Why Do I Care? A Call To Action For Black Men This Election Season

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I spend a lot of time traveling around the country, speaking at events and talking with voters about the state of our politics and the upcoming 2024 election for president. I talk with all kinds of folks from all kinds of backgrounds, but, for some reason, whether it’s at the barbershop or the card table, it’s only when I’m talking with Black men that someone asks me, “Why do you care so much?”

Why do I care so much? Why don’t you?

Now, please understand that I don’t for one second pretend to speak for all Black men. Nor do I believe that the Black community “owes” its vote to anyone. Let me also say that, while we are far from monolithic, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Black men tend to be pro-values and anti-institution at the ballot box. I mean, after hundreds of years of slavery, Jim Crow, over-policing and all the systemic racism you can eat, wouldn’t anyone be distrustful of institutions?

But why do I care? Really?

Well, let’s start simply. In January, Pew Research reported that an estimated 34.4 million Black voters would be eligible to vote in this election and 47% of them would be Black men. That’s more than 16 million Black men eligible to cast their ballots in November. That’s a big deal, especially when you realize that a lot of those votes are in swing states like North Carolina, Florida and Georgia.

So, I guess it doesn’t matter if I care because everyone else does. Black men have become the hottest political economy in this election. But while Vice President Kamala Harris is ramping up her ongoing effort to engage Black men by introducing new proposals that provide millions of dollars in new loans for new Black-owned businesses, promote apprenticeships, strengthen the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and invest in more Black male teachers demonstrating that she knows that we care about a lot more than just criminal justice reform, Trump is doubling down on misinformation, faked AI images, voter suppression and outright threats.

Armed militias are targeting FEMA first responders trying to help hurricane victims in North Carolina because they believe Trump’s lies. Police have to protect schools in Springfield, Ohio, from Trump supporters on the rampage after he said Haitian immigrants are eating their pets. What do you think he means when he talks about “enemies within?”

He means us.

Why do I care? Because we didn’t just enter the chat. Whether we’re talking about the DNC investing hundreds of millions of dollars in state parties, Black and Hispanic-owned media buys voter registration efforts or innovative efforts to engage and empower Black voters like A Seat at the Table, Adopt a Precinct and Chop it Up, which launched in 2017, focused on talking with Black men instead of at them. Democrats have dedicated themselves not only to listening but to using that conversation as a guide that drives real policy.

Where do you think Vice President Harris’ Economic Opportunity Tour came from this Summer? How do you think the CBC developed its Black Wealth and Prosperity Agenda? Do you think the Opportunity Agenda just appeared out of thin air?

Of course, we know that there’s real work to be done. Of course, grocery prices are too high and wages are too low. That’s why Vice President Harris is talking about her plans to fix it. Of course, we know that housing is too hard to find and too expensive if you do. That’s why she’s calling for 3 million new housing units and $25,000 in down payment assistance to first-time home buyers. Of course, we’re tired of carrying the burden ourselves. That’s why she wants a real tax break for working folks for a change instead of the rich boys Trump delivered for.

If we want to talk about anger and frustration within the Black community, particularly among Black men, then we can talk all day because I’ve plenty of both and so has Vice President Harris, so let’s do something about it because this isn’t the time to complain and criticize. It’s time to organize because you and I both know the alternative…and that alternative is absolutely unacceptable.

Yes, I care. I care a lot and maybe I’m naive, but I believe you do, too.

Antjuan Seawright is a Democratic political strategist, founder and CEO of Blueprint Strategy LLC and a senior visiting fellow at Third Way. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @antjuansea.

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