Black Consensus Remains Intact
The American presidential election, the quadrennial gathering of citizens for a supposedly common purpose, actually occurs in parallel universes. For one group, the opportunity to ratify one of two choices vetted by the permanent rulers of the land, represents the highest expression of civilization on Earth to date – proof of the inherent goodness of the American project. For another group of Americans, the chance to ratify the same choices is a tentative triumph over the historical crimes of the first group, whose most powerful elements are busily plotting new assaults on the franchise.
“Opposed universes” may be a better term to describe the perceptions of Blacks and whites as revealed in a four-year study of racial divisions under President George W. Bush. Harvard Professors Michael C. Dawson and Lawrence Bobo report that 63% of whites believe that efforts to disenfranchise Blacks in Florida in 2000 were either “not a big problem” (20%), “no problem at all” (18.5%), or a “complete fabrication” of the Democrats (24.5%). This, in answer to questions posed in 2004, as evidence mounted that the election nightmare was about to revisit the state.
Speaking from the real world, 76% of African Americans described the events of 2000 as a “big problem,” 15% as “not a big problem,” and 5% as “no problem at all.” Just 3.7% believe the Democrats made the whole thing up – a sliver of Black folks who must be considered mentally incompetent, since they do not have the excuse of living in the white parallel universe (’s opinion).
Just over a third of whites (37%) recognized that something very serious – “a big problem” – happened in November, 2000. “There’s clearly a divide in the white community,” said Dr. Dawson, a noted social demographer, adding that his conclusions are preliminary and general. “No substantial divide exists in the Black community” over the significance of efforts to disenfranchise African American voters in Florida, he said. What is most troubling is that “there is a significant segment of whites who say, even if you can do something about the disenfranchisement problem, legally, nothing should be done about it.”
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