Thread by @blackwomenviews

Thread: I really need y'all political Johnny Come Lately Black saviors to understand: a lack of good ideas & will power are NOT why we haven't made more advancements in the Black community. Even ideas that once implemented are incredibly popular often took DECADES of advocacy.

Let's talk institutional power. Cube & others have taken to saying we have over 7,000 Black people elected and gotten nothing 🤔(false). Context matters there are 500000 elected officials in the US with Black electeds accounting for ~9K/2%. That power is not evenly distributed.

Let's look at the US Congress. Out of 12,526 individuals elected, only 162/1.3% are Black. The current session of Congress has the highest number of Black electeds with 57 out of 541. While Black officials make up 11.7% of VOTING members in the House they are 3% in the Senate.

We already know there has only been 1 Black President and no VPs, so let's talk cabinet officials. There have only been 22 Black cabinet secretaries in history with the FIRST (Bob Weaver) appointed in 1966 & 1st Black woman (Patricia Roberts Harris) appointed in 1977.

Let's talk about Article III Federal Judges. There have been ~ 3,427 judges since 1789, but only 224/6.5% have been Black. Currently 146/870 authorized judgeships are filled by Black judges (16.8%). Trump has reversed gains by appointing ZERO Black judges to the court of appeals.

Let's talk state level. There are currently ZERO Black governors. We have only had 2 elected in history with an additional 2 succeeding an ousted governor. We have NEVER had a Black woman governor of any state.

Black candidates have faced incredible headwinds even in states with significant Black populations. Case & point Mississippi that has the HIGHEST % of Black people in the US. Mike Espy is running to change that running for US Senate.
google.com/amp/s/theconve…

Let's talk specific policies. Ice Cube's Contract for Black America calls for Anti-Lynching to become a federal crime. It has been attempted over 200 times for 100 YEARS! VP nominee #KamalaHarris championed it in the Senate years b4 Cube made 2 peeps about it.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was a 15 yr legislative fight. You know who led the charge? The CBC folks love to trash led by John Conyers. It took 14 yrs for every state to recognize the holiday after passing at the federal level. That's 29yrs for 1 holiday.
history.com/news/martin-lu…

The NMAAHC is the 4th most visited Smithsonian; yet it took DECADES to garner legislative support. Rep Mickey Leland introduced the 1st resolution for a national Black museum in 86. Rep John Lewis introduced the 1st bill in 88. Legislation passed in 03 leading to a 2016 opening.

I could keep going but the moral of the thread is none of the armchair quarterbacks on Twitter or in Hollywood who denigrate the work of Black electeds have an ounce of the dedication it takes to make change. NOTHING comes easy for us so join with the leaders or STFU.

PS- These changes were ALSO made possible by folks SUPPORTING electeds who pushed for legislative change. Folks voted, boycotted, protested and more. Will you be a loud mouth vote suppressing, ill-informed obstructionist? Or will you set ego aside & support those doing the work?

Here is the unrolled version of this thread for those who asked.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1318241…