Black America needs to be perfectly clear about what a second term for Donald J. Trump and Republican control of the U.S. Senate & House of Representatives would mean for them and their families.

At the end of January, New York Times columnist Charles Blow warned us in a column entitled “The Dawn of A New Era of Oppression” that periods of backlash take shape after surges of Black progress, adding that “we have entered another such a period.”

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Despite the political misinformation and many outright lies spewed by Republican officials and their media sycophants, there is no doubt about Mr. Trump’s lasting damage to the country and Black Americans, in particular during his four years in the presidency. Moreover, whatever restraints he faced in his first time in office will no longer exist if he returns as he has surrounded himself with ideological allies who will carry out his intention to implement his vile MAGA agenda.

That will create a serious threat to the well-being of Black Americans. 

The list of policies that gained support during Trump’s recent tenure and are still being enacted at the local levels in red states is lengthy, consequential, and alarming. Recall how, in 2016, President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. In 2018, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, called blocking Garland’s nomination his most “consequential” decision.  

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This maneuver allowed Trump to put three justices on the court to create a conservative super majority that has already left a trail of destruction of reproductive and LGBTQ rights, affirmative action, and environmental protections.  

And if you don’t think it could be worse, look at Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas or Utah’s Sen. Mike Lee, a key player in Trump’s scheme to overturn his 2020 loss, or John Bush, a Trump-appointed Judge, who compared abortion to slavery.  

These are examples of the potential for more damaging policies with Trump’s return to the White House. Republican control of the three federal branches helps enable Republican-controlled majorities at the state level to undo some of the historic gains and achieved outcomes following the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

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The outcomes of the election of 2024 could accelerate the backlash we already see with the overturn of the constitutional right to abortion, the uprooting of affirmative action and school district and state resistance to the teaching of Black history, as well as a national crusade against D.E.I (diversity, equity, and inclusion).

A serious erosion of Black voter support, a crucial constituency for the Democratic Party at the national, state, and local levels, would be disastrous.  

The Democratic Party must do a better job of creating a targeted Black narrative that explains what they have done for the Black community.

The core of the Democratic Party lies with Black, Latino, younger voters, and some women. That means that the Democratic party must improve their standing with these voting blocs.  This is particularly true in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

The Democratic Party must do a better job of creating a targeted Black narrative that explains what they have done for the Black community, especially to skeptical younger Black men. It must explicitly spell out the grave threats posed by Trump-led Republican majorities in the House and Senate as well as the White House.  

Don’t forget Trump called for Black Lives Matter protesters to be shot in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder.

Our community needs to understand that our struggle for freedom and dignity in the face of the challenges we face is ongoing. We must be smart and strategic as we ponder what is prudent and forward-thinking given the political reality in this era. It is necessary that we understand that there is no realistic alternative that outweighs the Biden/Harris ticket to stop Trump.  

The ominous threat is that there will be a diminished turnout of Black voters, which would be catastrophic. Hopefully, Democratic Party leaders will understand the need to build a major campaign to power people to go to the polls in great numbers. The campaign should remind them why voting for Trump is out of the question. 

Don’t forget Trump called for Black Lives Matter protesters to be shot in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder. Don’t forget Trump had Steven Miller as a White House advisor — who, as NBC News reported in 2019, had previously sent emails “cited and promoted white nationalist ideologies of white genocide, immigrants as criminals and eugenics,” and the extremist right-wing machinery that is now so firmly entrenched in the Republican party.

We must remember it is more than voting for someone who does something for you; it is voting to stop a candidate (Trump and his crowd) from doing something to harm you and your people. We must not forget how truly dangerous a second term for Donald J. Trump would be.