Black Twitter understandably had a field day when, during the June 27 presidential debate, Donald Trump talked about migrants coming to the United States to take “Black Jobs” as if we were being replaced on cotton plantations or something.
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But it was President Biden’s performance that had Black folks like “Oh, shit!” Aside from doing little to convince Black America that he had an agenda to actually help us, his listless and tired demeanor caused a social media tsunami, with tweets ranging from “what’s wrong with him?” to “get the defibrillator – CLEAR!”
It was just the latest “oh, shit!” moment Black folks had to witness – one we didn’t see coming but were forced to react to out of a sense of fear and helplessness. These moments are plentiful in the history of our nation – from the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr to the government’s (lack of) response to Hurricane Katrina.
In 1992, after the cops who brutally beat Rodney King were acquitted, Los Angeles went up in flames in a rather tragic “oh, shit!” moment. Then-Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton called for peace and racial reconciliation, and Black people voted him in by 83 percent. But somehow we wound up with the 1994 crime bill, sponsored by…guess who…? Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.
There was also our “Oh, shit!” reaction to the nine-minute video of George Floyd’s murder at Officer Derek Chauvin’s hands in 2020. But there was the subsequent failure to pass comprehensive legislation that would address police violence in Black communities, and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was drafted in 2021 and has yet to be signed into law.
Some “oh, shit!” moments are inevitable and unavoidable. But Democrats (and really, all politicians) need to listen to Black folks to be ready so they don’t need to get ready. There’s value in long term political planning, but if the Biden team wants to save votes in important battleground states, it must listen to Black America’s many voices.
Black folks have proven since time immemorial that we can work steps ahead to figure out shit that our paler brethren simply cannot. So while the White House and Dems are scrambling to determine what to do next considering Biden’s “oh, shit!” debate performance, they’d be smart to consult their Black staffers, Black friends, Black associates, and maybe even the Black folks working at their favorite restaurants and convenience stores.
We’ve had the “oh, shit!” moments of watching Trump stack the U.S. Supreme Court in his image and witnessing it nuke Affirmative Action and women’s rights. So, right now, Biden’s “oh, shit!” moment should be the glaring possibility of Trump getting back in the White House in a few months.
Because if the White House doesn’t share our sense of urgency, in November, “oh, shit!” will become “well, shit…”
Madison J. Gray is a New York-based journalist. He blogs at www.starkravingmadison.com
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