By Keith Boykin
Word In Black
Here we go again. A handful of rappers, celebrities and instigators out here are discouraging Black people from voting or trying to convince us that our vote doesn’t matter because both candidates are the same. Don’t believe them.
Keith Boykin is a New York Times–bestselling author, television and film producer, and former CNN political commentator. This week, he discusses the top 10 ways members of the African-American community can become better voters.
(Courtesy photo)
Every four years, a few vocal people — who rarely, if ever, use their voices to mobilize their followers to engage in specific political action — suddenly crawl out of the woodwork to spread misinformation about the next presidential election.
This year is no different. I thought about posting weekly rebuttals, but rather than spending the next two months debunking these voices over and over again, I want to ask two questions.
First, what’s their strategy to achieve their goals? Assuming you agree with everything they want to do, how do they propose to get it passed through our divided Congress, signed by the President into law and upheld by a Republican-dominated Supreme Court that now considers any race-specific remedy to be illegal or unconstitutional?
And second, if they had some genius strategy, where were they the last four years when Republican lawmakers and judges:
•Blocked the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act
•Blocked the John Lewis Voting Rights Act
• Ended affirmative action
• Halted Black farmers’ relief
• Restricted a venture capital fund for Black women
• Outlawed minority business grants
• Erased Black congressional districts
• Banned Black books
• Banned Black history classes
• Closed DEI offices
• Refused to indict the officers who killed Breonna Taylor
• Ousted Black lawmakers in Tennessee
• Arrested Black people for voting in Florida
• Banned civil rights groups in Georgia from providing food and water to people standing in long voting lines
Many of us have been playing defense without a full bench the last three quarters, and we could have used some help from all the new celebrity players showing up in the fourth quarter who want to change the playbook.
As Malcolm X said, “Show me in the White community where a singer is a White leader.” Yes, celebrities have a valuable supporting role to play, but they don’t get to show up two months before an election, ignore the work of Black thought leaders and demand a meeting with a presidential candidate like they’re some official spokesman for Black America.
So, instead of spending the next eight weeks responding to every lie about Kamala Harris, I propose 10 constructive things we can do to help advance our political agenda well into the future.
Ten things we can do
1-Get informed. Follow the news. Take a class. Become a critical thinker and more sophisticated consumer of information. I read dozens of news sources every day. You don’t have to read that many, but don’t rely on one source for all your news. Review multiple, credible sources.
2-Verify the information you share. Learn to spot misinformation. And try not to forward fake news. Fact-checkers like Daniel Dale, Snopes.com, Factcheck.org and Politifact try to debunk misinformation, but sometimes they make mistakes or can’t keep up. That’s why you need to know your sources. Media outlets like Fox News, the New York Post, Newsmax, TownHall, the National Review and the Wall Street Journal editorial page have a distinct right-wing political bias that favors Trump and the Republicans. Also, rappers, athletes and celebrities have every right to share their opinions, but they’re not always the most reliable sources for information about government and politics.
3-Vote. Election Day is November 5, but some states require you to register weeks before then. Go to Vote.org today to find the voter registration deadline in your state. If you think you’re already registered, know that Republicans are trying to challenge and purge inactive voters. So check to make sure your name has not been removed from the rolls.
4-Attend local government meetings. Many of the decisions that affect us, including where liquor stores and pollution sites are built and which books are banned in schools, are made at local public meetings that very few people bother to attend. Go there and speak up.
5-Volunteer. Campaigns are always looking for people to make phone calls and knock on doors. Drop by the local campaign office, sign up to host an event, put up yard signs, or become a poll watcher. This is especially important if you live in one of the seven battleground states that will determine the election: Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada.
6-Donate. If you’re not invested in the presidential election, find a candidate you do support and contribute to their campaign. This year, we have 435 House members, 34 Senators, 11 governors’ races, nine lieutenant governor seats, 10 attorneys general, seven secretaries of state and thousands of lower-level offices up for election in November. Unlike the presidential campaign, many of these candidates never get the attention and resources they need to win. Your money could make all the difference.
7-Don’t Reinvent the Wheel. Support organizations that are already doing the work. Groups like Color of Change and the NAACP are developing important policy goals and working to implement them.
8-Lobby your elected officials. The president can make some critical unilateral decisions for the country, but most government decisions that affect your day-to-day life are made by Congress, your state legislature, your county commissioners, your city council, your zoning board and your school board. Do you know these officials? Visit their offices. Call them up. Write them letters. Let them know what issues you care about. The phone number for the U.S. Capitol switchboard is (202) 224-3121.
9-Run for office. If you’re not satisfied with the people in government, show them how it’s done. Run for school board, town council, state representative or even Congress. Don’t expect somebody else to do it for you. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.
10-Start a PAC. This is one of the most difficult tasks on the list, but it can be done. If none of the other steps work for you, you can start your own political action committee to fight for the causes you believe in. You can even create a legislative scorecard to give ratings to members of Congress based on the issues you care about.
There are dozens of other constructive things you can do, so don’t be limited by this list. But remember this guiding principle. Cynicism is not a strategy, and apathy is not a solution.
This article was originally published by Word in Black.
