Race Within the Race

Having a Black presidential candidate means that racism has been front and center.

Thomas Jefferson once said that

“Slavery was like holding a wolf by the ears. You don’t like it, but you dare not let it go.”

That quote is also indicative of how America feels about race.

Many would prefer to ignore the subject, except when discussing it suits their purposes.

They say that Black people talk about it too much, obsess over it, and overattribute problems to race.

But the truth is that race is America’s preeminent social illness.

Racism permeates every aspect of American life, and no amount of lying or denial will change the facts.

Racism is the reason why Black people are disproportionately incarcerated.

It’s the reason that Black people are disproportionately killed by law enforcement.

It’s why Black people with no criminal records are offered jobs at a rate as low as White people with criminal records.

It’s the reason why Black people die in larger numbers from curable conditions because of racially disparate health care.

It’s the reason why Black people are redlined and steered when buying property.

Racism is rampant.

It exists both in unseen, systemic ways, and virulently obvious ways.

The presidential race is a reflection of American racial norms.

Many of the former president’s most ardent supporters are racists.

They do not want to see a Black person, much less a Black woman, ascend to the world’s most powerful political position.

The former president’s blatant racism aligns perfectly with the racism of White Supremacist groups like The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

While the rhetoric is sometimes coded, the message is that Kamala Harris is unqualified to be president.

We have heard the following about her candidacy:

· “She’s too inexperienced.”

· “I don’t know what she stands for.”

· “She doesn’t give enough interviews.”

· “Why doesn’t Walz appear at more of her interviews?” (Naked appeal to White authority. His presence would “validate” her candidacy).

The former president’s language isn’t coded. He’s asked directly:

“Would you rather have a White President or a Black President?”

He continually spins the us versus them narrative.

What’s also revealing and appalling is how the former president’s campaign is trying to strategically use Black people in his campaign.

You have Black people on radio and television ads decrying Vice President Harris’ “support” of gender reassignment, saying that “Kamala cares about they/them, but President Trump cares about us.”

They continually try to get Black celebrities to endorse and campaign for him. The best they are able to do is use disgraced, mentally disturbed former football player Antonio Brown.

(Next, they will be running him for office like they did former running back Herschel Walker).

The former president is racist enough to believe that using Black people in political ads, and having famous, albeit controversial, Black people attack Harris will cause Black people to question her fitness for office.

That same mentality is being seen in the hiring of Black people to attend his campaign rallies. They routinely show up wearing his campaign paraphernalia, stay long enough to qualify for payment, and then leave to collect their forty pieces of silver.

This is how racism plays out in American politics.

Just a few years ago, Barack Obama dealt with similar treatment.

He was greeted with signs depicting him and Michelle as monkeys.

He was criticized for wearing a tan suit when former Republican president Ronald Reagan had done the same thing.

If elected, President Harris will deal with the same level of vitriol, and even more so since she is also a woman.

Much of the vitriol will come because she is Black.

Some of it will come because she’s also Indian.

Some of it will come because she’s a woman.

All of it will come from a place of hatred and ignorance.