The upcoming 2022 mid-term elections in November will be the most important election in the history of the United States for Black Americans. With the greatest political and cultural divide the country has ever witnessed, and with countless issues feeding the divide, this election will go a long way to determine the future of the country as a whole, and the future of Black America in particular. Quite literally, this could be the last free election the United States will ever see.
In the sixties, Black Americans realized that economic, educational, and social prosperity would only be realized through political power. Black politicians who understood the problems facing Black communities and had plans to solve those problems, needed to be elected. Developing such candidates was, sometimes, the challenge, but the real problem was mobilizing the Black citizenry to get out and vote for those candidates. The skepticism of politics in the Black community is strong, and that skepticism is warranted. Some politicians have a history of showing up in the community only during voting season, and not keeping promises made. But in the sixties and seventies, the community overcame many of those concerns, and Black mayors were elected in Cleveland, Chicago, Gary, D.C., Atlanta, Detroit, and Newark. More Black members of Congress were elected, as were state and local officials. It is sobering to think about how people were beaten and killed over the basic right to vote, yet it is that sacrifice that lead to the creation of Political Black Power.
In this election prominent issues such as personal rights of choice, banning books, and sanitizing the racial history of the United States are under attack. Even the 1965 Voting Rights Act is in jeopardy of being eliminated. There are more Black elected officials today than at any other time in U.S. history, yet because of these challenges, there is an ongoing need to elect more in order to create policies that will protect the community from those who peddle in bigotry and divisiveness. The election of President Obama proved what Political Black Power could do, and in conjunction with other coalitions, elected a Black man President of the United States. In the six years that President Obama has been out of office, there has been a continual and concerted effort to erode the progresses Black Americans have made. To thwart these threats, it will take the efforts of all of the coalitions of the past, plus the participation of a New Generation of strong, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and socially aware young adults.
The mandate is clear: Black Americans and their allies must get out and vote in the 2022 mid-term election. Too much is at stake. If you don’t vote, and the other guys win, you may never have the opportunity to ever vote again in a “free and fair” election in the United States of America.
10.14.2022
