Should black women care about the 4B Movement?
Although far less voters than other groups, black men who did vote for Trump have set themselves up for failure
Writer's note: This post was originally published on November 19. A few stats below have been clarified.
I never thought I’d even humor the idea of the 4B Movement — unless I got involved in another interracial dating relationship. I have heard about it over and over again in the past two weeks, including a disturbing reaction from a few women who were told that they should be raped for participating in it.
But it just seemed unrealistic to me for black women to agree to the terms of the 4B Movement: a refusal of (heterosexual) marriage, childbirth, romance and sexual relationships. While news reports would have you believe that black men were going to vote for Donald Trump in droves, what actually happened was black men largely voted for VP Kamala Harris — as they did in 2016 with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
NBC reports that Black men younger than 30 and older than 65 were the most likely to support Harris at 78% and 87%, respectively. Additionally, 73% of men ages 30-44 and 76% of men 45-64 supported the vice president.
“Ask these brothas, ‘You registered? You want to pull up to me?’” said former FLOTUS Michelle Obama. “Let me see your voting card. Did you vote early? You’re cute, but did you vote?”
That’s clearly not as much as the number of Black women (92%) who voted for Harris in 2024, but it is still majority. Black women stayed on the right side of history with 90% who voted for Biden in 2020 — slightly less than the 94% of Black women who voted for Hilary Clinton in 2016 and not as much as the 96% of Black women who voted for former President Barack H. Obama in 2008 and 2012.
Still, like Wanda Sykes said, going home for Thanksgiving and worrying about Trump supporters at the dinner table is a non-issue for (most of) us. I would be genuinely stunned if even one man in my entire family (on either side) voted for Trump.
Recommended Read: “Mecca's one-man verbal fight in 'My Expert Opinion' is depressing ~ Beyond belief at Trump-supporting black men in Math Hoffa's podcast”
The “convicted felon” label did Harris’ campaign no favors
I winced every time the campaign reminded listeners that Trump was a “convicted felon.” I don’t know anyone with 34 felony convictions, but I do know a few too many black men classified as felons for marijuana charges. So saying he was a “felon” over and over and over again stung my ears a little bit to hear, and I can only imagine how it sounded to those men convicted of non-violent crimes.
Recommended Read: “VP Kamala Harris owning a gun does not make her 'Conservative Lite' ~ The moment the vice president admitted she was a registered gun owner was met with mixed responses”
But my mind can’t comprehend how someone could look at Harris as an enemy versus a man who wants police to have complete immunity. While Harris’ Back On Track was meant to reduce recidivism, Trump has zip zero plans to correct any form of racial profiling, hate crimes and knew bare minimum about Sonya Massey other than calling her murder “the water.” This man gives absolutely no f—ks about black people. Look at his (criminal) Cabinet picks. Not a melanin drop in sight, unless you count the embarrassing nomination of Samoan-American Tulsi Gabbard.
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So when I hear statements from icons I respect, such as Denzel Washington, saying “Now with the information age the way it is — if anything — left, right, whatever had better learn how to use those tools to manipulate the people,” I’m puzzled.