Enough is Enough
A simple admission by Jordan Rock
“What motivates young African Americans to vote?” My editor asked me this question for the week, and it took me a bit of time to mull it over. Mostly because to me, the answer is obvious, and I hate obvious answers. They make the world seem smaller to me. Still, if you ask most young voters why they care so much about current politics, why we rushed the polls and mailed in our ballots in droves, and the answer you get will be about the same every time.
“We can’t afford not to.”
The US Senate continues a partisan march toward hyper conservatism.
We hear about the human rights violations taking place in actual concentration camps on American soil.
We watch the news tick by about how the rich are just getting richer by profiting off the strife.
When we shut off our phones, we’re left with the sobering knowledge that we’ll be the first in line to witness the long-term effects of climate change.
What Motivates Young Voters?
The weight of knowledge is heavy. Staying apprised of current events in America over the last four years has been like a marathon over a miles-long bed of spikes.
It’s especially bad for African Americans like me. My people are getting killed and beaten and gassed and jailed. People that could’ve been members of our family. Our friends. Our own future, bleeding in the street.
We’re tired. But we know that there is one thing we can do to make a difference; we can vote. Millennials and Gen Z make up the largest voting pool in the United States. According to NBC, the young vote is going to Biden over Trump by about 20 points, and to me that’s no surprise. While Trump rolls around in his own filth in the White House, we’re the ones that are being affected by his decisions in the long term. This age group is more diverse, educated and open minded than the last two, and we’ve had a front row seat to the erosion of our democracy over the last four years. We’ve had enough.
History
Trump’s life story has been pockmarked with decisions both cruel and criminal. There’s a Wikipedia page solely dedicated to his Legal Affairs. The depths of his depravity would have needed an entire book’s space to catalog a couple decades ago. He is not a man fit to run a small business, let alone a whole country. And we’ve seen the result of his time in the White House.
Families torn apart and put in cages. A farcical “Border Wall” that will clearly never be finished or earn its money back. An economic crash. The complete refusal to handle a deadly pandemic. A rise in hate crimes and domestic terrorism (primarily by white supremacists according to the DHS) and lies upon lies. Over 20,000 lies in the last 14 months, according to both The Washington Post and The Guardian. If we fail to vote him out, we get more of the same.
We’ve seen the seeds of fascism taking root in our country, and our so-called leadership refuses to take responsibility.
So we have to hold them accountable. Everyone in my generation and below knows that if our future has any hope
of being a place worth living in, we have to act now.
So, What motivates young African Americans to vote?
We simply can’t afford to do this all again.
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Publisher — Black Source Media
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu