Most political parties would love the "problem" Democrats have with Black men: According to CNN exit polls, 79 percent of Black men voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election; only Black women were more supportive of the Democratic nominee. But when a party assumes it is entitled to every vote within a certain demographic, it will treat even the slightest sign of defection as an emergency, and that's what you're seeing in Democratic circles when it comes to Black men defecting to the Right.
Biden himself said as much when he told a popular Black radio host during his 2020 presidential campaign, "If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't Black." Some of his supporters went even further: One professor claimed Black men voted for Trump because they wanted proximity to the patriarchy and power structures, while a congressional candidate from Florida said one in five black men voted for President Trump because "they hate Black women."
The most recent iteration of this drama is playing out in Georgia, where there is concern on the Left that many Black men won't vote for Stacey Abrams. They are right to worry.
This "problem" that the Democrats have with Black men was observed more than half a century ago by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then an assistant secretary of labor under President Lyndon Johnson. In his 1965 report, formally known as "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action," Moynihan predicted that equality in a post-civil rights era would be impossible for Black Americans because of two factors: racism for at least one generation after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the structure of Black families.
>>>Dads Cannot Be Replaced With Government
Moynihan famously focused much of his report on the problem of children being raised without a stable family structure. When the Moynihan report was published, 25 percent of Black children were born out-of-wedlock, which at the time seemed catastrophic. But by the mid-1980s, that percentage had doubled, and it has hovered around 70 percent since the mid-1990s. In 2019, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of Black children were living in single-parent households.
But another equally important finding in the report was that within many Black families, the roles of men and women were reversed. Moynihan argued that the Black community was locked in a matriarchal structure that imposed a "crushing burden" on Black men while also depriving them of the authority they needed to lead.
This it turned out was a crucial insight, though like the rest of the report, it has been ignored. Moynihan's characterization of Black family dynamics as a "tangle of pathology" led liberalsthen and nowto dismiss the entire report as a racist attempt to blame Black people for their social condition.
The truth is more complex: Many Black men, then and now, do an admirable job of providing for and protecting their families, but there are also entire neighborhoods in some cities where it is rare to find a Black child living in a home with his married biological parents.
For the most part, women in these communities are married to the government, at both the federal and state levels, which plays the role of husband and father. Democratic elected officials and unelected bureaucrats promise and provide food, shelter, health care, and childcare to millions of low-income Black women and their children.
But while this began as a solution to certain problems within these communities, it has had the unintended effect of exacerbating them. The Democratic Party's subversion of male responsibility and authority within the home has made it increasingly antagonistic toward men and the traditional family structure. President Obama was routinely criticized by his liberal Black base whenever he promoted marriage and fatherhood in speeches to Black audiences. And since then, those progressive critics have become the official voice of the party: The 2020 Democratic party platform did not contain a single reference to the importance of marriage and the nuclear family.
The Left's detachment of parenting from marriage is not confined to elected officials. Most people associate Black Lives Matter with criminal justice reform, yet none of its 13 founding principles mention police brutality. The co-founders were clear, however, about their desire to "disrupt" the nuclear family.
The media has joined hands with activists and the Democratic Party in this regard, too. Several years ago, an MSNBC roundtable discussion featured three Black professors who dismissed people advocating marriage and responsible fatherhood as believers in the "magical Black father myth," while Hall of Fame NFL coach Tony Dungy was harshly criticized for appearing with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in April to promote a responsible fatherhood initiative.
Democrats and their media supporters are not completely misandrist; Black men who identify as part of the LGBT community are welcomed allies in the Party's war against traditional masculinity. But Black heterosexual men who are given a platform must demonstrate fealty to the matriarchy and radical gender politics.
Thus, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared that drag queens are an integral part of the education of schoolchildren. Louisiana senate candidate Gary Chambers told young Black men at an HBCU they should support abortion on-demand. Like his female counterparts, he promotes the destruction of Black life in the womb with much more passion than marriage and stable family formation.
Given all this, it might be surprising that only 20 percent of Black men have defected to the Republican Party, which can only be explained by the Democrats' claim to be the only viable party on race; the Left sells itself as the guardian against the ever-present threat of Jim Crow (and his offspringJames Crow, Esq., Jim Eagle, and Jimmy Crow). The cynical manipulation of America's bloody racial history for the sake of political loyaltya phenomenon I call the "Selma Syndrome"is one of the strongest forces holding Black voters in place right now. But BLM's alleged financial mismanagement helped many Black men realize that our deaths are being used as raw material for the Left's pursuit of political power and financial gain.
>>>Black Fathers Matter
Democrats can feel their grip slipping. People who use their platforms to decry masculinity can't also claim to care about men. The Moynihan report included a quote from Dorothy Height, former president of the National Council of Negro Women, that still holds true today:
"If the [Black] woman has a major underlying concern, it is the status of the [Black] man and his position in the community and his need for feeling himself an important person, free and able to make his contribution in the whole society in order that he may strengthen his home."
Height understood something today's liberals don't: Disaffected and alienated menof any colordo not help build strong homes or communities.
An MSNBC host recently admonished Black men who are reluctant to support Stacey Abrams to "get in line" behind the Black women who do. This has been the Left's perspective for decades: Black women lead; Black men follow. But in this world where Black women don their capes to "save democracy," Black men are relegated to damsels in distress.
No wonder we're defecting. Many of us want to build and lead families of our own, not be mothered by women who didn't birth us.
The rest is here:
The Democrats Are Losing Black Men. The Moynihan Report Explains Why - Heritage.org
- Cincinnati Artist Collective Creates Sculptural Series that Spells Out Black Lives Matter - Cincinnati CityBeat - May 5th, 2024 [May 5th, 2024]
- Police investigate decapitated deer heads found near Biden and Black Lives Matter signs - Washington Examiner - May 5th, 2024 [May 5th, 2024]
- Activist actor Kendrick Sampson cleared for trial against LAPD over Black Lives Matter protest - Courthouse News Service - April 2nd, 2024 [April 2nd, 2024]
- How Black Lives Matter is destroying public education - Washington Times - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Can Employers Ban Workers From Wearing Black Lives Matter Insignia To Protest Discrimination At Work? - Employee ... - Mondaq News Alerts - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- City seeks to avoid trial over Black Lives Matter mural - Palo Alto Online - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- NLRB: 'Black Lives Matter' insignia allowed New England Biz Law Update - New England Biz Law Update - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- New research details negative consumer impacts of BLM support on major companies and brands - Phys.org - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Photos of Trump with His 'Black Supporters' Are Everywhere ... Can You Tell They're All Fake? - The Root - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Home Depot Barred Employee from Wearing 'Black Lives Matter' on Uniform. Did It Break the Law? - SHRM - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- NLRB says Home Depot broke law in banning reference to 'Black Lives Matter' from worker's apron - The Atlanta Journal Constitution - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Church of England tells parishes to set up 'race action plan' put forward by pro-BLM bishop - The Telegraph - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- The designer of the Black Disabled Lives Matter symbol on zines, parenting and solidarity - The 19th* - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- NLRB rules Home Depot violated the law - HR Brew - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- It's Protected: NLRB Finds Black Lives Matter Insignia on Employee Uniform Constitutes Protected Activity Under ... - Labor Relations Update - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- DC Seeks $401 Million To Save Black Lives Matter Plaza Area - The New York Sun - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- BLM Coloring Book Teaches Elementary Students the Nuclear Family is Racist - Daily Citizen - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- BLM co-founder slams Taylor Swift fans as 'racists' and Travis Kelce-led Chiefs winning the Super Bowl as a 'r - Daily Mail - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- New Ruling Says Home Depot Broke The Law When It Barred Workers From Wearing BLM Logos On Uniforms - Essence - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Home Depot Is Ordered to Reinstate Worker Who Quit Over 'BLM' Logo - The New York Times - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- How parents talked about Black Lives Matter differed by race, UW study finds - The Seattle Times - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- 'You have Black Lives Matter...all lives matter' says community nurse in Buffalo about making change - WKBW 7 News Buffalo - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- BLM movement's social justice politics and 'queer, trans-affirming' lessons delivered to kids as young as 5 in NYC school - New York Post - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- AAS 290 examines social media and BLM movement - The Michigan Daily - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Home Depot employee's rights violated in firing over 'BLM' drawn on apron: labor board - Fox Business - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Saratoga Black Lives Matter organizers respond to AG probe - Spectrum News - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Church officials call for community unity in wake of 'Black Lives Matter' flag thefts - Woburn Daily Times - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Letter to the editor: Black Lives Matter - Pierce County Journal - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Study: How parents talked about Black Lives Matter differed by race - Yahoo News - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- The Summer of 2020: George Floyd and the Resurgence of the Black Lives Matter Movement - WREG NewsChannel 3 - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- AG: Saratoga Springs BLM activist arrests violated rights - The Daily Gazette - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Labor board: Home Depot violated labor law by firing an employee who drew 'BLM' on work apron - The Atlanta Journal Constitution - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Statue of slave trader Edward Colston will be permanently kept at a Bristol museum nearly four years after it - Daily Mail - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- UW study: How parents talked about Black Lives Matter differed by race - Herald Palladium - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- A gunman killed and injured protesters at a BLM march. Why did police blame the victims? - The Guardian US - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- BLM has reshaped how we think of Palestine - Middle East Institute - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- Texas DA blasts governor's move to pardon man convicted of murder of BLM protester - Dayton 24/7 Now - February 20th, 2024 [February 20th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter PAC Spent Most Of Its Money In 2023 Paying Its Own Treasurer For 'Consulting' - Daily Caller - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- How parents talked with kids about Black Lives Matter differed by race - Futurity: Research News - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Vermont Conversation: What is happening to really ensure that Black lives matter? - VTDigger - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Abbott-Prompted Daniel Perry Pardon Review Underway Following Conviction for BLM Protester's Murder - The Texan - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Black Lives Matter flag raised at US Consulate - The Daily Herald - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Seattle pays off 'fiery but mostly peaceful' Black Lives Matter protestors in 2020 riot case: Rising - The Hill - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- LAPD Raided Home Of Black Lives Matter Attorney And Took Unlawful Photos, Raising Concerns Of A Harassment ... - Essence - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- Issa Rae says Black stories are 'less of a priority' for TV bosses after two of her shows are axed - despite s - Daily Mail - February 1st, 2024 [February 1st, 2024]
- 'Watchmen' Creator Alan Moore Donates Movie and TV Royalties to Black Lives Matter - The Mary Sue - September 21st, 2023 [September 21st, 2023]
- Book Review: Blood in the Machine, by Brian Merchant - The New York Times - September 21st, 2023 [September 21st, 2023]
- Uninvited and Unaccountable: How CBP Policed George Floyd ... - The Intercept - September 21st, 2023 [September 21st, 2023]
- Opinion | Why More Countries Are Adopting Feminist Foreign Policies - The New York Times - September 21st, 2023 [September 21st, 2023]
- How 'Swagger' Raised Its Game - The New York Times - June 28th, 2023 [June 28th, 2023]
- Is a Dukes of Hazzard reboot coming to Netflix? - Dexerto - June 28th, 2023 [June 28th, 2023]
- Why Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing Still Matters - MovieWeb - June 28th, 2023 [June 28th, 2023]
- The Fatal Tension at the Heart of Wokeism - TIME - June 28th, 2023 [June 28th, 2023]
- Pat Robertson, broadcaster who helped make religion central to ... - The Associated Press - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Blackness and Ethnic Representation in Broadway Theater - MetroFocus - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Rhode Island Gov. McKee Calling on Textbook Companies to Resist ... - The 74 - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- New Black Lives Matter tax documents show foundation is tightening its belt, has $30M in assets - The Associated Press - May 30th, 2023 [May 30th, 2023]
- New Black Lives Matter tax documents show foundation is tightening its belt, has $30M in assets - Yahoo! Voices - May 30th, 2023 [May 30th, 2023]
- Study on Black Lives Matter protests provides insight into the link between coalitional affiliation and moral elevation - PsyPost - May 30th, 2023 [May 30th, 2023]
- Opinion | America Has Become Both More and Less Dangerous Since Black Lives Matter - The New York Times - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- David Starkey in bizarre claim that left-wing wants to replace Holocaust with BLM - The Independent - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Black Lives Matter activist accused of owing the BFI 200,000 'spun web of lies' over other debtee - Daily Mail - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- David Starkey says activists including Black Lives Matter are 'trying to destroy white culture' - Daily Mail - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- I'm a Couples Therapist. Something New Is Happening in ... - The New York Times - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Countering organized violence in the United States - Brookings Institution - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Trio suspected of vandalizing Black Lives Matter banner on Susquehanna University campus - Sunbury Daily Item - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- Too pretty to be Aboriginal: Meet the model who wants to abolish our beauty paradigm - Sydney Morning Herald - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- New York City Said It Will Pay $21,500 Each To Protesters Who Were Kettled And Beaten By Police During Black Lives Matter Demonstrations - BuzzFeed... - March 4th, 2023 [March 4th, 2023]
- Dad of white boy forced to his knees and to say Black Lives Matter speaks out speaks out - Daily Mail - March 4th, 2023 [March 4th, 2023]
- Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action kicks off for thousands of U.S. schools - Fox News - February 7th, 2023 [February 7th, 2023]
- Barbara Broccoli & Phoebe Waller-Bridge Among 100 To Pen UK Government Letter Over Gross Violations Of Human And Womens Rights In Iran - Deadline - January 23rd, 2023 [January 23rd, 2023]
- The Agenda of Black Lives Matter Is Far Different From the Slogan - January 19th, 2023 [January 19th, 2023]
- Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History - January 19th, 2023 [January 19th, 2023]
- After Raising $90 Million in 2020, Black Lives Matter Has $42 Million ... - January 19th, 2023 [January 19th, 2023]
- Mich. man who targeted Black Lives Matter supporters pleads guilty to ... - December 28th, 2022 [December 28th, 2022]
- I think they just saw a black girl: Author accuses bottle shop of racially profiling 12-year-old daughter - The Age - December 28th, 2022 [December 28th, 2022]
- Biden Admin to Drop Half a Million on Artificial Intelligence That Detects Microaggressions on Social Media - Washington Free Beacon - December 23rd, 2022 [December 23rd, 2022]
- Black Lives Matter's Alicia Garza: Leadership today doesn't look like ... - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- Black Lives Matter: How far has the movement come? - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- BLM has left Black Americans worse off since the movement began ... - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]