July 7, 2020
In the few days since Kanye West announced that he is running for president, I’ve seen a curious amount of handwringing and worry. Most of it is centered on the possibility that West will split the vote for the Democratic nominee and “guarantee” another four years of the current occupant of the White House.
So, let’s think about that for a second.
Who do you actually think is going to vote for Kanye West? Describe the image in your head, using words, of the Kanye West voter. All the details. Say it out loud.
If you are brave enough to admit that the image in your head is a young, Black person, thank you for being honest.
Now let’s talk about why this is problematic.
First, Black voters are the most pragmatic voters in the US. This has been well established by much research. If you aren’t already, you really need to be following Dr. Ted Johnson who has written extensively about this. But the upshot is, the overwhelming majority of Black voters are not going to be fooled by West.
Second, young voters are not stupid. There are young people who do avoid voting out of principled opposition to the entire system that they legitimately see as rigged against them and any notion of justice. These folks are not going to be swayed by West.
Other young people, especially those leading the modern social justice protest movements, very likely have a sharper understanding of the political system than you do. They are not going to be persuaded by West either.
At its core, the worry about West’s potential impact in the November election is rooted in racialized myths about Black voter behavior that you were not likely aware that you held. That’s how unconscious biases work. These racist ideas date back to the resistance to Reconstruction – specifically opposition to Black participation in the political system – and have never left our cultural consciousness.
Black voters are not gullible fools. Every concerned social media post you make about this simply reinforces that assumption. You don’t want to do that, do you?
If West has any effect on the vote for the Democratic nominee, it will be because White people decided to vote for him.
So, to the well-meaning White folks who are reading this: talk to your people. And then stop giving this any more oxygen.
If you are really worried about the outcome of the November election – and we should be, especially if you live in the states with active voter suppression efforts – your time is better spent on:
- Helping with voter registration drives,
- Participating in organized efforts to put pressure on your state legislators to expand vote by mail, and
- Calling your US Senators to demand they pass the HEROES Act, which provides funding for the equipment, supplies, and staffing needed to administer a safe and secure November election.