Sixty years ago, Malcolm X took the stage in Cleveland, Ohio, and told the audience, “1964 threatens to be the most explosive year America has ever witnessed.” On that night, Malcolm X announced that there existed only two options for Black Americans: the ballot or the bullet. At a time when most Black Americans were being denied their right to vote, the power of the Black vote was being brought front and center for the first time.
The power of the “Black vote” is not lost among Black Americans, neither is it lost among political leaders and strategists. Those who are in and those who seek power are aware that with a single finger, Black Americans have and can change the political landscape in this country. Black Americans, with the press of a button, have the ability to take power from those so desperate to keep it and prevent those who seek it from obtaining it.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, southern states used every tactic possible to disenfranchise Black voters. The use of literacy tests and poll taxes prevented many African Americans from even having the opportunity to register to vote. Fear was also an everyday tool deployed to prevent southern Blacks from changing the way of life in the South. Threats of loss of employment, violence, and death were used to stop Black people from exercising their rights as American citizens.
Today, we are seeing new attempts to suppress Black voters along with other minority groups. That same fear that was present in the 1960s is very much alive in today’s political climate. States are enacting election laws that are aimed at targeting minority voters. Stricter voter ID laws disproportionately affect Black and Latino voters. Black voters have even been purged from voting rolls at higher rates than white voters. Mail-in ballots submitted by Black voters are more likely to be rejected. Black people also experience longer lines at polling locations on Election Day than white Americans. There have even been attempts to roll back the protections of the Voting Rights Act. These continued acts of voter suppression motivate many to run to the polls while it sends others fleeing.
The history of voter suppression in this country has always targeted the Black community, often leaving them with only two choices: vote or die. Many Americans are now finding themselves in a space usually only reserved for Black voters in America. They are now faced with the charge to vote or die—to vote or see the rights and privileges that they enjoy be stripped away. This is a year that carries with it the choice of the ballot or the bullet. The ballot is a symbol of unity, power, and freedom. The bullet, on the other hand, is a representation of the failed promises of government leaders, the loss of freedom and opportunity, and death at the pull of the trigger.
Today, we are seeing ourselves in the same space as Malcolm X saw the year 1964. Sixty years later, 2024 is a year that looks to replace 1964 as the most explosive year in American history. No matter the outcome of the presidential election, one way or the other, history will be made. This county will either elect the first woman president or reelect a convicted felon. Many, particularly Black Americans, see this election as one that will carry them forward or set them back. Black Americans, more than ever, are in a race for their lives.
This election season is putting Black men in a space that they often encounter during these periods. Black men are a key demographic that those vying for office look to tap into. Black men are those swing votes a candidate needs to win office. The candidates vying for these votes look to their inner circle on how to win over the Black male demographic. Often, this advice is not coming from a Black man, or it comes from one no longer connected to the Black community. During each election cycle, Black men find themselves in a familiar space with candidates seeking office. This all-too-familiar space brings out the frustrations that are voiced by some Black American men. For those not inside this space, if you look closely, you will find candidates who choose to pander to Black men as if Black men are not able to see through their performance. There are promises that most know are filled with only lies and deceit. There, you can also find guilt placed on those who choose not to vote and shame for those who choose not to support the candidate that the Black community has endorsed as their choice.
This heavy power, and sometimes burden, that African American men possess with the ballot is sometimes overshadowed by the bullet. Black men often feel forgotten after casting their ballots for a candidate who will often neglect their needs and concerns once in office. This is a frustration that is echoed by the Black men who choose not to vote because they feel as if they are only being used for a vote. This frustration is echoed by the Black men who choose to vote and feel forgotten by those they help put in office. Younger Black men often voice concerns that there is no hope in a government that does not seem to want them to succeed. Those younger Black men often choose the bullet because they question if their vote even matters or makes a difference. They are stuck in a place to wonder if there is any point in voting when they do not see the changes that those on the campaign trail promised they would see. The Black men who have chosen the bullet feel as if there is no hope or unity in America. The men who have chosen the bullet are often those who have been cast aside and see no way back on the track.
The Black men who have chosen the ballot are not without their own concerns. They are often discouraged by the effort put forth to gain their trust. These Black men wonder why their own needs and concerns are not accurately addressed by candidates. They wonder why those they help to elect are not out fighting for their rights. They question where the concern is when they are the victims of police brutality, harassment, and discrimination. Black men who have chosen the ballot are seeking to be heard and appreciated. They are seeking to bring their issues to the table and have them adequately addressed.
This year, in particular, the men who have chosen the ballot have made it their mission to bring the men who have chosen the bullet to the polls. Black men have formed their own collective groups to encourage those who have lost hope to register and vote in this upcoming election. Now more than ever, Black men are seeing that this is not the time to let anything overshadow their responsibility to vote. Collective groups of Black men are meeting and forming on national and local levels. They are meeting in barbershops, churches, and schools, and they are even bringing their missions to street corners to meet men where they are.
Black men find these groups as safe spaces where they are able to freely discuss how they feel about the political process without the fear of judgment and being misunderstood. These groups allow Black men to express themselves among those who understand them, think like them, and, most importantly, look like them. In these collective groups, you will find unity, love, and respect. The men in these groups share one common goal, and that goal is to make their voices heard and their contributions to the political process acknowledged and respected.
Many have asked how it is possible for Donald Trump to be on the Republican ticket for president as a convicted felon. This is a question that most Americans want answered because most states have some type of law that restricts the voting rights of people with felony convictions. While most Americans are scratching their heads trying to figure out the answer, Black men in America see this more as irony than an actual question. Black men are more likely to be targeted by law enforcement for the same crimes as their white counterparts. They are more likely to be arrested for those same crimes. They are more likely to be prosecuted for those crimes. They are more likely to receive harsher sentences for the same crimes as their white counterparts. Those crimes are more likely to result in a felony conviction. Those felony convictions lead to the loss of certain rights, including the right to vote. Felony convictions not only limit voting rights but also employment, housing, and government programs that are aimed at getting a person back on their feet. Black men and women are often turned down for jobs if they have the slightest criminal history. They will often be denied affordable housing and educational opportunities. Felony convictions for Black men and women will limit their possibilities and will make it harder to start over and move away from their past mistakes. The Black community sees Trump’s candidacy as another example of white privilege. While a Black man will be turned down for a job because of his criminal history, Donald Trump is allowed to seek the highest office in this country not just with a felony conviction but with additional pending cases against him.
This irony has caused many Black men who would normally choose not to vote to instead make this the year they choose the ballot. This is the year that these Black men have decided that their voices will be heard, that their votes will matter, and that they will make a difference, not just for themselves, but for future generations. Collectively, Black men have decided that their voices will no longer be silenced. They have taken the charge to bring other men to the polls with them. Black men see it as their mission to protect Kamala Harris from the attacks that she is enduring. They are calling out other Black men who are fighting against them. This year, Black men have made it clear that pandering, lies, and misinformation will no longer be accepted in the spaces that they inhabit. Black men have decided that it is time to put an end to the frustrations that they have voiced for decades. Black men have taken the stand that the ballot, now and forever, will be their only choice.
