The black vote has been the topic of discussion, especially for the last several years, becoming something so powerful that elected officials target when on the campaign trail. The true power of the black vote is constantly being discovered as more and more African Americans get involved in the voting process. Just recently in Georgia, we saw just how much the black vote can shift the power structure. Georgia hadn’t voted blue since 1992 when Bill Clinton was running for office, but with the help of community organizers, social media, activists, and just everyday people; black people stood up like never before and made their voices heard. In my opinion, a huge reason why we achieved this outcome was because of the “Linked Fate” and “Black Utility Heuristic” perspectives. After 4 years of turmoil under President Trump, the black community looked for answers elsewhere and was steadfast in the effort to remove Trump from office and flip the Senate. They accomplished both of these goals by simply coming together to help everyone. Let’s look deeper into how these perspectives are seen in our society and how they can continue to help the African American community to get more involved in the process to achieve a better quality of life. 

            “The Black Unity Heuristic Perspective” is a group-based political culture that suggests that there are several core black issues such as criminal sentencing, employment, education, etc. that unite the community politically and helps to mobilize their vote. These issues affect black political behavior, which is the collective thought process of African Americans in politics and public policy. Going back to the example of Georgia, which was mentioned earlier, several of these issues inspired many African Americans to go and get involved. African Americans were tired of the former administration’s lack of professionalism, sympathy, and preparedness especially during the national pandemic. They felt that several issues such as education, employment, and government assistance had not been treated with the seriousness that it deserved, leaving them with no choice but to force change. It became a collective consciousness that allowed everyone to organize and move on one accord. The collective consciousness helped them to engage in the political process to solve issues that affected their race specifically which is considered “The Linked Fate Perspective”

            “The Linked Fate Perspective” much like the previous perspective, is all about the collective consciousness of African Americans. “The Linked Fate Perspective” encourages black people to participate more in the political process while encouraging them to be self-aware of what the community needs as a whole. This is important because the goal is not to just get the black community to focus solely on the voting process but the political process as a whole. Holding elected officials accountable, advocating for policy, and being involved in community organizing and funding is all a part of the political process, therefore it is important to be self-aware as a community so you can advocate for the right things. With this perspective, it will help the African American community to focus on what everyone needs wholistically which will make us more powerful. Although, one has not been homeless that doesn’t mean they should not care about those who live in poverty-stricken areas. They should want to help those people and encourage their city or state to invest into the homeless community to build shelters, give job placements, and help them improve the lives of the homeless so they can become fully functioning members of society again. Both of these perspectives help the black community to not just focus on the well-being of the individual, but to pay attention to what can help the collective group succeed. 

            Both of these perspectives work together to ensure the advancement of black people. They both encourage the collective consciousness of the black community to allow black people to be involved in the political process and to make a change within their community. Most people do not vote due to the propaganda that is promoted that says “The black vote doesn’t matter” or “Your vote doesn’t count” however, the more that the black community sees examples like Georgia, the more confidence they will have in their vote. I believe both of these perspectives can raise the quality of life for black people because it pushes them to get involved and ensure that not only are they electing the right people to represent them but are also holding those people accountable to do what is best for the community. I see these perspectives evolving to push the community to form interest groups to put funds behind the collective agenda to improve our communities. Being able to not only say to a representative that we will take our vote away but also being able to say that we will take our money away if you don’t help us is the aggressive power that we lack. If there are no consequences for writing us off, then people will have no problem doing it. All we have to do is have confidence in the power that we have as African Americans to influence the nation and press into that confidence to force change within our communities and leave the world better than we found it. Issues such as housing, income, education, and health within the black community will all become a priority in this country when the African American community as a whole take being involved in the political process as a priority and I believe that both “The Black Utility Heuristic Perspective” and “The Linked Fate Perspective” will help us reach that place.