Earlier this Friday, March 4th, I had the pleasure of talking with a YouTuber, podcaster, and veteran Di’Rico Baker, aka Rico Rants. On his podcast, Rendezvous with Rico, he holds a variety of guests to talk about any number of issues. Recently, Rico and I were frustrated with Candice Owens’s statements on Black Democrats, and one could argue that it was the main reason I wanted to talk to Rico in the first place.
As someone who has studied the Black Freedom Movement, albeit as a bachelor’s student, I couldn’t help but feel incensed against this idea that Black voters and activists are servile to anyone. As you will see in this show, I firmly disagree with the idea that Black voters are in any way subservient to Democratic leadership. Quite the opposite. Black voters saved Biden’s candidacy for the presidency, and though I did not want Biden to win the primary, the political power of Black voters, meaning those who showed up, can’t be denied. If anything, the power of Black mobilization on the long march towards justice is one of the most inspiring things I have ever had the pleasure of studying.
If there is to be an honest conversation about the role of the Black electorate in America and in party politics, there must first be an acknowledgment of Black people as a political force in their own right. As always, I don’t speak for Black people. Nor do I represent their experiences.
My sole goal here is to preserve the historically accurate perspective on Black voting patterns and the rights of African Americans to decide their own path forward, with or without the Democratic party.
Progressive American 