We’re back at it, again. And if there’s one thing that we’re unable to deny, it’s that this presidential election feels a lot like the last one. Donald Trump is still the Republican nominee, and the Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, shares an irrefutable likeness to Hillary Clinton as ideologues and champions of the Obama administration. It’s uncertain if these similarities will yield re-election for Donald Trump since COVID-19 has swept in and tremendously impacted the campaign trail. Galvanizing support in the last stretch of the race ahead of Election Day, has been—unconventional—at best. The Democratic National Convention that generally takes place in July has been postponed. Historically, the DNC is a forum where the party’s nominee and running mate are declared, the party establishes an impenetrable platform that encompasses a diverse electorate, and, ultimately, brings the party together. In addition to the cancellation of the convention, Biden has been unable to engage with his constituents by making appearances and delivering speeches at rallies, diverting any traction he may have gained before COVID-19 changed the nature of the game; the election game, that is. On the other side of the spectrum, Donald Trump’s incumbency is responsible for influencing his perceived electability for swing voters and independent voters. His approval ratings are swayed by his ability to assuage the nation and influence the states to issue mandates that contain the number of people that succumb to the vitality of the virus. But his social media campaign is unbothered, and arguably more robust and mobilizing than his rallies might be. It’s too soon to determine how each of these factors will impact the upcoming election, but it is important to exploit the correlation between the two election cycles in order to develop an effective strategy for contesting it.

This quote may be too noble to appease political context, but the late Maya Angelou once said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better”. Spoken like a true Black matriarch, and when Black women speak; we listen! Now, how does this particular quote pertain to the upcoming election? Russia has master-minded yet another campaign to undercut faith in the electoral process, dredge racial and cultural divides, and disrupt systems used to facilitate ballot-casting by disfranchising voters. In the last election, Russian operatives contrived efforts to ensure that Donald Trump is elected by undermining Clinton’s presidential competency and exploiting hatred and hostility between contentious groups. They successfully trolled Americans under the guise of the ‘Internet Research Agency’. The danger is that one of their primary objectives was to dissuade people from voting, and they were undoubtedly victorious. This is especially true for black voters— the black voter turnout rate was incredibly low, which is exactly what the IRA intended to do as they impersonated black activists and white supremacists, adding accelerant to a flame that had already been ablaze between white nationalists and the “Black Lives Matter” movement. But they didn’t stop there. They are responsible for circulating false information through posts and memes that they knew would entice individuals looking to incriminate liberals of conspiring to disturb status quo. Russian actors even managed to remotely organize rallies that brandished hateful rhetoric and violence. Their success can be attributed to the employment of Russian “spies” sent to tour America and study the climate to develop and execute a plan that would allow trolls to encroach America’s psyche.

While, we are largely aware of the role that Russia played in the 2016 presidential election because the investigation headlined news for some time after, few of us understand their motive. Surprise, surprise! (But, not really.) America has a long history of involving themselves in other countries’ elections, including Russia’s. It is believed that Vladimir Putin sought to interject in the election to spite Clinton for her widely publicized advocacy for democratic solutions amidst a parliamentary election in Russia that erupted in protests criticizing Putin and his victory. Presumably, Putin preferred Trump because of his willingness to ease tension between Russia and the US and potentially lift sanctions that had been imposed on Russia under the Obama administration. All-in-all, Trump has been vigilant in denying that he may not have won the election “fair and square”. But the facts are that the consequences of John Podesta’s, campaign chairman for the Clinton campaign, emails being released were damning enough to cause the Democratic party to disband. Any doubt cast by Trump and his tweets that Russia is not to blame, and everything that transpired was a matter of partisan politics should be subdued by a Senate report that was recently released, confirming everything we already know about the significance of Russian interference. Now that we know better, we must do better. And we must forge our own path this election, and not allow our political opinions to be regulated by illegitimate sources.

We can start by assessing candidates’ policy proposals. Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton both have long-standing political careers that confess their relatively moderate stance on the political ideological spectrum. Although they have conceded on some of the issues i.e. cannabis legalization, immigration, and foreign policy, they have held their ground on health care. It is their position on health care that managed to set them apart from a democratic field that contrastingly accepted democratic socialism; touting Medicare For All as the alternative to reforming Obamacare. I read through Biden and Clinton’s campaign websites, and realized stark similarities in their agendas. Biden and Clinton’s health care proposals are practically identical. Their only differences lie in mere syntax. Example? While Hillary Clinton’s plan vows to, “defend and expand the Affordable Health Care Act”, Biden’s will “protect” it. Both will offer a “public option” like Medicare that allows eligible parties to buy into it, reduce health care costs like premiums, co-pays, deductibles, prescription drug costs and expand health care access to Americans that may have been omitted from the architecture of the original statute. Ironically enough, both candidates have indistinguishable plans for criminal justice reform, too. The criminal justice system is one of the most pervasive and abominable features of this nation characterized by racial disparities, and Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton have unforgivably contributed to it’s expansion. Their criminal justice reform proposals seek to correct an institution that they enabled. Clinton’s plan makes the claim that, “To successfully reform our criminal justice system, we must work to strengthen the bonds of trust between our communities and our police, end the era of mass incarceration, and ensure a successful transition of individuals from prison to home”. Joe Biden’s plan goes even further by contradicting everything the 1994 Crime Bill, that he helped to write as Senator of Delaware, sought to instate— “Eliminate mandatory minimums”, “end the federal crack and powder cocaine disparity”, “decriminalize the use of cannabis and expunge all prior convictions”, “eliminate the death penalty, “use the president’s clemency power to secure the release of individuals facing unduly long sentences for certain non-violent and drug crimes”, “end the criminalization of poverty”, and “stop corporations from profiteering off of incarceration”.

The grave inconsistencies in their political careers have caused distrust in black millennials— one of the most prominent voting blocs for Democrats. Black millennials carried Barack Obama to victory for two consecutive terms. And Black millennials are also partially responsible for Hillary Clinton losing the 2016 election by very narrow margins for not turning out. Both candidates fare better with older black voters that tend to be more moderate in their political views, than progressive young voters that have little faith in any candidate’s ability to mobilize the black community socioeconomically after acknowledging the shortcomings of a black president whom they believe did not deliver. Name recognition and affiliation with the Obama administration has convinced some older black voters to vote for Joe Biden in the upcoming election, but millennials remain unimpressed and disappointed. In the 2016 election, young black voters were tasked with choosing the ‘lesser of two evils’. But this feeling of political oppression will not suffice, and black voters are determined to make their demands known. And as Diddy, and Naomi Campbell have shamelessly asserted during an Instagram Live session, “The black vote will not be free!”. Black voters are alarmed by Joe Biden’s political past and how their experiences as black people in America have been scathed by anti-blackness derived from political narratives, but they are just as informed of the damage that Trump’s presidency has caused for the last four years. And they are adamant about removing him from the oval office. We are left with the question,  “how will we reconcile these conflicting emotions?” One option we have is to make our demands known! That leaves Democrats with two options, either satisfy black voters’ demands or forfeit another election.