The idea that Blacks need someone to interpret life and alleged complex ideas go well back into slavery and are still present today. During slavery, Blacks would sit and listen while Whites would teach them about the proper way of life, the bible, Blacks’ purposes in life, and their worth as slaves. The belief was Blacks were less than human, their Blood was tainted, and like a dog, they needed a master.
Fast-forward 400 years, and from a psychological standpoint, the master-to-slave dynamic has not changed. There are rampant assumptions that Blacks do not know how to think for themselves. When Blacks act from their point of view, it is assumed they do not know what they are doing and need another race, usually Whites, to come in and save Blacks from making a terrible mistake.
Racially integrated activities like sports are constructed in a way that reinforces Blacks assumed limited thought processes. For example, in sports, Blacks primarily occupy positions requiring the most minor thinking or direct instruction, such as defense and receivers. Typically, the shot-caller is White (e.g., coach, quarterback, general manager, and owner). When Blacks are shot-callers, their stay is usually cut short at the first sign of a struggle. Generally, Blacks’ replacements are White individuals who will likely be given more time to turn things around.
Blacks, mainly serving as pupils in a so-called desperate need of guidance, are not only seen in sports but extend into every significant sector of life where impactful decisions are made. Politics is no exception to the rule. The way the democratic and republican party tries to appeal to Blacks is nothing short of insulting. Democrats assume all that is needed to get the Black vote is to offer Blacks a goody bag full of empty promises that are supposed to improve Black suffrage. Republicans know their policies will not help struggling Blacks, so their approach is to expose the Democrats for being crooks and not having Blacks’ best interest at heart. Republicans will even go as far as to reference some racist atrocity led by democrats to convince Blacks that they cannot trust the democratic party.
Both parties do not know the irrelevant recruiting strategies used by the democratic party, and the fearmongering attempts from the republican party to make Blacks think that democrats are the terrible guys mean nothing to the majority of Black Americans. A well-known secret in the experienced and educated Black community renders virtually anything political parties do to hit home with Blacks ineffective. Before unveiling the secret, I want to provide insight into how many Black people approach life.
Compared to most other races, cultured Blacks are probably the most superstitious and cautious regarding believing new information and entering new environments. The concept of mind, body, and soul originated from Africa and is relevant to this blog because even today, many Blacks still consider themselves spiritual beings, more so than Whites.
Spirituality is not to be confused with religiosity. Many Whites do look to God as a higher power, but there is a strong propensity for Whites to rely on science to answer many of life’s everyday questions, at least more so than Blacks. Spirituality is particularly relevant to this blog because out of spirituality comes what many Blacks would refer to as energy; the Chinese call it chi. Blacks’ reliance on energy in everyday decision-making is so commonplace that many Blacks do not even realize they are doing it. However, their dependence on spirituality and energy becomes apparent when listening to the way Blacks speak.
Blacks often make judgments solely from intuition and the discernment they feel. Void of maps and the ability to read, the slaves also used intuition and feeling to help them know which way to go while escaping to the north. In modern society, it is not uncommon to hear Blacks intuit that something unobservable to the naked eye is off about an individual. Without concrete evidence, Blacks may decide not to engage with an individual because something did not seem right about them. A Black person may need a new job and turn down what on paper looks like a great opportunity—the reason why they did not feel peace about the offer.
We are almost to the secret, but more context is needed. The dominant group in society often overlooks how much adjusting minority groups must do to survive and obtain success. Blacks, especially educated Blacks, will have learned about White culture in a way that far exceeds what Whites will have learned about Blacks. You may say, why is this? In the US, learning about Black people is not a requirement to survive or to be successful in life. However, learning about Blacks is required if you want to have an informed opinion about any issue that relates to Black people and, of course, if you’re going to appeal to Blacks.
The US is full of subcultures within the dominant culture that have differing perspectives about many issues. Many subcultures in the US receive recognition for at least existing in some standalone fashion compared to the dominant White culture. However, the lack of respect towards Black people encourages a willful ignorance of Black culture. As a result, many Whites possess little to no knowledge about Black culture outside of dubious media interpretations, and to fill the void false assumptions about Black culture are created instead of actual knowledge.
Secret Time
For those that spend countless hours digging up issue irrelevant information to pull on the mental and emotional strings of Black people, you are wasting your time. The secret is trust or what some may call buy-in, and most Blacks are not buying because they do not trust the vendor. For example, regardless of the party, Blacks do not typically believe a word politicians say. Blacks tend not to trust the government, law enforcement, the judicial system, the education system, and are skeptical of health care professionals. If I may be honest, most Blacks do not trust any system primarily governed by Whites. Some may feel well that it is a racist take, but no, it is called PTSD. So the next time someone is thinking about how they will sway Blacks to believe in an initiative that is not constituted of individuals who are representative of Black people, save the ink.
Lastly, for those wondering if Blacks do not trust either party, why vote primarily Democrat every election? The answer to the question has two parts. First, do not forget that many eligible Black voters do not vote because they believe in either party. Second, it is not that most Blacks that do vote chose to vote democrat because they buy into the politics. Truthfully, it is that most Blacks will NEVER vote Republican because the “modern-day” Republican Party is unapologetically against Black Individualism and is full of overt racists. It is unfathomable to think that Blacks would attend a rally with confederate flag-toting, card-carrying klansmen spouting racist rhetoric while demonstrating their right to bear arms.
Any questions regarding the factuality of the claims in this blog can reference my dissertation Black Millennials Coping with the Myth of a Post-Racist Society. You will find sources verifying the Black perspective on the issues I discussed here and additional background information explaining why most Blacks have trust issues when interacting with institutions and the White people that govern them.
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