Real question: Do influential white people routinely tell members of the white community not to vote?
It seems like every four years, notable figures within the black community repeat a familiar refrain. Black voters should hold off on voting to prove a point.
In 2020 there was musician Ice Cube, and in 2024 there was activist Dr. Umar. Both men have used their significant platforms to consistently deliver messages to Black people. Don’t vote until politicians make concrete promises. These calls for inaction are often mistaken for activism and overlook the fact that both major political parties have made promises to black voters in past and current elections.
In a new video, I ask, “Have you ever noticed that conservative white voters are rarely told they should hold off on voting?”
“Have you ever noticed?” @garrison_hayes “Conservative white voters are rarely told they should hold off on voting?” asks the new video.
His new video explores why. see
pic.twitter.com/OLeRwYZtzW
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) October 29, 2024
I explain that Christian nationalists have long supported policies aimed at reducing the voting population to achieve “minority rule,” as my colleague Ari Berman explains. Consider Paul Weyrich, co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, which recently promoted Project 2025. At a far-right conference in Dallas in 1980, Paul Weyrich made his hostility to democracy clear. It increases as the voting population decreases.” The strategy is clear. It basically relies on black voters staying home.
I have covered the ongoing debate surrounding the Black vote extensively this election cycle. Watch our in-depth exploration of the rise of the Black MAGA movement below.
