But perhaps the greatest contribution of the Negro press is this: it is one major voice of the conscience of our nation. [It says] every day to the American people: “The struggle for democracy is not yet done. America is not yet America.”
Twenty-two years ago, a Black, Howard University-educated lawyer officially warned America about the consequences of electing an authoritarian, anti-immigrant president who constantly maligned the media (No, not that one).
Sounding the alarm on a dictatorial presidential administration that demonized the press, attacked immigrants and ignored the law, Judge Damon Keith predicted the demise of an entire system of government. Keith’s moment of truth was forever codified in 2002’s Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft and was eventually paraphrased by one of the most celebrated journalists in American history. In 2017, nearly four years after being purchased by one of the richest men on the planet, an institution dedicated to objectivity, honesty and truth adopted Keith’s ominous warning as its official motto.
Democracy does not die in darkness.
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, the American electorate will not choose the next leader of the United States of America. Although Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s names will appear on the ballot all across the country, in a democracy, we, the people are responsible for the future of our families, our communities and our country. As the man who penned the document that forms the foundation of this democracy once said: “The government you elect is the government you deserve.” As such, this race is not between a Democrat and a Republican or even fascism versus democracy. For many Americans — especially the people whose lives and stories theGrio has chosen to tell the world — the upcoming presidential election is a choice between America and something else
Donald Trump is something else.
Perhaps no presidential candidate in American history is less qualified for the highest office in American government than the twice-impeached, election-denying convicted felon at the top of the Republican ticket. It is not theGrio’s opinion that the former president is a certified liar, a sexual abuser and a criminal; it is a fact. He has made racist statements, attacked immigrants and broken bread with white supremacists. From his bully pulpit, he has endorsed every kind of violence, including police brutality, white supremacist domestic terrorism, sexual assault, and insurrection. He governed during the biggest loss of jobs in presidential history. More Americans died under his watch than any president in the last 100 years.
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While none of the 59 previous presidential ballots have ever featured a flawless candidate, our decision to endorse a president is not just about Donald Trump. Not only is Vice President Kamala Harris second-in-command of the administration that oversaw the lowest Black unemployment and poverty rates in history, but she is also more educated and more experienced than her opponent. Most Americans support her positions on reproductive rights, taxes, common sense gun laws and violent insurrections. Plus, as a former senator, Harris has actually voted to certify two elections (including Trump’s), and her criminal background check is clean.
TheGrio recognizes why some voters would be reluctant to vote for Harris. We acknowledge that Harris also serves an administration that funds and provides the instruments of death responsible for killing thousands of people in Gaza. If it is fair to give Harris partial credit for the Biden administration’s wins, it is also fair to hold her partly responsible for the loss of innocent Palestinian lives. No matter who becomes president, we must force them to stop this genocide.
Damon Keith was wrong. Bob Woodward was incorrect. Jeff Bezos and his personal property, the Washington Post, were wrong, too. Even if the system defined as “government by the people” perished from the face of the earth, it would not die in darkness.
Democracy dies in silence.
While news platforms and media outlets have the privilege of protecting their bottom line and preserving the status quo by remaining on mute, we do not. As an organization whose name reflects our commitment to injecting Black voices, our culture and our stories into the national dialogue, we believe that silence under the guise of neutrality is not just harmful, it is also antithetical to truth, equality and liberation. “But perhaps the greatest contribution of the Negro press is this: it is one major voice of the conscience of our nation,” explained a biased truth-teller named Martin Luther King Jr. “Its greatest contribution is not to the Negro really, but rather to America, which cannot be at peace with itself until all men are free.”
All men are not free.
Until they are, we will not remain silent. The individual considerations of our staff, employees and our audience may differ, but as a collective, theGrio chooses democracy over fascism. We choose our collective moral conscience over apathy. We choose reproductive rights for women and equal rights for all. We choose truth over whitewashed history. We choose equality over white supremacy and our allegiance to the nation we built over nationalism. We choose the people who refuse to let democracy die over a tyrant who has not done a single thing to make America great.
We choose Black people.
The struggle for democracy is not yet done. America is not yet America. And until all men are free …
We choose Kamala Harris.
Michael Harriot is an economist, cultural critic and championship-level Spades player. His New York Times bestseller Black AF History: The Unwhitewashed Story of America is available everywhere books are sold.
