I have watched with a growing sense of dread the many Tik Tok versions of ‘black people are staying home on April 5.’ I don’t disagree with the idea as a strategy, but the sentiment too often expressed– that ‘this is not our fight’– is just wrong.
by Kevin Seraaj, J.D., M.Div., OrlandoAdvocate.com
It is our fight. Trump has declared war on everything black, and he has done everything he can to remove or frighten almost everyone that could possibly have changed their mind to vote against him in future elections: the Cubans, Latinos, Palestinians, Venezuelans, and others. They “effed around” and were bound at some point to “find out.” So, they were a political liability and deportations were Trump’s response.
We cannot give the Trump regime what it wants– an excuse to imprison or kill off the one group he cannot deport.
We also cannot do what Trump has done– turn on every ally the nation has ever had. Instead of distancing ourselves from those who are marching in protest, we should encourage them to do so, while keeping whatever allies we have in play. Don’t be like Trump. It doesn’t matter if an ally is self-interested and has separate reasons for protesting. It only matters that our interests converge to our mutual benefit– getting rid of the would-be king.
Remember, it took allies to bring slavery to an end in America. It took allies to pass civil rights legislation and equal rights legislation to solidify the rights we are so fond of reminding everyone we marched and died for.
Yes, we protested loudly and clearly on November 5th, at the ballot boxes. A whopping 92% of black women and 80% of black men voted to prevent this debacle from happening. So, we legitimately felt abandoned by white women, Hispanics, Asians and documented immigrants who voted in favor of Trump and against the interests of black people– and themselves.
But we have the most unique history of anyone else in this country– 400 years of involuntary servitude, lynchings, Jim Crowism, segregation, police brutality. More than any other group, we have no interest in being back in the position Trump seems intent on putting us in.
We saw it coming before the election and we did our best to keep MAGA out of the Oval Office. That’s why the anger is legitimate.
To those who are marching, know this: if black people were to show up in large numbers on April 5, we would be playing into the Trump regime’s diabolical hands.
They may not be able to deport us, but Trump has been testing the “domestic terrorists” waters for a time just as this. You do not want black people to march with you on April 5.
We see a man so hell-bent on being a dictator that he would use the occasion to incite (through his MAGA lackeys) a riot then declare martial law in order to “keep the peace.”
Once declared, what would prevent him from keeping it in place indefinitely, and suspending future elections? Sound like a conspiracy theory? Just remember that we are right now living in the conspiracy theory that black people warned you about during the campaigns.
So, we’re with you in spirit. But we are already positioned to take our next step. We may not see you on April 5, but hey, let’s meet up at the mid-terms.
