“Black Vote, Black Power,” a collaboration between Keith Boykin and Word In Black, 
examines the issues, the candidates, and what’s at stake for Black America in the 2024 presidential election.

Stephen A. Smith has apologized for remarks last week suggesting that Trump was receiving support from the Black community because we relate to his legal woes.

“A lot of folks in Black America seem pretty pissed at me right now,” said the controversial ESPN host. “For that, I sincerely apologize.”

RELATED: Trump Does the Harlem Fake

But it wasn’t really an apology. 

Smith claimed that his words were “misconstrued, “taken out of context,” and misrepresented him in a way that he found “every bit as insulting and disrespectful as folks in Black America evidently felt about what they thought I said.”

No one likes to be misquoted, so let’s go back and revisit what Smith actually said.

Smith appeared on the Fox News “Hannity” show on April 18 and discussed Trump’s claim that “Black folks find him relatable because what he is going through is similar to what Black Americans have gone through.” Trump “wasn’t lying,” Smith said. “He was telling the truth.”

“When you see the law…being exercised against him, it is something that Black folks throughout this nation can relate to with some of our historic, iconic figures,” Smith told Fox News viewers. 

How, exactly, was that taken out of context? That’s not a statement about how Trump sees Black America but how Smith sees Black America responding to Trump’s trials.

Of course, Black people were upset. It’s insulting that Smith seems to compare Trump’s four criminal indictments and 88 felony charges to the legal attacks on iconic Black historical figures, presumably including people like Marcus Garvey, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Angela Davis, who were targeted by law enforcement because they were fighting for Black people. 

Trump, on the other hand, is facing two criminal cases for fighting against Black people by trying to throw out millions of Black votes in Atlanta, Detroit, Philadelphia, and other cities with large Black populations in states he lost in 2020. 

What’s most insulting about Smith’s argument is his attempt to equate the legal troubles of a self-proclaimed white “billionaire” with an army of lawyers assigned to delay his cases to the struggle of ordinary African Americans simply trying to pay their bills and not get harassed by the police. “We relate to you when you’re suffering like that cause we know we have,” Smith told Hannity. 

Even the NAACP mocked Smith for that remark in a Twitter post. “Show of hands: Anyone in your Black family have 88 felony charges pending, filed for bankruptcy 6x, made an attempt to overthrow a presidential election and our democracy, and still have the ability to fall asleep in court and dream of being POTUS?” 

Trump’s interest in police accountability only applies to himself, which is why he attacked FBI agents for raiding his home in Mar-a-Lago to execute a lawful search warrant but endorsed Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron after he failed to charge the police officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor in a botched raid in Louisville.

Perhaps Smith forgot that Trump is not the hero fighting against racial profiling and targeting of Black people but the villain who’s openly encouraging it, who teargassed peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters, threatened to shoot looters on the spot, and encouraged police brutality by telling cops “don’t be too nice” when making arrests, even though people are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.

Or maybe he forgot that Trump’s 2020 election scam targeted and endangered the lives of two Black Fulton County poll workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who had to go into hiding to protect themselves from his vigilantes. Or that his infamous 1989 lynch mob helped to lock up five wrongly accused Black and brown teenagers in prison for years.

Black people will face even greater threats if Trump is elected in November. He promises he will pardon the January 6 insurrectionists, “indemnify” crooked police officers accused of misconduct, and bring back stop-and-frisk policies that unfairly targeted Black people.

Stephen A. Smith’s non-apology “apology” mentions none of that history or policy, but he does justify his earlier remarks by citing five recent polls that show Trump leading Biden. He does not explain that early polls are non-predictive of election outcomes, that Black voters have been the most loyal constituency of the Democratic Party for decades, or that Trump received miniscule Black support in 2016 and 2020 despite his wildly unrealistic promise to win 95% of the Black vote.

It’s hard to take Smith’s apology seriously considering he made similar remarks just last month. Speaking in March, Smith parroted Republican talking points by accusing Democrats of waging “lawfare” against Trump and once again cited polls as evidence of Trump’s success. 

Even if you believe the polls, Smith citing them as a suggestion that prosecutors should reconsider their cases because of Trump’s alleged popularity reflects an abdication of his responsibility as a journalist. 

Every four years, rappers, athletes, actors, singers, and other famous Black people who aren’t political professionals are thrust into the national spotlight to comment on presidential politics. Many don’t make headlines, but the ones who do often misrepresent Black public sentiment. 

All polls indicate that Black people overwhelmingly reject Donald Trump, but perhaps more Black Americans would appreciate the grave danger he poses if influential Black people with popular platforms realized they have a duty to educate, not just to entertain.

“Black Vote, Black Power,” a collaboration between Keith Boykin and Word In Black, 
examines the issues, the candidates, and what’s at stake for Black America in the 2024 presidential election.

Keith Boykin is a New York Times–bestselling author, TV and film producer, and former CNN political commentator. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Keith served in the White House, cofounded the National Black Justice Coalition, cohosted the BET talk show My Two Cents, and taught at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University in New York. He’s a Lambda Literary Award–winning author and editor of seven books. He lives in Los Angeles.

The post Stephen A. Smith’s Non-Apology ‘Apology’  appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

“Black Vote, Black Power,” a collaboration between Keith Boykin and Word In Black, 
examines the issues, the candidates, and what’s at stake for Black America in the 2024 presidential election.

Years ago, when I worked for President Clinton, activists would often call me to complain about the administration’s policies. But when the same activists were invited to meet the President at the White House, the tone of their objections inevitably changed when they spoke to him in person. 

There’s something about proximity to power and celebrity that makes people much more polite when they’re in the presence of powerful people than when they’re not. 

That’s the best possible explanation I can come up with for the reaction of Chick-fil-A workers and customers when Donald Trump stopped at one of the company’s restaurants in Atlanta today. “I don’t care what the media tells you, Mr. Trump, we support you,” one Black woman told him.

It could be that the twice-impeached, quadruple-indicted presidential candidate just happened to meet the few Black people in Atlanta who support him all at the same place at the same time. Or it could be they were just being polite. Either way, it’s not representative of the Black community in Atlanta, in Georgia, or the rest of the country.

We need to stop grading Donald Trump on a curve. Just because one Black person at a fast food restaurant says nice things about him, that doesn’t mean that the rest of Black people support him. But expectations are so low for Trump and Republicans that just going to a fast food spot and speaking to a handful of Black people is considered remarkable African American outreach.

The truth is that Black people are the one demographic group most opposed to Trump’s presidential campaign. But in America, Black people carry an unfair burden of representation so that the actions of any one Black person, however unrepresentative, can and will be used against us.

The irony is that the comment at Chick-fil-A came from a Black woman, and Black women — notwithstanding Candace Owens — are the least supportive demographic group of Donald Trump. Ninety percent of Black women voted for Joe Biden in 2020, and 94% voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Only 4% of Black women supported Trump in his race against Clinton.

In the state of Georgia, 92% of Black women voted for Biden, and only seven percent voted for Trump.

Black women’s opposition to Trump is understandable. Trump, after all, appointed the three right-wing Supreme Court Justices who killed affirmative action in college admissions in 2023 and overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. And when Black women created a private “Fearless Fund” to help other Black women start businesses, it was two Trump-appointed federal judges who struck it down.

RELATED: Affirmative Action Is Not ‘Reverse Discrimination’

After spending five and a half years spreading unfounded rumors about the first Black president’s birth certificate, Trump came into office in 2017 and tried unsuccessfully to repeal Obamacare, a popular program that helped nearly three million Black Americans obtain health insurance coverage from 2011 to 2019.

When Democrats tried to expand Medicaid coverage, a state-run program that disproportionately helps Black people, Trump and the Republicans tried to block that as well, even though 15 million African Americans were enrolled in Medicaid.

Meanwhile, as President Biden has canceled $146 billion of student loan debt for more than 4 million borrowers, Trump’s Republican colleagues have gone to court to try to block this financial lifeline that disproportionately helps young Black people.

When Democrats tried to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, it was Trump and his Black Republican friend, Senator Tim Scott, who killed the bill.

When Democrats tried to pass the much-needed John Lewis Voting Rights Act, it was Trump’s Senate Republican co-conspirators in Congress who blocked it.

Moreover, Trump has spent the past five years attacking the nation’s most prominent Black women, including former First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Representatives Maxine Waters and Ilhan Omar, and journalists Yamiche Alcindor and April Ryan. Not to mention, he’s been launching vicious personal attacks against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Atlanta.

If nothing else, Trump is a relentless salesman. The guy who’s trying to hawk $400 gold sneakers and $60 Bibles is now using his celebrity to sell himself to white people by pretending to be a friend of Black people so white people won’t feel so guilty about supporting him after decades of racism.

But Black people can see right through his desperate strategy. Just because he said hello to some Black people at a chicken joint doesn’t make him Colonel Sanders. It makes him the panderer-in-chief.

“Black Vote, Black Power,” a collaboration between Keith Boykin and Word In Black, examines the issues, the candidates, and what’s at stake for Black America in the 2024 presidential election.

Keith Boykin is a New York Times–bestselling author, TV and film producer, and former CNN political commentator. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Keith served in the White House, cofounded the National Black Justice Coalition, cohosted the BET talk show My Two Cents, and taught at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University in New York. He’s a Lambda Literary Award–winning author and editor of seven books. He lives in Los Angeles.

The post Trump Fried Chicken appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

“Black Vote, Black Power,” a collaboration between Keith Boykin and Word In Black, 
examines the issues, the candidates, and what’s at stake for Black America in the 2024 presidential election.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Cardi B explained why she won’t be voting in the November presidential election. “I don’t f*** with both of y’all n*****,” she said. 

I love Cardi, but I hope she reconsiders her decision.

The New York-born rapper and former Bernie Sanders supporter told the magazine that she’s concerned about high costs of living, low wages, and “endless wars.”

I am, too. Anyone with a conscience wants lower prices, higher wages, and fewer wars. But not voting is not the answer. It’s the problem.

The reason why we face so many problems in America is because too many of us aren’t voting, and we’re letting other people who disagree with our values set the agenda.

Although inflation is down from its peak a few years ago and wages are up, Cardi is right that the federal minimum wage is stuck at $7.25 an hour because all 50 Republican senators and eight conservative Democrats voted to block an increase in 2021. 

The issue isn’t Cardi’s description of the problem; it’s her prescription. If you don’t vote, then what’s your strategy to create the change you want to see in America? Is it going to happen magically? Is the government going to see millions of Black people not voting and think, “Hey, let’s listen to the people who didn’t bother to vote”? 

That’s not how it works. That’s not how any of this works. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and if we don’t speak up, we get less attention, not more.

This is why we can’t just show up once every four years for a presidential election and then complain when things go wrong. We have to vote in every election — for Senate, Congress, governors, state representatives, mayors, city councilors, prosecutors, judges, and school board members. Those are the people who make the majority of the decisions that affect our lives, not the president.

But voting, by itself, is not enough. We have to hold our leaders accountable even after we vote for them. The way to do that is to negotiate for your vote. That’s what people with power do. They don’t walk away and refuse to vote when they’re upset. They demand some specific deliverable in exchange for their vote. That’s what we should do, too — prioritize an issue and demand attention to it.

Voting is not just aspirational; it’s transactional. You’re not selecting a spouse for life. You’re hiring an employee for a specific amount of time. You don’t have to fall in love with them. They just have to do the work. 

When anyone tells you it doesn’t matter who you vote for, you’re being played. If voting didn’t matter, Republicans wouldn’t be trying so hard to stop you from doing it. And, trust me, they’re not telling white people not to vote.

Voting is not about choosing the lesser of two evils. It’s about choosing among the available applicants for the job. Sure, I would love to vote for a young, charismatic, powerful, progressive Black woman who reflects all my values, but she didn’t apply for the job this year. So, I gotta choose between these two old white guys. And I don’t agree with Biden on several issues, but I don’t agree with Trump on any issues.

The most enduring impact the next president will have on the future is the appointment of judges. Donald Trump and George Bush already appointed the conservative Supreme Court justices and federal judges who eliminated affirmative action in college admissions, overturned Roe v. Wade, struck down a rescue plan for Black farmers, ordered the Minority Business Development Agency to serve white men, and declared a Black woman’s venture capital fund to be illegal.

Not voting in 2024 gives Donald Trump the chance to stack the Supreme Court and the federal bench with right-wing judges with lifetime tenure who will be able to block any progressive legislation that you support for the next 30 years. Not voting doesn’t help advance a pro-Black agenda. It stops it dead in its tracks.

I’ve worked on six political campaigns in my life, and I’ve learned that no candidate will agree with everything I believe in, unless I run myself. That means we need realistic expectations about what candidates can and cannot do. 

Let’s say you’re in Atlanta and you have to choose between two cars to get to New York City to see your ailing grandmother. One car will take you all the way to Philadelphia, while the other car will take you back to Biloxi, Mississippi. Neither one is going to take you exactly where you want to go, but at least one car is headed in the right direction. Sure, you could wait a few years until the perfect car is built that will speed you along to the Big Apple, but granny doesn’t have forever.

So, don’t believe the people who tell you that your vote doesn’t matter. Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by just 79,000 votes spread out over three states — Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania — in 2016. You could fit them into the USC football stadium in Los Angeles.

George Bush won re-election by just 118,000 votes in Ohio in 2004. And Bush won his first presidential election by only 537 votes in the state of Florida. That’s the size of my high school senior class.

The lesson here is that every vote counts. Whether you’re a well-known rapper or a little-known restaurant worker, don’t throw yours away.

The post Why I Want Cardi B to Vote appeared first on Word In Black.

The post Why I Want Cardi B to Vote appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here