Votes that matter to us

By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

All of our lives we’ve been told how important our vote is. Well, that’s not enough in 2018. Everyone who has reminded us of the importance of one vote is correct, but only partially correct. The real importance of our vote is how we use it. We must now vote in our own best interest. That’s when our vote really matters. Black women definitely get that. Testament to that can be seen clearly in Louisiana by way of 19 Black women Mayors, in San Francisco with a Black female Mayor – same in several other cities, in Alabama electing Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate, in New Jersey electing a Lt. Governor and in Georgia by playing a pivotal role in the nomination of Stacey Abrams for Governor. There are other cases, but these are the more notable ones.

Black women are fired up and ready to go for the 2018 mid-term elections. Democrats have no choice but to seriously support Black women this year if the Party is going to win. There’s little doubt about the Party needing the unified vote of Black women in order to win. We’ve so often voted just for the Party – which is often “for the lesser to two evils.” That has been true especially in the South. This time is different because there’re so many well-qualified Black women running for office where they’re capable of making a difference not just for others, but for the Black community, too.

Those of us who’re not running, but will be voting, will be voting for things that matter to us. If candidates understand that, they will know what our issues are. It won’t matter whether the candidate we support is Black, white or other – so long as their records show they’ll support our causes and work in the best interest of our families and our communities.

What can candidates do this year to energize more voters than usual? They can’t just expect us to show up, vote, go home, complain about what’s not happening, and wait for the next election to go through the same motions.

We’ll be engaged, checking voting records, attending town halls, making whatever campaign donations we can and demanding justice. We’re studying the issues and we’ll be remembering the promises.

No neighborhood bosses will determine how we vote because our voters will be educated. #45 has forced us to analyze promises and what they mean. We want more, expect more and will demand more for our vote.

We want and will demand accountability. We know our vote is worth much more than paying off a few people who sell our vote to the highest bidder with no expectation of anything for the voters more than a hotdog and a soda! I’ve run for office before and I know how we get sold out by some of our own so-called leaders. That must stop and this is the perfect time to stop it. Black women work too hard to elect candidates who are serious about truth and justice to stand by while this goes on. We want and will demand more than empty promises.

To name a few expectations – secure health plan for all, fair wages for all, racial justice in all government services, demolition of old dilapidated buildings, clean water, grocery stores nearby, good schools that offer our children a useable education, decent housing – nothing special – just the basics of life!

I’m a Democrat, and I pray that Democrats are listening. Just being better than Republicans won’t be enough to attract the votes needed to take our country back to some semblance of sanity.

This article originally published in the June 25, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.