Miles Richardson|Staff Writer
So, after months of anxiety and social unrest centered around this election, we finally have a result.
Joe Biden ran his campaign by convincing the public that Donald Trump is the boogeyman for Black people. While being interviewed by Breakfast Club co-host Charlamagne tha God, Biden said, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.” Biden, along with many other political leftists, spent plenty of time, money and energy making sure we knew how important it was for us to vote Trump out of office. He blamed Trump for the COVID-19 deaths. During the first presidential debate, Biden critiqued Trump’s response to the COVID-19 death toll.
“It is what it is because you are who you are.”
He blamed him for the destruction caused by social justice riots and protests. At a campaign appearance in Delaware, Biden criticized Trump, “He’s stoking violence in our cities,” and went as far as blaming Trump for the deaths of Black citizens by the hands of police officers. At the same appearance in Delaware, Biden said about Trump, “This is the fact about how he is dealing with this perilous hour in our nation. And now, we have to stand against violence in every form it takes, violence we’ve seen again and again and again of unwarranted police shooting, excessive force, seven bullets in the back of Jacob Blake, knee on the neck of George Floyd, killing of Breonna Taylor in her own apartment.” Biden thought the quickest way for him to be elected was to be the boy who cried wolf. And it worked. So, what does all this mean for Black people? Absolutely nothing.
We voted for Biden and Kamala Harris because they told us everything we wanted to hear, and that’s OK. After all, the point of a democracy is to vote for the person who will best represent your interests. However, I would like to pose a question to all the Black voters out there: When was the last time the condition of Black people in America drastically improved under any president? I’ve only been alive 20 years, but I don’t ever remember a time when Black people were saying, “Yes! So and so just got elected. We’re OK now.” The reason for this is because a politician’s primary job is not to serve the people but to say and do whatever is necessary for them to obtain a political position. So, if you thought Biden was going to somehow eradicate systemic racism, you’ve been misled.
Ever since I was a boy, my parents and grandparents have always preached to me about the importance of voting. It was not until now that I understood why an election year meant so much to them. People get excited about elections because it gives them the opportunity to excuse themselves of all responsibility and allows them to hold someone else accountable for the state of their lives. I’ve witnessed this mentality take root in my community now more than ever.
For proof of this, just look to the protests held by angry citizens and the recent activities of the NBA. In order to push for change, LeBron James spearheaded a campaign to encourage people to vote as if we are so powerless that the only thing we can do to improve our livelihoods is pick the right white man and hope he comes through for us.
The recent protests seem to confirm this statement. Out of all of the protest footage I’ve seen over the last few months, I never saw one list of demands produced nor any sort of plan put together by Black people. Instead, these social justice protests were all about raising awareness, which is a nice way to say begging white people to solve our problems for us. The status of Black Americans will change when we get strategic about the improvement of our communities through actual work and planning.
Despite popular opinion, voting is not the most important thing you can do as an African American. What really matters is what you do when there’s no politician to beg or to blame.
The Hampton Script 