all those who came before us. We did it before, y’all, and we sure can do it again,” Obama said.
TC Lewis is a media professional and an aspiring cybersecurity analyst. A graduate of Kent State University, TC has worked in local media spaces, most notably as an on-air radio host, producer and program director for five years at WOVU 95.9 FM. In her free time, TC enjoys indulging in reality television, podcasting and micro-farming.
