DUBIOUS HOPE
I listened to CNN a few weeks ago, and Van Jones was on, visibly upset about Biden’s poor debate performance. I cry a lot, especially as I get older, but Van Jones seems to cry even more than I do. With tears in his eyes, Jones implied that because of Biden’s apparent mental challenges, the Democrats are effectively positioning Kamala Harris for the presidency. This is a shocking admission from a left-leaning Democrat. He suggested that she might as well run and that Joe Biden should step aside. Has he determined Biden’s fate? Jones was serious—he genuinely sees Kamala Harris as a better candidate than Biden. This raises a crucial question for the American Black community: What has Harris truly done for us? I want to take a minute to delve into her record and the implications of her potential presidency and urge for a more critical evaluation of her contributions and policies affecting American Black community.
Jones, of course, is not alone in his stance. I read an article stating that Harris is leading Biden and Trump in the polls, a claim the media will likely disseminate widely. According to one poll, Harris was leading Trump among 1,000 voters a few days after the debate. Another poll, conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Newsweek, found that Harris was by far the most popular choice among Democratic contenders, with a significant 23 percent favoring her to replace Biden should he drop out. She is firmly ahead of Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and Gavin Newsom. It’s evident that the left has finally realized Biden is not capable of serving as President for four more years. I mean, how many times did the man have to stumble before they opened their eyes? Unfortunately, with only 23% support for her candidacy within her own party, the question remains: how can she win this race? It seems clear that she is relying on the support of American Blacks.
In 2020, Biden and Harris won 92% of the American Black vote, but recent polls show that only 77% of American Blacks support Biden/Harris in the upcoming election. A drop that could be potentially devastating in November. Critical to these numbers are American Black women who are rallying to her side once again without any consideration of her record, who she is to our community, and what she has done.
Kamala Harris is a first-generation Indian-Jamaican, born in Oakland, CA. She often speaks as if her family came to America in 1619. But her loyalties doesn’t align with the American Black community—I mean she nearly kissed Prime Minister Modi’s feet when he came to America. Harris’ mother, was a biologist from India who immigrated to this country to receive a better education. After she utilized ever benefit awarded to American Blacks Harris’ mother later moved to Canada when Kamala was 12 years old. Her father was a Jamaican economics professor.
Harris was never poor or oppressed—but at the age of five or six, while living in Oakland, she was bused in a two-way busing program in Berkeley, from the flats to the hills. Meaning, she was bused from the American Black community to the rich hills of CA. Clearly, if her life aligns with the struggling American Black community—then cry me a river.
Kamala has gone from an Indian-Jamaican immigrant to nearly the president in one generation, meanwhile American Blacks are not questioning why or how. Early in July, she spoke at a meeting of her sorority sisters for the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.’s 71st Boulé in Dallas, Texas. During her speech, she talked about American Blacks from the 1900s and the 1930s and used terms like “our people” as if her ancestors played a part in the American Black struggle. American Black women sat there clapping and agreeing as if her experiences aligned closely with the struggles of American Black women.
Harris pretends to be supportive and champions “Blacks,” yet she has not spoken a word about reparations for American Blacks. The only resources she champions for the American Black community is resources for abortions and food stamps—The amount so small—if I were a mother on food stamps, I would sell them for the cash.
It seems she would much rather support immigration policies, handing out millions of dollars to nations like Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala as part of her immigration strategy. This attempt to reduce the number of immigrants fleeing to the US by giving these nations money and resources to build up their countries and provide opportunities for their citizens has clearly failed.
In June of last year, she signed a bill investing $100 million into the Caribbean. Of that, Haiti is set to receive $54 million in aid. It appears a black woman is doing something positive for the Caribbean, including war-torn, earthquake-ridden Haiti. That is a big deal, except when you dig into the details, you make a huge discovery. The $54 million won’t actually appear in the hands of the individuals needing the resources. The funds will be allocated for food, bread, and weapons for the police department to fight the gangs that have plundered Haiti and be distributed or invested. Nonprofits and particular US partners like the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and the Clinton Foundation will be huge beneficiaries of these resources. These NGOs raised a great deal of money back in 2011 after the earthquake in Haiti decimated the island. Millions of dollars were given to NGOs for humanitarian aid, and yet Haiti is still a nation in shambles. Many remain homeless, the country is barely rebuilt, and is now infested with gangs and guns smuggled in from the US. Coincidence? Perhaps.
Nevertheless, Kamala made the announcement in the Bahamas last June about the $54 million in resources. But what happened to all the other money US organizations received that should have gone to Haiti after the earthquake? Wouldn’t it have been prudent to figure out how resources were exploited the last time it had millions of dollars allocated for the island nation? Harris is silent on that question but is handing out millions more for partners and NGOs on behalf of that island nation. At a time when Haiti is in chaos, and the government has been overthrown, with gangs now in control, this situation presents a great excuse—or opportunity—for the US to partner with the UN and NGO collaborators to provide immediate food assistance, safe drinking water, and protection services to Haiti. This begs the question: how much of the resources will trickle down to help the poorest in Haiti? It’s been interesting the way all this money is being poured into Haiti, and the ones getting rich seem to live on American soil. Right, wrong, or indifferent, the connections can’t be denied.
The Facts of the Matter
Recently, I was listening to Anthony Moore’s TonTalks Podcast. He’s a lawyer, I believe, and an ADOS (American Descendants of Slaves) supporter. During his show, he said something that is so true and should resonate with anyone discussing DEI initiatives in America. Many people who classify themselves as Black benefit from these initiatives based on the enslavement of American Blacks, but they are not themselves descendants of American slaves. They have built nothing in this country and yet come here and receive benefits because they have black skin. President Obama was not ADOS, and neither is Kamala Harris. But American Blacks don’t see this trickery.
What they share in common is that they both had one parent with black skin. Obama’s father was from Africa; Harris’s father was from Jamaica. Reflecting on history, I realize President Obama was a naïve young president selected on the back of American Blacks. He tore down other ADOS politicians in Chicago on his way to the presidency.
Kamala Harris is not much different. Only where President Obama stepped on the backs of American Black politicians, she stepped on the backs of the poorest in the American Black community. Her judicial record as a prosecutor shows the ways her policies negatively impacted American Blacks, particularly American Black women. While she was Attorney General, she instituted a truancy law to combat child absenteeism. Women struggling to keep their families alive, trying to manage day-to-day, would face Harris’ promise: up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine if their children were truant.
Kamala Harris's truancy policy, implemented during her tenure as San Francisco’s District Attorney and later as California's Attorney General, aimed to curb school absenteeism by legally penalizing parents of chronically truant children. This policy led to increased prosecutions, which disproportionately affected low-income and minority communities, where many families were already faced socio-economic challenges. Harris criminalized poverty and added legal and financial stress to vulnerable American Black families. She never addressed any of the root causes that impacted these households: healthcare, stable housing, and transportation.
Kamala Harris was rallied in 2019 into the White House by American Blacks—90% ADOS. Most ignored her checkered record and policies that negatively impacted American Black women. They love the fact that she fights for abortion rights and appeases the American Black community with $120 a month in summer food stamps and legal marijuana. We smile with pride, happy to appoint a Black woman, when to be clear—she ain’t like us.
Why are we supporting a woman who has failed the ADOS community over and over? Harris has set up laws that kept American Black men imprisoned and if that isn’t bad enough, she had cases overturned by the State of CA Supreme Court when it was discovered her drug analyst was a drug-addict and imprisoned many Black men based on faulty lab results. Heck, Harris is so low down she even argued to extend prison sentences so inmates could use their bodies to fight fires. Since she has been in office, what policy has she shepherded that benefits the American Black community? Not one.
If she gets a seat and becomes the first Asian-Jamaican President, not American Black, she will have ADOS to thank for it. Nevertheless, we are the community she has done absolutely nothing for but sold a bunch of lies: we have reduced millions in student loan debt since taking off. I’m not saying American Blacks should have been her priority—but at least the subject of American Black initiatives should have been in the conversation. Especially since immigration was her top priority. Instead of considering the the legacy of slaves in America she stretched forth her hands to help other nations giving away American resources.
DAHTRUTH
All I can do is shake my head. Democrats need to wake up and recognize Biden is cognitively unstable and Harris doesn’t align her policies with America or the ADOS community. Now, because of all these politics, we are forced to elect Saul—I am sorry, Donald Trump. After the debate, I was second-guessing myself—neither of these two cats deserves to be President. But Trump is the more reasonable choice. Although I have been saying I was voting for Trump, inside I haven’t been sure of doing such a thing. But if Harris runs, there is no doubt that I will vote for Trump.
Kamala Harris for President? God forbid. I have played this out: if she becomes President, maybe she will be great. Maybe she will bring world peace—maybe we should give her a chance. After all, she’s not Sarah Palin; she’s VP.
The VP that disappeared for years and only emerged for elections. Matter of fact, there was a point not too many months back when we were asking, “Where is Kamala?” like we were asking, “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Not really, but get the point; Kamala ghosted the ADOS community. But here she is again, selling abortion, weed, and student loan forgiveness because the American Black community is like Mikey—we will take anything. American Blacks are still rallying to her side. Without question or consideration because we want to see a person with black skin in office.
Old Jim Clyburn has said in recent interviews, “If Biden is out, the VP has my full support.” No further questions from this man that has been in office for decades after decades—a leader in the American Black community—okay.
Where does all this leave us?
The Democratic Party never seems to think strategically. I believe Biden/Harris is going to lose—not like that’s a prophecy; everyone knows it. Given this, they should focus on down-ballot races. Securing the House and the Senate could counter Trump, but the party is too divided. There is no solid loyalty to a single focus. Some are boosting the VP, others are pushing far-left Democrats like Michelle Obama or Gavin Newsom, and some are even supporting third-party candidates, suggesting figures like socialist Claudia De la Cruz and Jill Stein over ADOS socialist Cornell West.
Now that Trump has been shot, his momentum is rising, and we truly face the prospect of him becoming President again. I like Trump, and despite my fear of him damaging our democracy, I will vote for him. It’s not just because there are no worthy Democratic or Republican alternatives, but also because his policies align with my own. My hope is that the safety net holds and democracy endures after his term. Therefore, I will render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, knowing that man can plan, but ultimately, God has the final word.
