We are on the home stretch of yet another important political election in the state of Texas and across these United States of America.
Soon, the political ads and mudslinging will cease, and the world will return to normal—at least for a little while until the next local, county, state, or federal election comes around again.
When it comes to politics in this country, there is no denying that there seems to be one constant every election cycle in Texas and across this country, and that is the Black vote is ALWAYS important and will make or break an election, as it always tends to make a difference.
Although the African American community makes up roughly 13% of the overall population in the United States, Black voters remain the most loyal and powerful voting bloc in this country.
The Black vote, especially the 2.7 million eligible Black voters in Texas, can change the trajectory of any election when they are motivated to show up to the polls and vote.
There are narratives out now that the Black vote is down in Texas, so if that is the case, there must be a reason for this alleged low Black voter turnout thus far.
It is no secret that African Americans overwhelmingly vote for Democratic candidates in nearly every state and federal election, with identical results typically being reflected in county and local elections. Even in municipal elections, where those seats for Mayor and City Council are considered nonpartisan, African Americans tend to historically vote for candidates they believe have self-identified or campaigned as a Democrat. These are facts!
So, with this longstanding loyalty to the Democratic Party, coupled with this glaring sense of disinterest in connecting with Black voters by the Republican Party, is the African American community being treated like the proverbial political “Piñata”?
What is a “Piñata”?
Well, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a “Piñata” is “a decorated container filled with candies, fruits, and gifts that is hung up at parties or celebrations and hit with a stick by blindfolded persons until it is broken and the things inside it fall out.”
As it relates to voting, African Americans get treated like the treats inside of a Piñata, whereby political parties and candidates seem not to care how they get Black votes, as long as they just get the Black vote no matter how African Americans are treated or handled.
Just pay attention!
African American issues are consistently ignored, legislatively abused, and thrust to the bottom of the totem pole of every political party. Yet, African Americans are consistently pounded on and beat over the head to go to the polls and vote, just like a Piñata.
The Black vote is desired and pursued until those precious and valuable votes are FINALLY cast (or when the precious political Piñata is finally opened), to which African Americans are either praised for the desired outcome or vilified for the undesired outcome.
You have undoubtedly seen the predictable responses to Black voters.
When the election results do not turn out the way that those who relied on the Black vote want them to go, Black voters get blamed for the results. However, when the outcome is a favorable one, the political parties and candidates celebrate the results, and those loyal Black voters get no praise or attention after the election is over.
Again, the way Black voters are historically treated, it’s as if the Black voter has become a political Piñata.
Observing the way African Americans are strategically sought after and courted for the Black vote is an interesting phenomenon to watch. Political parties and candidates don’t do much as it relates to true outreach to the African American voter, as the same archaic methods are used to get Black people registered and seek to get Black voters to the polls—providing limited resources for voter outreach and education.
On the surface, African Americans are marketed to as if their sacred vote means so much, but historically that often changes once their vote is cast.
While this has been the norm for decades, African Americans have been on the receiving end of tremendous neglect and disparate treatment after their precious vote has been cast—regardless of the race or political affiliation of those holding office or in key decision-making positions.
Because Black voters overwhelmingly vote for Democratic candidates, it would behoove the Democratic Party to avoid treating Blacks like a political Piñata.
African Americans are more than just a vote!
African Americans have and continue to add value to this nation, as well as to our state and local governments. The Black voter must not be treated like a political Piñata.
African Americans must receive the same type of support and political respect that all other groups receive in this country, especially as it relates to the issues, resources, and legislation that are important to the Black community.
If Black voters aren’t respected and continue to be treated like a political Piñata, then it shouldn’t be surprising to anyone if Black voters were to create their own political party or switch back to the Republican Party. Keep in mind, African Americans have made the shift in their best interest historically before.
History shows us that African Americans heavily aligned themselves with the Republican Party between the Civil War and throughout the early part of the 20th century. The primary factor behind that loyalty to the Republican Party was President Abraham Lincoln, who was a Republican president who was responsible for the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation.
During that era, many in the Republican Party advocated for Black people and Black issues, while the Democratic Party served as the home of the Ku Klux Klan and advocated for segregationist policies that violated and went against the overall civil rights of Black people.
African Americans gained so much, economically, politically, and socially, but it was threatened by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, who attacked Blacks and threatened them to not cast their vote and to never support Republican candidates. In addition to that, the Democratic Party during that era, did not want African Americans to be a part of their political party and shunned Black people, primarily because the majority of their political party members were White, segregationist politicians who governed Southern states.
If you were Black and lived in the South, it was nothing to be prevented from voting or even getting registered to vote, without the use of poll taxes, literacy tests, and other means to dissuade Black people from voting.
It wasn’t until 1924, that African Americans were even permitted to attend Democratic conventions in any official capacity, and it wasn’t until 1948, that Democratic presidential candidate Harry Truman received roughly 77 percent of the Black vote and most Blacks started self-identifying as Democrats.
In 1956, Republican presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower got 39 percent of the Black vote, and in 1960, Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon got 32 percent of the Black vote.
However, with the advocacy of President John F. Kennedy, Black people began to look at the Democratic Party and the Republican Party quite differently. When President Lyndon B. Johnson championed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Republican presidential candidate Senator Barry Goldwater opposed it, Johnson received 94 percent of the Black vote that year.
The following year President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law, and not since that time, has any Republican presidential candidate gotten more than 15 percent of the Black vote. Legislative issues that impacted and benefited African Americans is just as important today, as they were during the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Civil Rights movement.
So, on November 8th, this midterm election cycle will serve as a true litmus test as to how Black voters feel about their precious vote, and if they will be sending a message to everyone that they are willing to do whatever it takes to avoid becoming a proverbial political Piñata.
Let’s hope Black voters don’t feel that way and that they are not treated that way moving forward!