A Demographic of Black Vote is Non-Existent

By Chaz Hobbs – As a Black Man I have always been highly reticent about the, “First Tuesday, after the First Monday in November.” This is the ever present day that we are, quote on quote, “Supposed to exercise one of our Constitutional rights.” Sadly, this day bears no semblance to any of us being free to this exercise; especially when a specific population is not a part of the process. The reason for my apprehension is that there is an immense viable voting constituent that isn’t even recognized nor catered to by the Democrats, the Republicans, the Liberals, nor the Conservatives; “The Black Male Vote.”

With today’s mindset it has it being a, “Privilege for us to vote, and not a Right.” If one is to traverse to any urban area in these United States that most certainly is populated with this demographic, you will see the declination of black males physically voicing their choice for representation by going to the polls; and that is the norm for any level of government.

Why is this the present normative culture? One can begin to answer that succinctly with the fact that if a candidate’s primary constituents aren’t black or for that matter people of color you can forget about the cajoling and smiles that accompany their platforms. Candidates see what we all see. The only reason they even entertain our population is for, “Quasi-Inclusion.” The initiative set forth by many Fortune 500 companies in the 1990’s to pacify what we really want, “Equality, and Parity.” One doesn’t think for a second that this dynamic surely relegates our votes to an afterthought. Furthermore, candidates across the color spectrum dumb downs the populations importance to their respective candidacies. This phenomenon is based on them willingly knowing that our population is being decimated by the social ills that they are not pro-actively solving, nor want to solve. I have an opportunity via my employ to travel frequently to the most blighted areas of our country, and I have had the favor of residing in several large metropolitan areas; my experiences leads me to believe that our population, is not a part of, nor will it be a part of, “America’s Agenda.” This rumination stems from my cognition of seeing, and believing what belies us.

There are plethoras of statistics that are collectively spewed to the public, but none are more harrowing than these: About 10.4% of the entire African-American male population in the United States aged 25 to 29 has been incarcerated, by far the largest racial or ethnic group—by comparison; the second largest population of HIV Infections are Black male heterosexuals; HIV infection amongst Black males from 13-29 account for most new infections; and not surprisingly, the High School Graduation rate for Black males hovers around 50%. One could go on and on, but if we are astute and precocious enough we can see the pattern of, “America’s Agenda.” As the old adage goes, “This isn’t Rocket Science.”

This anomaly is not a happenstance that has just occurred. Moreover, it is a systematic dissolution of our population that will yield us back to the last vestiges of 1865. For what it’s worth indentured servitude hopefully is not in, “America’s Agenda,” but surely there is a pattern to demoralize, desecrate, and dispel the Black Male. For all of this rhetoric it means nothing if we as a population don’t aid our brethren with, “Pulling up their Boot Straps.” A more proactive stance needs to be had with this crisis to incite a more rigorous approach to instilling manhood in our youth, and promoting the virtue of Fatherhood to our brothers. If not my dialogue would be in vain because, “there won’t be any Black males left to vote!”