to provide a key voting bloc, a critical part of successful Democratic campaigns in h and across the nation.
Only a fool would believe that state Rep. John Bel Edwards would've become Gov. John Bel Edwards without a strong turnout among Black voters in 2015. And former state Secretary of Transportation Shawn Wilson didn't become Gov. Shawn Wilson in part because he didn't get enough Black votes last year.
Overwhelming support from Black voters helped Illinois Sen. Barack Obama become President Barack Obama, our first Black president, in 2008.
We saw Black support grow exponentially after chose to step aside and pass the Democratic torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, a Black woman with Indian and Jamaican ancestry. But, there have been growing concerns as polls suggest some .
During a Thursday speech in Pittsburgh — in the battleground state of Pennsylvania — and their potentially decisive role in this election.
“We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running,” Obama said.
He didn't stop there.
“Part of it makes me think — and I’m speaking to men directly — part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”
He didn't say it, so I will.
Sounds like paternalistic misogyny to me if a man can't bring himself to vote for a woman just because she's a woman. But is that all there is to the phenomenon of some, but certainly not all, Black men not voting for Harris?
New Orleans' own Wendell Pierce, an enthusiastic Harris supporter, has been crisscrossing the country encouraging and talking with Black male voters. He was disappointed by the former president's remarks. On X, formerly Twitter, the actor said Obama had sent an
He wasn't alone.
Quite a number of Black people who want Harris to win expressed disappointment and disgust.
I did not.
Those who follow politics closely have seen more Black men, especially younger Black men, become more conservative and consider moving from the "D" lane to the "R" lane. in last fall's gubernatorial primary, in fact.
Besides, Obama didn't say anything that many Black people haven't already said upon hearing a Black man say he supports Donald Trump, or can't vote for Harris, or that he isn't going to vote at all in this year's presidential election.
In h, there are more registered Democrats than registered Republicans — and far more Black Democrats than Black Republicans — but it's a virtual certainty that h will give its Electoral College and popular votes to Trump, despite conservative values that would normally call for family values, respect for all, limited government and hands-off personal decisions.
Only 36% of h's eligible voters bothered to cast a ballot in last year's gubernatorial election. slightly more than 50% of that vote in the primary.
Some Black people voted for Landry, a law-and-order, lock-'em-up candidate who provided few policy specifics. Many more Black people voted for Wilson, a professional candidate with a serious policy background.
But so few Black people voted at all, denying Wilson the chance to face Landry in a runoff.
I understand the Obama backlash. Sometimes we don't want to hear the truth or hear out loud what many of us are already whispering. But it makes me wonder, what if there had been an Obama moment here in h during last year's gubernatorial election? Would it have been enough for us to have a Gov. Shawn Wilson?
The number of Black men supporting Trump isn't large, but it could be large enough to deny us another shot at making history. That was part of Obama's point to Black males, especially those thinking about not voting.
Harris is being urged to distance herself from Obama's remarks. But someone in the campaign must see the ripples in the campaign waters.
Earlier this week, Harris issued a policy plan called “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men.”
Comedian and national radio host DL Hughley summed it up well with a Monday social media post aimed at Harris's critics: " has been the democratic nominee for 3 months and you've asked what's her plan for black men? has been the Republican nominee for last 3 election cycles! What's his?"
