The Gantt Report
By Lucius Gantt
What difference does it make for Black people if an African American is selected as a running mate for the Democratic no-minee for President of the United States?
Not much, if any!
I don’t think we should fuss, fight and fantasize about how our lives will be so improved if someone of African ancestry is chosen as a Vice Presidential candidate.
Don’t get me wrong, Stacey, Kamala, Keisha, Val and other Democrats are just as talented as any other potential VP contenders. However, any Vice President is limited to doing what the President, the Congress and the courts say they can do.
If you want to imagine what a Black Vice President will do for you after election day, remember history is the best teacher.
If a Black elected official has done little or nothing for you in their political lives before now, what makes you think they will be a new, improved political savior after the November elections?
I’m not asking you not to hope for, cheer for or cast your ballots for the elected officials you like. I’m just saying, don’t base your votes on color. Vote for what’s best for you, your family and your community!
If you don’t know, devils, crooks and political opportunists come in all colors.
When a politician loves you, they spend money with you, they hire you, they contract you, they stand up and speak out for you, they promote and discuss issues that are important to you and so forth.
African Americans need and want a Vice President that will fight for Black people.
When something in Congress or in state legislatures pops up about Israel, the Jews jump up and have something to say, if a bill is on the table about Cuba, the Cuban Americans jump to their feet and if legislation about women is being considered by government, women in politics are first to fight for it or oppose it based on their feelings and desires of their constituents.
When Black reparations come up in politics, what does your favorite VP candidate do? When your African homeland is attacked verbally or militarily, what would you expect a Black Vice President to do? When federal money is doled out to opioid users, will your favorite candidates rise to fight for treatment for crack heads?
Or, will your beloved candidates sit on their hands, zip their lips and sit quietly until they are told what to say by their political party masters?
In America, capital is the primary motivating factor. The best thing a Vice President or any other politician can do for you is get you some money!
Your stimulus money is not the same as the corporate conglomerate stimulus money. The poor person’s stimulus check is far less than the rich person’s check.
That scenario is not the way it is; it is the way your elected officials rolled it out. They all voted to give the rich as much as they could and the poor, downtrodden and the less fortunate as little as possible.
Just because a VP candidate looks like you, it doesn’t mean that they love you, it doesn’t mean that they will ride with you or die for you and it damn sure doesn’t mean if you support them they will support you.
I’ll make it easy for you. Ask your favorite Black potential VP candidate if they support reparations for Black people that have been historically hurt, denied and deprived by U.S. governments.
I wish all of the Black women, and men, that desire to be their party’s VP a world of success.
I’m fine with a Black VP. I just don’t want a white VP dipped in chocolate!
