Who Went Home On 'The Voice'?
Can 'Idol' Be Saved?
It turns out that there are no African Americans in the United States Senate. After the ouster of Roland Burris, who was appointed to the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama, blacks are completely left out of the demographic makeup of our Senate.
The loss of black presence in the Senate is yet another symptom of the massive loss in black political power resulting from last night's elections. The Congressional Black Caucus gave up a long list of valuable chairmanships as a result of Democratic losses. The shape of our nation's future and that of black America is going to be highly dependent on whether this trend continues or finds a way to get reversed.
There are two black Republicans joining the U.S. House of Representatives: Tim Scott of South Carolina and Allen West of Florida, who were both elected last night. There is a question of whether the Congressional Black Caucus will accept West and Scott into its fold. To date, the CBC hasn't issued a statement.
The presence of black Republicans in the House will open a Pandora's box for the CBC. For a long time now, we've decided that being black meant being Democratic and being poor, but the truth is that blackness can mean all things, with many of those values aligning more directly with political conservatism than anything else. So as we push to strengthen the black voice in public representation, we must remember that black leadership can take more forms than one.
One good thing about the midterm elections is that black voter turnout was relatively strong. Black voter turnout did drop to 10 percent from 13 percent in 2008, but relative to the midterm elections in 2006, there was a mild increase. Also, African Americans, while taking massive losses in this election, are beginning to evolve in their understanding of the political process. We are starting to feel that we are part of the engine that makes America's political body move forward.
Yes, the elections didn't turn out as many of us would have hoped, but there is actually more hope than we had in 2008. Let's keep on moving forward.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here. 
Comments: (31)
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By: Brady on 11/03/2010 4:24PM
bravo! A fair commentary. I also agree it didnt turn out they way many of us hoped it would, democrats should have lost the Senate too.
In politics, as in business, competition is good. Monopolies inevitably take their customers for granted. And this is what Democrats have been doing with black voters for decades.
Congratulations "ALL Women and People of Color" from the republican party. I hope it encourages other people of color to get involved and run for office. Especially black women.
My people are (Black Americans) are increasingly diverse economically, socially, culturally and geographically. And we dont owe the democratic party a damn thing. They have to earn our vote, we are off the plantation and we are not going to simply tow anyones party line!!!!!!
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By: Joe on 11/03/2010 6:10PM
I hope you are not trying to speak for all black people. The Republican Party has never done anything for Black people. Most republicans if they were honest would tell you that they dont care to have any black republicans. It would be a easy solution if blacks were treated the same as anyone else and reconized as being just as equal as anybody, but we know that is not going to happen. Racism and racial problems is no different than it was before. All you got to do is read the comments section of any story concerning a black person.
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By: Brady on 11/03/2010 6:32PM
@Joe
heres a thought, instead of looking for a either party to do for you, how about doing for yourself!!!!!
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By: FATHIYYAH PROUD BLK CONSERVATIVE on 11/03/2010 9:20PM
I 2ND YO EMOTION. MY FRIEND JENNIFER CARROLL HAS JUST BEEN VOTED IN AS LIEUT GOV OF FL. A PROUD BLACK FEMALE, WHO HAS BEEN IN THE FL HOUSE OF REP. AS FOR THE CONGRESSIONAL BLK CAUCAS, WHO CARES, MAXINE WATERS, CORINE BROWN. TWO OLD BIDDIES, WHOSE TIME HAVE COME AND GONE, A BUNCH O WELFARE PROMOTING PROVERTY PIMPS
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By: OncealwaysaMarine on 11/04/2010 2:04AM
Sadly, Joe, like so many black Americans, is completely brainwashed about the Democrat Party.
Which Party is the Party of black Civil Rights, again? The Democrat Party is the Party of racism, and always has been.
REPUBLICANS INSTITUTED EVERY SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF CIVIL RIGHT LEGISLATION FOR BLACKS
October 3, 1924
Republicans denounce three-time Democrat presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan for defending the Ku Klux Klan at 1924 Democratic National Convention
June 12, 1929
First Lady Lou Hoover invites wife of U.S. Rep. Oscar De Priest (R-IL), an African-American, to tea at the White House, sparking protests by Democrats across the country
August 17, 1937
Republicans organize opposition to former Ku Klux Klansman and Democrat U.S. Senator Hugo Black, appointed to U.S. Supreme Court by FDR; his Klan background was hidden until after confirmation
June 24, 1940
Republican Party platform calls for integration of the armed forces; for the balance of his terms in office, FDR refuses to order it
August 8, 1945
Republicans condemn Harry Truman’s surprise use of the atomic bomb in Japan. The whining and criticism goes on for years. It begins two days after the Hiroshima bombing, when former Republican President Herbert Hoover writes to a friend that “The use of the atomic bomb, with its indiscriminate killing of women and children, revolts my soul.”
September 30, 1953
Earl Warren, California’s three-term Republican Governor and 1948 Republican vice presidential nominee, nominated to be Chief Justice; wrote landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education
November 25, 1955
Eisenhower administration bans racial segregation of interstate bus travel
March 12, 1956
Ninety-seven Democrats in Congress condemn Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, and pledge to continue segregation
June 5, 1956
Republican federal judge Frank Johnson rules in favor of Rosa Parks in decision striking down “blacks in the back of the bus” law
November 6, 1956
African-American civil rights leaders Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy vote for Republican Dwight Eisenhower for President
September 9, 1957
President Dwight Eisenhower signs Republican Party’s 1957 Civil Rights Act
May 6, 1960
President Dwight Eisenhower signs Republicans’ Civil Rights Act of 1960, overcoming 125-hour, around-the-clock filibuster by 18 Senate Democrats
May 2, 1963
Republicans condemn Democrat sheriff of Birmingham, AL for arresting over 2,000 African-American schoolchildren marching for their civil rights
June 10, 1964
Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (R-IL) criticizes Democrat filibuster against 1964 Civil Rights Act, calls on Democrats to stop opposing racial equality.
August 4, 1965
Senate Republican Leader Everett Dirksen (R-IL) overcomes Democrat attempts to block 1965 Voting Rights Act; 94% of Senate Republicans vote for landmark civil right legislation,Voting Rights Act of 1965, abolishing literacy tests and other measures devised by Democrats to prevent African-Americans from voting, signed into law; 73% of Democrats vote in opposition..
September 15, 1981
President Ronald Reagan establishes the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, to increase African-American participation in federal education programs
June 29, 1982
President Ronald Reagan signs 25-year extension of 1965 Voting Rights Act
August 10, 1988
President Ronald Reagan signs Civil Liberties Act of 1988, compensating Japanese-Americans for deprivation of civil rights and property during World War II internment ordered by FDR
November 21, 1991
President George H. W. Bush signs Civil Rights Act of 1991 to strengthen federal civil rights legislation
August 20, 1996
Bill authored by U.S. Rep. Susan Molinari (R-NY) to prohibit racial discrimination in adoptions, part of Republicans’ Contract With America, becomes law
And let’s not forget the words of liberal icon Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood…
"We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population…."
Yet, the lie is continuing to be bought into by black Steppin Fetchits who have allowed themselves to be even further marginalized by the racists smiley-faced white Democrats.~oam
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By: K Mac on 11/04/2010 4:18PM
@ Joe, you say Republicans never did anything for black people? You do know Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, right?
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By: darome gant on 11/03/2010 4:28PM
in todays society we have the classic blah blah blah coming from everybody. now all of a sudden all hell has broke lose again. well great, we're getting somewhere. i suppose there's more to figure out, leaving the children to wonder what will we do. make a decision and stick to it!! i don't care who's in charge we want our jobs back???
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By: Maria on 11/03/2010 4:48PM
I am Cuban, raised by the most intelligent, beautiful and kind lady you could find. I was very lucky. She gave me the conservative values I have today. She always told me, the world is yours if you want it, never give up, never let yourself be intimidated by those that give up easily. I loved my mother too, but she was a prominent woman that had to work very hard, so Nano, like I used to call her became my tutor, my second mother. Her family inmaculate, hard working and honest. And she used to tell me, what is the big deal of being called Negra, I am Negra and very proud of it. She couldnt understand the term color. She was self educated and she explained to me that the word Niger came from Nigeria. Niger means Negro in Spanish... and she knew that in Cuba before CASTRO, you could be anyone you wanted to be as we had free education. She used to tell me not buts or excuses. By hard work she owned her house and a car. Look at Marco Rubio, dont you think that we Cubans went thru the same things black people went thru? In the beginning we were not accepted, but we proved ourselves. We have bad apples too. Congratulions for your post.
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By: bestausweh on 11/03/2010 8:29PM
Hard work..."hard work....hard work, ...blah, blah, hard work...blah , blah, blah,
Obviously you are a foreigner. Black people, not Cubans, already know about "hard" work. OUR families came here to do everyones hard work...SLAVES. The term implies if you haven't learned English yet, people who do hard work. And they did it with no pay. You cannot erase this country's history no matter or whatever your "nana, Nano" did in Cuba.
Now maybe when you return to Cuba, Pre-Castro,Post -Castro, back on your cruise ship which is not the bottom of the slave ship, you can patronize your own folks and explain to them just who it was that did the hardest work in this country.
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By: dawggybon on 11/05/2010 1:46AM
bestausweh - Ridiculous comments reflecting a level of ignorance that seems to be pervasive in the black community. The same tired old rants that have been passed from generation to generation. Blacks hold blacks back. Stop blaming others for your failures in life. Get an education, get a job, get off of all forms of public assistance (other people's money), feeling sorry for yourself and hating others. If you think you have it so bad ask yourself what your life would look like without the white people that you constantly moan about but gladly take from. Haiti comes to mind or perhaps somewhere on the African continent. You so proudly refer to yourselves as African American's so take an honest look at what your situation would be like there. Maybe Nigeria, Ethiopia, Congo, Angola? There’s your dose of reality. Stop your whining, blaming others for your failures, get off your backsides, stop biting the white hand that feeds far too many of you and count your blessings fool!
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