Politics

White America, this one’s on you.

About 85% of Black people voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in this election.

Of white people, who comprised 71% percent of voters, a majority – 57% – voted for Donald Trump.

The way Black people showed up in this election brings to mind Nikole Hannah-Jones’ belief that “More than any other group in this country’s history, [Black people] have served, generation after generation, in an overlooked but vital role: It is we who have been the perfecters of this democracy.”

There’s no doubt voting shifts in some communities of color must be studied so we can learn from them.

But an outsized portion of the post-presidential election analysis has focused on what Black people, and Black men in particular, did not do.

Concentrating on that at the expense of the white majority vote, which decided the election, is pure misdirection. The majority of white people re-elected a purveyor of hate, racism, misogyny, division, xenophobia and chaos.

Why does this clarity matter? Because without it, even well-meaning white people fail to appreciate how we got here – and the honesty and accountability required to respond. I’ve been inundated with outreach from well-meaning white friends expressing dismay at the result. Many understand something terrible has happened – but fail to appreciate that the root cause is white supremacy, and that this election was largely about the preservation of it.

“This level of vote was not because they were worried about grocery prices. They were worried about white privilege, white status, and sent the message that a multiracial democracy is fine as long as they’re at the top,” Melanie L. Campbell told The New York Times.

Without this clarity, the responsibility for addressing our challenges, as it too often is, will be assigned to Black and other people of color to solve a problem we did not create and cannot fix – certainly not by ourselves.

Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming voted with former President Trump's conservative's agenda 93% of the time; but in 2024, when Liz Cheney threw her support behind the Black Asian Female Democrat, Vice President Kamala Harris for President, she showed the world that you can indeed be a conservative American patriot without being a flag-waving white supremacist. Shocking, I know! It turns out you don't have to be a member of the RetrumpliKKKan Cult to love your country or Jesus, for that matter. Cheney’s bold move was a reminder that principles actually matter, even if that means stepping out of line with the cultish masses.

If the ReTrumliKKKans are not a cult, why not support a Conservative American patriot that is aligned with the non-hate issues that the snake oil salesman is selling? 

On the flip side, Cult-45 RetrumpliKKKans continue their parade of grievances, where the real fun begins. Some of these fine folks, trapped in their delusional and miserable realities, have found a curious outlet: hiding behind the comforting blankets of "patriotism," "Christianity," "family values," and other shiny buzzwords (Tea Party, Proud Boys, etc…) that sound respectable in public but don’t hold up under scrutiny. They might even believe their own hype! After all, nothing screams "freedom" quite like voter suppression, white nationalism, and good ol' fashioned bigotry. God bless America, right?

Now, don’t get me wrong—I’d totally join the MAGA circus too. That is, of course, if it weren’t for a few tiny inconveniences like white supremacy, anti-Black racism, and the fact that their version of "freedom" conveniently leaves out half the country. Oh, and who could forget the charming little issues like the electoral college, election denial, income inequality, and the for-profit prison industry? Honestly, if they could just tone down the whole "authoritarian, xenophobic, climate change-denying, misogynistic, homophobic, theocratic dystopia" thing, I might reconsider.

But hey, let’s give credit where it’s due. Sure, they’re steeped in ignorance, driven by fear, and championing intolerance, but deep down... oh wait, never mind. Actually, come to think of it, when you strip away the hate, phobias, and anti-American values, what are we left with? Well, I guess I hear they’re not all evil.

The Dangerous Reality of White Christian Nationalism

This video is in partnership with ‪@PFAWdotorg, a progressive advocacy organization that inspires and mobilizes Americans to defend freedom, justice, and democracy from those who threaten to take them away. Find more information about how you can fight white Christian nationalism at peoplefor.org/white-christian-nationalism-explained. 

If you’re interested in learning more about white Christian nationalism, the history of the religious right, or anything else I mentioned here, these books are some of the biggest sources / inspirations for this video: The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy, Samuel Perry and Philip Gorski (2022) Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Fractured a Faith and Corrupted a Nation, Kristin Kobes Du Mez (2020) American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy, David Corn (2023) Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories, Mike Rothschild (2023) To donate to People For the American Way Foundation, go to: peoplefor.org/ResistWCN. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yri7mhxTZrg&list=PLY49eSVGEAoZsRT7pbr3HaoLzZkiUpJh_