Skip the lectures: Black voters would rather be heard

In the weeks leading up to Nov. 5, Black Americans saw the same saga unfold that has plagued our politics for decades. Candidates invested millions in out-of-touch advisors, leading to surface-level interactions — and even worse, to the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes as a way to appeal to one of the largest, most reliable voting blocs in a nation that often leaves us last.

Between the sneaker and Bible sales, the celebrity concerts, and the billions spent on advertising, this election made one thing clear: The current campaign model is broken.

Every two to four years, political parties spend billions of dollars telling Black and other underserved communities that they must go out and vote. We’re either lectured on the history of our own struggle, or appealed to with dire fearmongering and empty promises while our cries fall on deaf ears.

Still, time and time again, we get in line and cast election-deciding ballots only to be forgotten the minute the polls close. And four years later, the process begins all over again.

This strategy, employed by both sides, has never been effective in persuading and mobilizing the base.

Somehow, despite years of calls for change, the results of the Harris-Trump election left political operatives, pundits, and pollsters flabbergasted, unable to explain the outcome. But let me tell you something: Black working people know exactly what went wrong.

In politics, you both have to inspire and persuade in order to mobilize voters. But historically, campaigns have sought to persuade undecided white voters, whereas non-white voters are targeted solely by a mobilization machine that has failed to reach us.

The result is apparent — exasperated voters casting ballots out of frustration, or not casting them at all.

Sadly, the reality is that not only are we the least invested in, but we are also the first to feel the effects of inadequate and dangerous leadership in Washington.

Less than 48 hours after President-elect Trump claimed victory, Black voters across the country began receiving text messages directing them to prepare for work on a plantation. Just last month, neo-Nazis marched in uniform throughout the streets of Ohio’s capital, shouting racial epithets.

Where do we go from here? The fight for freedom and democracy is nothing new to the NAACP. For over a century, we have worked in communities, and with Congress and the White House, to ensure the protection and advancement of Black America. And we’re not stopping now.

In this cycle, while PACs and campaigns spent $11 billion on political advertising, the NAACP invested over $20 million solely in persuading our community to vote, and to support grassroots organizations that have pre-existing relationships with those we were seeking to mobilize.

Black voters deserve to be persuaded, and successful political persuasion requires a strong ground game and direct voter contact — something that campaigns over the last few decades have largely failed to do.

We cannot continue like this. Political campaigns need a new model.

First, operatives deployed to battleground states should have a direct tie to the community. We don’t need more D.C. elites telling us what to vote for. Second, persuasion should be as much a priority as mobilization. Don’t take our votes for granted; make the case for why we should vote for you. Inspire us.

Third, the ground game should not just be a tool for the final stretch, but the foundation of the effort. Show us that you are actually invested in our prosperity — that you don’t just want our vote but want us to thrive.

More than ever, the political machine needs to be rebuilt. Our message to the campaigns already taking shape for 2026 and 2028: If you want to win our vote, and if you want to save democracy, don’t show up at our door on the eve of the election. Invest in meaningful engagements with our communities.

Build a strong ground game, and build it now.

Derrick Johnson is president of the NAACP and Dominik Whitehead is the NAACP’s senior vice president of campaigns and mobilization.

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