An avid follower of politics, I’ve attentively listened to the pitch beckoning from the mouths of the political right and left, some from those who seem to straddle the line that divides the two parties.

In vetting these candidates beyond the promises they so adamantly claim to deliver, I began to think about why so many black people are so hell bent on voting for Democrats. And if you’ve been watching the presidential debates or ever find yourself perusing news channels and come across Fox, you’ll know it’s very likely to hear “the Democratic party has destroyed the black community”.

After hearing this claim so many times from multiple Fox News anchors and correspondents, as well as GOP presidential candidates, I developed a great deal of interest in the subject. I’m also a Philadelphia native, a predominantly Black city in which Democrats outnumber Republicans 8 to 1.

So why is it that the Chicagos and Philadelphias of the country are so similar in terms of crime rate and lack of emphasis on the failing public school system(those two correlate…just saying)? An even better question, why would Democratic constituents continue to vote these women and men into office with such poor results year after year? Had Democratic politicians benefited from an ill-informed constituency for decades? Had the Democratic party REALLY destroyed the black community?

I won’t go so far as to say Democratic leadership has dismantled the entire black community. I will, however, dare to say that the Democratic party hasn’t helped much.

HERE ARE THE FACTS:

An average of 75% of Black people have voted for Democratic candidates in Presidential Elections since 1988.
Today, the Black vote is 95% Democratic.
The 10 most crime-ridden cities in the U.S are ran by Democrats.
The 8 poorest cities in the U.S. have been ran by Democrats for over 30 years.

Now, to be fair, correlation does not always equal causation. Democratic leadership in some of the most impoverished black communities in America is a common denominator but it does not necessarily mean that this is the indefinite reason for disarray in these cities.

However, it would be wise to perhaps look elsewhere if we are to ever expect economic resurgence in communities that need it most. Some policies that are supported by Democrats on a large scale, such as Welfare, have actually stunted economic mobility rather than encourage it.

So what happens when a group votes for a party en masse for decades without substantial results?

I’d imagine we’d get fed up. Perhaps we’d do some research of our own and learn what these politicians are really saying behind all that political jargon. And maybe, just maybe, we’d do something differently in the coming election. Because as it stands today, we haven’t much to lose.

References: The Washington Post, Factcheck.org