The primary Black voter electorate and the general Black voter electorate are not one in the same. Folks do need to grapple with the complexity of having someone go on such a popular platform, where his comments are bound to go viral, and choke as the VP did.
We also cite stats about folks thinking people should resign or not, or whether they are willing to support x candidate but rarely ever engage in discussion about the pragmatism of Black voters and how that reflects in those who choose to vote no matter what and those who sit out
Folks will say well Black voters don't care but rarely really address the fact that we have been voting for racists and folks who are working against our interests since we got the right to vote. For many older folks nothing has changed it's a matter of keeping out a greater evil
This doesn't mean that in reporting and analysis we stop at well folks would say they don't care. It's less that people don't care about shit talking Black voters, or using incarcerated Black men as a back drop to launch campaigns and appeal to white voters who won't show up.
We continue to do political reporting of Black voters and others of color a disservice when we do not dedicate the reporting and analysis to the considerations and complexities of how Black voters think and make decisions.
Reporters and campaigns find a way to segment and reflect on the different aspects of white voter thinking and behavior. We are subjected to countless what if analyses and think pieces, for the outcome to be the same over the last several decades.
Surely we can start shifting and devoting the same kind of careful reflection and reporting of BIPOC voters who are building and shaping our democracy in very important ways.
@threadreaderapp unroll
