In April, Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared on Naomi Campbell’s YouTube talk show series, No Filter with Naomi, and offered his thoughts on the upcoming election. He reinforced the Black community’s concerns about Joe Biden’s sincerity regarding his commitment to improving Black people’s quality of life when he declared, “The Black vote is not going to be for free.” There were many people who thought Diddy’s spiel was irresponsible and weren’t afraid to publicly voice their objections, including entertainment industry executive, Kenny Burns. During Diddy’s time on the show, he suggested that we “hold the vote hostage” until we are satisfied with Biden’s deliverables. Some believe that “encouraging people to stand by is not an option”, as Burns said in an Instagram comment under Diddy’s post, and I couldn’t agree more.

Diddy’s statements aren’t entirely irresponsible, they’re incomplete.

The political climate has changed, it is no longer static and complacent. Or should I say we are no longer static and complacent. Black people are engaged. We protested, we organized, we signed petitions, and we donated. And no matter how much they try to distort the message behind our movements [‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Defund the Police’] to reinforce their political agenda to re-elect Donald Trump, the “law and order” candidate, they hear us. We must use this momentum to intensify our agenda, and safeguard concession to our needs.

On Nov. 3, we have to vote for the candidate that is most inclined to be receptive to our demands. For the Black community, Election Day is about casting a ballot for the candidate that has the range to listen and respond aptly.

The hard truth is that our distrust and frustration with the election has little to do with our dissatisfaction with Joe Biden’s candidacy, and everything to do with our contempt for our government’s two-party system.

By design, Black constituents’ voices are diluted and consolidated, overwhelmingly, into one party that is supposed to represent our varying needs and priorities at the whim of the party’s nominee. The two-party system incubates centrism. To Black American’s disadvantage, the Democratic ideological spectrum is more diverse and has more factions than the Republican party, especially in Trump America where there is seldom dissention among Republicans unless it’s from individuals that have been ousted from the administration and resurface as ‘whistleblowers’. This fact makes it difficult for all of us to agree on policy and legislation, and it tends to make us more critical of candidates that stray away from a position on the issues that best align with our own.

Diddy highlighted a clear point of contention— the Black community’s unwavering loyalty to a party that hasn’t done enough to reconcile our displeasure with their response to our disposition. We do not enjoy being stonewalled into supporting the Democratic nominee, because we are reminded that we don’t have the luxury of voting for the candidate we like best, but rather we must vote for the party we deem most inclusive, despite it’s many shortcomings.

In an interview, Joe Biden is heard making a troublesome profession, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.” I would caution a white man that is in a precarious position against summoning mistrustful Black people to vote by creating a litmus test for Blackness. While he has since apologized for his remark, it has created yet another stain on his candidacy, further deepening our skepticism.

He must’ve been tuned into No Filter with Naomi because in addition to Lift Every Voice: The Biden Plan for Black America, Biden has appended his list of policy proposals to include Build Back Better: Racial Equity Across the American Economy. I’d say these plans are merely starting points for negotiations.  I will analyze both proposals in a later article.

In contrast, Trump’s ability to win an election without securing the popular vote (something that has only happened four times in our nation’s history), invites the unchecked egotism and indifference toward compromise that we’ve seen in this administration. Should he win, how do we get a President who has won re-election to care about an electorate that he, demonstrably, doesn’t need? We don’t. Quite frankly, we vote for the candidate that is searching for redemption for past legislative decisions he’s made during his long political career that were irreparably damaging to the welfare of the Black community.

I agree with Diddy when he insisted that we treat our ballot as a business transaction. We are not here to decipher how genuine a Presidential ticket is, we are here to make the decision that best mitigates the amount of Black people that will be casualties of political war.

We should be careful not to underestimate the power of influence. We’ve formerly viewed a President’s power as limited and largely ceremonial, but Donald Trump has wielded his power to spread racial animus.

He has a knack for mischaracterizing and oversimplifying the Democratic agenda to fuel fear and promote racism. On Sept. 10 in one of his most recent attacks, he uses obscure terms to point to the Black community, “The Democrats never even mentioned the words law and order at their National Convention”, he continues, “If I don’t win, America’s Suburbs will be overrun with Low Income Projects, Anarchists, Agitators, Looters, and, of course, ‘Friendly Protestors.’” Although that tweet pales in comparison to others; he continues to unabashedly declare his allegiance to white nationalism.

His only strategy for winning re-election is to blame the Democrats for his failures and incite violence and bigotry in his voter base. Throughout his presidency, he has made it his mission to prove that he is committed to racism and xenophobia in performative bouts. He even won the last election by galvanizing support for building a wall and “securing” our borders. And in 2018, he instituted the “Muslim travel ban.” The order banned families and individuals from 13 countries from obtaining immigrant visas. The Supreme Court, with a conservative majority (including his appointee Brett Kavanaugh) upheld the constitutionality of the ban.

If we needed any further clarity on where Trump stands, he has failed to appropriately address the white supremacy, right-wing militia groups, and domestic terrorism that has ravaged through this country at an alarming rate following his ‘victory’ in 2016. His rhetoric has emboldened his supporters, including members of law enforcement, to be violent against people of color. Let us remember the unsolved series of lynchings that received minimal media attention if any, at all.

Competency is far more consequential than policy. Donald Trump has shown us that he lacks the empathy and wherewithal to ensure that the Black community doesn’t continue to feel forsaken and impeded by second-class citizenry. And no, this is not a case of the ‘white man’s burden’ and we are not looking for a savior. We are in need of a solution.

Diddy’s right. THE BLACK VOTE WILL NOT BE FREE THIS YEAR. We are voting in exchange for our lives and peace of mind.