By Lucius Gantt
Little Black Sambo was a character in a children’s book called “The Story of Little Black Sambo”. There is nothing terrible about the story but the offensive illustrations and the subtle use of racial slurs are unacceptable.
“Sambo”, the word, comes from the Spanish word in Latin America for a person of mixed African and Native American descent.
In the Hood, Sambo is an African American charlatan that is careless, clueless and controllable!
In every election cycle, the Presidential, Congressional and statewide candidates that you love rush to identify male and female Sambo-types that they can hire on their campaigns.
I know you don’t like me to write like this but please wait until you get to the editorial conclusion before you judge the column.
Anyway, most political candidates primarily hire friends, family or who their campaign contributors tell them to hire.
The DNC (Democratic National Committee) and the RNC (Republican National Committee) oftentimes tell candidates, “If you want our financial support, you have to hire the political professionals that we want you to hire.”
Disguised as a way to prevent candidate spending on political pretenders, this practice allows the Chairs of the largest political parties to keep the flow of political contracts, opportunities and money in a controlled group of hands.
Political parties and candidates usually interview white political contractors and vendors. They consider a consultants education, experience, versatility, past performance, won-lost records of former clients and their political reputations.
Well, true Black political professionals don’t beg for political jobs. Why, because political consultants make more money when politicians come to them.
The African American men and women that run and ask every candidate to hire them are looking for jobs, on the campaign and after the campaign. Few political job holders can make major political decisions. They can’t hire campaign staff or grant campaign contracts.
So, the candidates hire little Sambos, Uncle Toms and Aunt Jemimas! Woah! Don’t get me wrong, African Americans that get jobs on campaigns are not necessarily bad people. They are good at doing what politicians want them to do but they could care less about what their community can do for candidates or what candidates can do for Black communities.
Follow me. Since Black political staff and consultants can’t hire or contract white people on most campaigns, their primary purpose might be to advise candidates how to generate Black votes.
In 2008, registered Black voters turned out in extraordinary numbers to elect President Barack Obama. Despite the fact that many national and statewide candidates have hired one or more Black campaign staff members in campaigns over the last 10-12 years, Black voter turnout has drastically declined in each and every election since 2008.
Upwards of 70% of registered voters went to polls and cast ballots for Obama in 2008. Today, in many elections, candidates, even those that hire a Sambo, can’t turn out 10% of registered Black voters.
Black people will register and they will vote when they are properly and politically communicated with, inspired, motivated and influenced.
The days where candidates can galvanize and turn out the Black vote by saying, “I love MLK, I love the HBCU, and I’ll name a street, building or boat after a Negro”, those days are over!
Black people are rejecting the Amos, Andy, Kingfish and Sapphire version and path to political progress!
Political Sambo won’t speak about Black political concerns, he or she won’t address issues of importance to Black voters and they won’t fight for what Black voters fight for.
Political Sambo will parrot what the political bosses tell him to. If the boss doesn’t like Obamacare, doesn’t recognize climate change, is blind to economic and judicial justice, the political Sambo will rubberstamp the political messages that Black voters don’t want to hear.
It is no secret that Black voters will decide with sits in the White House, who controls Congress and who wins statewide offices.
One Party knows that. One party doesn’t fear going for votes in “enemy territory” like Atlanta, Georgia but the other party tells their candidates to absolutely stay out of rural or conservative cities and counties.
Political parties and candidates can hire or contract who they desire to. I just want Black voters to know the political powers that be don’t want African Americans to be politically astute, politically clever or politically wise.
Don’t take my word for it. Look at the Black, progressive and other candidates for the Democratic nomination for President.
In my view, according to political polls, the Black candidates aren’t getting the majority of Black voter support and the white candidates with the most Black campaign staffers aren’t getting the most Black voter support.
Black voters will support candidates that support Black people and candidates that Black people trust.
Cable news Negroes, political pretenders, political carpetbaggers and dipped-in-chocolate political clowns and Sambos will not get Black Americans the political power and progress that they need, want and deserve!
Black voters don’t have to get politically “woke” if they stay woke! Keep reading The Gantt Report for the Black political truth. (contact Lucius at www.allworldfinancialgroup.com)
Lucius is a contributing columnist to NNPA newspapers around the nation, and the author of “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing,” available on Amazon.com and from bookstores everywhere.