Where do I begin?
I’ve seen many strange things in politics but this self-inflicted injury by the hands of the California Legislative Black Caucus is downright embarrassing.
For full disclosure I’ve always believed that reparations was a tough sell but to suffer defeat at the hands of elected officials who look like us and in theory should champion the causes that we are passionate about is humiliating to say the least because in theory the actions of the California Legislative Black Caucus sadly proves the old adage that all “skinfolk ain’t kinfolk”.
In fact to quote the words of Dr. Cornel West the act of the CBLC to sabotage their own legislation is “cowardly” and should be viewed as an unforgivable sin and to view it otherwise would be a grave mistake for black voters who support our elected officials seemingly in blind faith with the hope that they will represent us with pride and dignity and fight the “good fight” when called upon and yet when given the opportunity, per usual, it seems like they tend to disappoint us despite our unwavering support.
Is this a toxic relationship?
Maybe it’s time to call this dysfunctional relationship what it is, particularly in California where politicians of color are beholden to a corrupt way of doing business in California politics in which far too long being elected has turned into a popularity contest as opposed to politicians being judged on policy and agenda.
The question remains: can black voters trust these politicians and if the answer is no we have to begin to question if their representation is a detriment to our existence?
How can we trust these politicians?
It wasn’t like the cards wasn’t stacked in our favor to get reparations done, with a super majority in the Assembly and Senate of Democrats failure to call for a vote up or down is quite simply an act of betrayal, a dereliction of duty so to speak and if left unchallenged by the same black constituents who elect these officials would create a standard of normalcy where politicians only appeal to black voters come election time – promising us the world only to deliver the bare minimum.
The fact of the matter is that these politicians “ain’t like us” and in fact they haven’t been for a long time. They have been co-opted, seemingly blinded by a system with the goal of enriching themselves as long as they are willing and dedicated to “play the game”.
Come on it’s time to admit that what we’ve, more specifically black voters, have said for quite a while that our votes don’t matter because if they truly did why would the very people who we all reasonably assume would act in our interest sabotage the same legislation they worked and spent millions of dollars to study and advocate for, with the intentions to get it signed into law?
This blatant act of sabotage wasn’t orchestrated by the big bad white boogeyman or our oppressor; it was done by folks who throw around terms like “justice” and “civil rights” like an American Express card and routinely quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. only to disappoint us time and time again.
When do we stop giving these politicians passes?
This dereliction of duty isn’t only isolated to the state level but we see this pattern of neglect on a federal and local level where black voters are treated like accessories, a necessary burden and these politicians seemingly only pretend to care about us when they need us.
When will we learn or are we so numb by the abuse that this type of treatment has become standard and like a battered woman in a violent relationship we pray that our mate will change only to be disappointed again and again.
In reality I don’t know if this relationship can be repaired but like any relationship once the trust is gone the relationship is ultimately broken and it’s hard to argue or justify trusting the California Legislative Black Caucus.
Maybe it’s time to finally admit collectively ‘they ain’t like us’.