Former President Barack Obama just ignited a firestorm of debate about Black men and manhood. Speaking to Black men in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Obama warned about the attitude of “sitting out” of the election “or supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you because you think that’s a sign of strength.” “Putting women down” is “not acceptable,” he said.
His comment sparked criticism from those who felt Obama was scolding Black men again. I have a more nuanced take with two key points.
Black Men Are a Success Story
First, Black men are a success story for Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party. After all the gaslighting from Republicans about Black men leaving the Democratic Party four years ago, Joe Biden won 87% of the vote from Black men in 2020. That makes us the second most loyal constituency of the Democratic Party. Only Black women, who voted 95% for Biden, are more supportive.
A Washington Post-Ipsos poll last month found Black men overwhelmingly support Harris over Trump on every issue, including abortion, crime, the economy, and immigration. The Pew Research Center found that Black men are more confident in Kamala Harris than Trump to make good decisions about issues that affect us. A CNN poll last month found very little gender divide among Black voters. And research this summer found that Black men in Georgia supported Kamala Harris and strongly disapproved of Trump.
That means Kamala Harris will probably win 85 to 90% of Black men. That’s good news, and Black men should be celebrated for that.
Personally, I don’t understand how any Black man could vote for Trump after he led a lynch mob against the now exonerated Central Park Five, lied about Barack Obama’s birth certificate, blackballed Colin Kapernick out of the NFL, and bragged about bringing back racist policing tactics like stop-and-frisk. But I also know that unanimity of opinion is unattainable. No candidate or party is ever going to get 100% of Black people to support them, but 87% is pretty damn good.
That’s why I’ve said before that we can’t pathologize Black men for our voting patterns when other groups, mainly white women, are the real problem.
An Internal Conversation With Black Men
That brings me to my second point. Contrary to the hot takes on social media, I don’t think Obama was scolding or pathologizing Black men. Instead, he was having an internal conversation with Black men to get us to examine some of the reasons that some of us don’t support Kamala Harris. That’s why the Black men Obama was speaking to in the room seemed to agree with him.
The question is how do you increase voter turnout for Black men, when 66% of Black men said they planned to vote compared to 71% of Black women, and that tiny gap could make a huge difference in a close election.
Obama made a point that a small but vocal contingent of men, including Black men, refuse to support any woman candidate for president. Many of them have unrealistically high expectations for Kamala Harris but don’t hold Trump to the same standards.
One Black man in Pennsylvania told reporters he plans to vote for Trump because Harris “doesn’t come from a background similar to the majority of Black Americans.” That makes no sense. Does he think a white man who spent his career refusing to rent to Black people and spreading racist lies about us understands the Black experience better than a Black woman who grew up in Oakland, attended Howard University, and joined AKA sorority? I’m sorry. I call bullshit. That man just doesn’t want to vote for a woman.
Being a man is not about controlling women.
Obama wasn’t speaking to all Black men. He was speaking to that man and to the Black men who have no problem with Trump selling cheap mugshots and $400 gold sneakers as “Black outreach” but when a Black woman who spent her entire life around Black people tries to get them to vote for her it’s considered “pandering.” Just stop lying about why you’re voting for Trump because you’re making yourself sound ridiculous.
“And you’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses, I’ve got a problem with that,” Obama said. “Because part of it makes me think — and I’m speaking to men directly — part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”
It’s the exact same message that Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul delivered on the “Win With Black Men” Zoom call with 40,000 Black men supporting Kamala Harris in July. “Sometimes as Black men we get confused as to what strength is, and sometimes we think that standing behind a Black woman as a leader does not display strength as Black men,” Raoul said.
So why are we acting all new with Obama?
He wasn’t just focused on Black men. He delivered a similar message to all men at a rally in Pittsburgh the same day. “I’m sorry, gentlemen — I’ve noticed this, especially with some men who seem to think Trump’s behavior, the bullying and the putting people down, is a sign of strength,” he said. “I am here to tell you that is not what real strength is and has never been.”
Part of the confusion may be that critics thought he was shaming the Black men in the room when actually he was describing an issue he’s seen among other men in the community. But Obama is asking all men, including Black men, to rethink our relationship with women in positions of power, and to reevaluate our understanding of manhood.
Being a man is not about controlling women, mocking the weak, or insulting the vulnerable. That’s a caricature of manhood that Trump creates. Manhood is about honesty, fairness, responsibility, duty, and courage. A real man is secure enough in his identity to stand up in a crowd of “yes men” and tell them “No” when they do wrong.
True manhood is powerful. It’s about using our strength not just to help ourselves, but to help those in need.
This article orginally appeared here.
St. Louis native Keith Boykin is a New York Times–bestselling author, TV and film producer and former CNN political commentator.
The post Obama’s Challenge to Black men: Don’t fall for Trump’s lies appeared first on St. Louis American.
