Black People and the Democratic Party
On the matter of black people – African-Americans, specifically – voting overwhelmingly for candidates from the U.S. Democratic Party, consider the following:
On April 12th, 1964, Malcolm X made a speech before a large gathering on the merits of black nationalism. Below is a one-minute snippet from that speech, discussing the logic of African-Americans supporting the Democratic Party in such huge numbers.
Transcript:
In Washington, D.C., in the House of Representatives, there are 257 who are Democrats. Only 177 are Republican. In the Senate there are 67 Democrats; only 33 are Republicans. The party that you backed controls two-thirds of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and still they can’t keep their promise to you.
‘Cause you’re a chump.
Anytime you throw your weight behind a political party that controls two-thirds of the government and that party can’t keep the promise that it made to you during election time, and you’re dumb enough to walk around continuing to identify yourself with that party, you’re not only a chump, but you’re a traitor to your race.
—Malcolm X
Now, allow me to paraphrase Malcolm, to reflect the current state of affairs:
Right now (since January 2009), in the House, there are 256 who are Democrats. Only 179 are Republican. In the Senate there are 59 Democrats; only 41 are Republicans. The party that you backed controls two-thirds of the House of Representatives and nearly 60% of the Senate, and put a black man in the White House, and still they didn’t keep their promise to you.
‘Cause you’re a chump.
Anytime you throw your weight behind a political party that controls two-thirds of the government and that party can’t keep the promise that it made to you during election time, and you’re dumb enough to walk around continuing to identify yourself with that party…
Well…I’ll let you come to your own conclusions.
But as you think about it, also consider this: Between 1964 and 2010, how much “Change” has there really been?
(Note: This is in no way meant as an endorsement for the Republican Party. Malcolm was no more forgiving of them. And certainly I’m not. The difference is that Republicans do not even pretend to represent African-Americans, and since at least the advent of the “Southern Strategy” – redoubled through the Tea Party – they have become openly hostile towards African-American interests.)
Agreed 100%. They have no vested interest in helping marginalized people. Change is never going to come from the top down, it would be like slitting their own neck.
Well said!
So…does this mean the Godheval side of you has won out and you're backing to posting? Heh.
Anyway, in reference to the post, the main reason no one is going to change things for "black" people in this country is that the development/airing/consideration of the "black" point of view will basically undermine the country. Showing America the other side of the "veil", to use Du Bois imagery/analogy here, in a non-bombastic, even-handed, well-presented format that could not be ignored would cause way too much psychological dissonance for the American public at large. Hence, the continued marginalization of "blackness" even under the guise of "hope and change" (man, those two words will forever be ruined in the context of progress now. Just typing them makes me feel like a partisan blockhead).
Here is a link to a comedian demonstrating what "white" people think when they see portrayals of black suffering. Which is intensely ironic considering he's trying to poke fun at white guilt while demonstrating through his dialogue how he as a "white" person handles it…denial, willful ignorance, evasive rationalizations, and/or blind dismissal because "they must be making this sh*t up! I haven't seen that behavior personally". He's still makes some good points and has a couple of other funny vids. Anyway, that's all for now.
link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN9hy4YNIv0