What We Not Gon Do During Black History Month Is Endorse A Known Racist For President
I wasn’t going to blog much during Black History Month this year because I’m working on finishing the products that make me money and also spending more time giving to my patrons on Patreon but then I got a text from my uncle while watching A.M. Joy on MSNBC on Saturday morning. He wanted to know what I thought about the Black folks who are endorsing Michael Bloomberg for president. Instead of responding via text, I called him and he encouraged me to write something on the subject so here I am.
Before I continue, I want to make it clear that my audience for this blog post are my fellow Black Americans. Other People of Color and White folks are welcome to read and share, but I do not want you disparaging Black people. I’m handling my folks… you go handle yours.
With that being said…
Black folks who are considering Bloomberg based on the ads with Obama. If you’re thinking that he must be safe since he worked with Obama, let’s take a look at his history. Bloomberg will say that he didn’t invent stop and frisk but he did use it for his interest. Millions of young Black men were stopped and frisked many of them multiple times while the policy was enacted. One of those young men who was stopped was Khalief Browder, he was stopped and frisked after police responded to a call about two Black men stealing a backpack. They didn’t find the backpack on him and Browder denied having anything to do with the robbery. He was arrested and spent THREE years in Rikers awaiting trial before finally being released. Browder would later commit suicide due to the trauma of those three years.
Bloomberg’s increase of the use of stop and frisk is to blame. He is not our friend. Michael Bloomberg does not care about Black people!
I know you’re thinking but he’s better than Trump…. Listen to me, they are the SAME person.
Trump is a Jim Crow Southern racist. They let you know straight up what they think about niggers. There’s a clear “Whites Only” sign on the doors of bathrooms and department stores.
Bloomberg is Midwest/Northern racist. They subtly and quietly let you know that you’re not wanted. They sit you near the bathroom and take forever to bring your order or provide you with any service in the first place.
Now to the Black folks who are out here tripping over themselves to endorse Michael Bloomberg. The Black folks who really should know better. No, seriously. What we’re not going to do in the year of 2020 during Black History Month is endorse a racist for president. I know we all want to get rid of Trump but let’s not pretend that just because Bloomberg has been handing out money to us poor Black folks lately, that he’s not Trump with more control over his mouth.
Congressman Bobby Rush what are you going to say to your dear friend Fred Hampton when you see him in the afterlife? Seriously, I know he has to be turning in his grave right now watching you endorse Mr. Stop and Frisk 2.0 for president of the United States. How can you support a man who used the police to terrorize young Black men so that white folks would feel safe in the neighborhoods they decided to gentrify? The police killed Fred Hampton. Stop and frisk killed Khalief Browder. Your dear friend Bloomberg fought tooth and nail against the settlement for the Exonerated Five. The same five young Black men who Trump took out a billboard on in New York City. And you’re just willing to let that go?
I know that none of us want a repeat of 2016 or the last few years. I get that we’re all trying to get rid of Trump right now by any means necessary. I get it… you’re scared… we’re all scared. However, the primary elections are not over yet. We’ve only had TWO states hold primaries. And they’re two of the whitest states ever… Oh and ummm Bloomberg wasn’t even on the ballot of either.
If you’re looking for a candidate to endorse that actually listens to the Black community, you need to meet with Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren has been endorsed by many of the next generation of Black activists and organizers. Not because she went around passing out money and adding folks to her payroll but because when we said we had questions, she not only listened but provided solutions.
We cannot let Bloomberg use the fear we have of Trump distract us from the fact that he is the same man in disguise. We have to focus on supporting a candidate in the primary election who will truly ignite the base and another old white man with a racist past isn’t the way to go. And beyond anything else, we absolutely cannot be out here endorsing a racist white man during Black History Month. It’s just not right, yall.
