Republican Jim Crow Reboot Requires A New Approach To Politics 

Republican led efforts to deny or restrict efforts to build Black political power are not new, but the modern iteration of Jim Crow is no less jarring. Framing these efforts as Republicans appeasing Trump hides the real shenanigans and foolishness hiding in plain sight. 

It’s how Project 2025 caught so many off guard, despite a decades-long far-right strategy aimed at doing everything that is happening now.  

But the past several months of Trump 2.0 have also built upon historic attacks happening at the state and local levels. Texas Republicans didn’t need much prodding to disenfranchise Black voters, as commissioners in Tarrant County voted to cut 100 polling locations and reduce early voting. 

The attacks on Black political participation, freedom, and self-determined governance predate America. Reports from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Legal Defense Fund, and the Brennan Center have documented the impact of these strategies on Black voter participation, turnout, and broader civic engagement. 

Attacks on vote-by-mail and early voting became the new poll tax, rooted in false narratives of voter fraud concocted to deny Black voters and other impacted communities ballot access. Trump’s 2020 big lie opened the door for the heirs of white supremacist terror to ramp up a new front against our rights and freedoms. He was just the excuse to unleash their true selves, finally.

It’s why Georgia Republicans are fighting to force the Fulton County Board of Elections to seat two election deniers. They aren’t fighting for parity in representation, but doing everything they can to limit the impact of our vote and voices. 

Regardless of the demands, the power structure refuses to concede. We’re at a critical juncture, and attempting to appeal to the morality and sensibility of people committed to our destruction is a waste of time. 

We can’t keep hoping that respectability, the rule of law, and decorum will save us. 

Spoiler: they won’t. 

If it wasn’t clear before now, protecting and expanding our voting rights is about more than just ballot access. The right to vote is the right from which all others flow. Beyond casting a ballot, voting is the ability to directly engage with the decisions impacting our economy, environment, and even our bodies and families. 

And yes, we need everyone locked in and engaged to turn things around. But we can’t simply dump on people who don’t vote, particularly when they have been the target of decades of punitive policies, and still expect to win. 

We also have to get clear about what it means to stand bold and firm against American fascism. For many Black people, fascism has existed in one form or another, and it’s not always Republicans pushing it on us. 

A part of the necessary shift in the moment means we have to get comfortable with constructive criticism and demands of accountability for those who claim to “be on our side.” There are those in positions of power, elected and otherwise, who work against the best interests of our communities. 

Regardless of the reason or target, we need to be able to name the harms and those causing them. How do we yell about Trump trampling on our rights and democracy, but then silently exist in communities with leadership working against us? 

From increasing surveillance and defunding critical programming to throwing money at data centers and cop cities, we have to be consistent and firm across the board. We can’t be mad about ICE detention centers but stand quiet as people who look like us expand taxpayer investments in jails and other sites of oppression. 

Realigning our approach from merely voting to save democracy to engaging with people about our shared experiences and vision can help us move beyond this point. It also requires a clear understanding of co-governance and reimagining community participation in how decisions are made around us. 

That means having youth voices represented in decisions that impact our schools, as well as investments in outdoor spaces and programming. It means making provisions for renters to participate in community economic development discussions alongside homeowners. We pay taxes and engage in the market in different ways, but often the economic and social impacts can affect us similarly. 

Building a stronger democracy means building better communities and expanding access and opportunity for Black folks to thrive, not simply survive. It requires us to get clear about what side we’re on and where we are going as a collective.

SEE ALSO: 

Fighting For Black Political Power As Voting Rights Act Turns 60

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