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Trenton Harvey

Vincent Colapiertro

AFAM 110.002

14 December 2016

Final Paper: Responses of African American Intellectuals to Presidential Election

Working directly on the Hillary for America 2016 Presidential campaign, I have

witnessed firsthand the many problematic components of this past election. Out of the

abundance of factors that would result in the retrogression of American society, culture,

and legislation that could come from the Trump Administration, perhaps the most notable

and damaging is the sleeping giant of systematic racism and prejudices against African

Americans. I use the term sleeping giant because although it is and has always been

clear to those affected that the American society has proven a pattern of racism and

prejudice, it became abundantly clear, even to those who remain unharmed, that there is a

silent majority of, frankly, racist American citizens. After analyzing numerous responses

to the 2016 Presidential Election, and the projected Trump victory, I have found that the

vast majority of African American public intellectuals, including Toni Morrison, Eddie

Glaude Jr., and Ta-Nehisi Coates, feel that a Trump Administration is the result of, and

will encourage, blatant racism and prejudice.

Throughout this semester we have discussed the wisdom and accomplishments of

famous African American intellectual, Toni Morrison. In response to the projected

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victory of Donald Trump, The New Yorker published its November issue that featured

sixteen writers and their responses to the results of the election. In this edition, there is a

featured essay written by Toni Morrison titled Mourning for Whiteness. In the essay,

Morrison describes that the reason Trumps campaign was successful was because of a

widespread panic amongst a population of white people that believed in white

supremacy. She describes that white peoples conviction of their superiority is being

lost. Rapidly lost. In context, Morrison is explaining how in post-Civil War legislation,

the illusion of power and supremacy is being taken from the white man, especially after

having a black man, Barrack Obama, in the most powerful office in the nation. Morrison

goes on to describe exactly why white men feel so threatened, she explains The comfort

of being naturally better than, of not having to struggle or demand civil treatment, is

hard to give up. In describing the appeal and attractiveness of Donald Trump, Morrison

describes how white men flocked to a political platform that supports and translates

violence against the defenseless as strength. Morrison also knew that Trumps projected

victory was because of an abnormal voter turnout, On election day, how eagerly so

many white voters both the poorly educated and the well-educated embraced the

shame and fear sowed by Donald Trump. Morrison the continued to explain the past

investigation of Trump by the Department of Justice, because of Trump refusing to rent

apartments to African Americans.

Another African American intellectual whose response is worth noting is Eddie

Glaude, Jr. Glaude is a Professor of Religion and the Chair of the Center of African

American Studies at Princeton University. Eddie Glaude Jr. was being interviewed on
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election night while results were being counted and released, by Joe Scarborough on

MSNBCs Election Coverage. When the results were released the Donald Trump was the

projected winner, Glaude had a very powerful response. Glaude told Scarborough

Across the board, white America has just elected to my mind an ill-informed racist who

by any standard is morally and ethically bankrupt. They just elected that person. Glaude

was describing the overwhelming amount of white voter turnout that had never been seen

before. The silent majority has been described by many as one of the most notable

reasons for Trumps projected success. As the interview continues, Glaude says I want

to understand what he wants to understand is assumed how people can overlook the

blatant bigotry shown by Trump. The interview began to end with Glaudes last

statement, People are having to raise their children or having to deal with their children

at the breakfast table. And what does it mean, for our children.

Finally, the last notable response to the 2016 Presidential Election that I analyzed

is the response from Ta-Nehisi Coates. Ta-Nehisi Coates is an educator who is currently

a journalist and writer for The Atlantic, a news outlet that features social, cultural, and

political issues. Coates has been especially vocal about political issues, more notably

during this election cycle, although he is also known for his high praise of current

President Barrack Obama. After the election was projected to be in favor of Donald

Trump, Coates has written several articles, as well as been interviewed by many well-

known personalities. While Coates was a keynote speaker at this years INBOUND

Conference in Boston, though the talk was supposed to be about education, Coates had

some things to say about the recent election. Coates referred to the projected election of
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Donald Trump a mortal threat, not just to black people, not just to this country, but to

the whole World. In addition to well-deserved harsh criticism of Trump, Coates made

certain to point out the misconception that although a black man was elected President in

2008, the issue of race was far from gone in this country. More recently, Coates sat down

and was interviewed by The Daily Show host, Trevor Noah. During the interview, Coates

described how racism worked in the favor of Trump, and also described how different

things were for Barrack Obama. Coates explained, If I have to jump six feet to get to

the same place you have to jump two feet for, thats how racism works, Coates

said. And to be president Barrack Obama had to be scholarly, intelligent,

president of the Harvard Law Review, the product of some of our greatest

educational institutions, capable of talking to two different worlds. Donald Trump

had to be rich and white. That was it. Thats the difference.. Following the

interview, both Coates and Noah have received national attention due to their

criticism.

Throughout analyzing several responses to the election from African

American intellectuals, I have solidified a conclusion that I, and many other peop le

believe to be true, came to even before the projected result. That conclusion being

that racism is very alive in this nation and after this election cycle, thrives just as it

did in the 20 th century. Agreeing with the responses that I read and analyzed, the

projected election of Donald Trump means that Americas racist and prejudice issues

are bigger now than ever and unfortunately, the people that are most targeted are
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those very same people that are constantly silenced, illegitimated, and shrunk so tha t

their voices cannot be heard.

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Works Cited

Yorker, The New. "Aftermath: Sixteen Writers on Trumps America." The New Yorker.
N.p., 21 Nov. 2016. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.

"Princeton Prof: 'White America Has Elected an Ill-informed, Morally and Ethically
Bankrupt Racist'" Legal Insurrection. N.p., 10 Nov. 2016. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.

10, 2016 Nicole Hernandez Globe Staff November. "Ta-Nehisi Coates Calls Election of
Donald Trump a Mortal Threat - The Boston Globe." BostonGlobe.com. N.p., 10 Nov.
2016. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.

Hairston, Tahirah. "Ta-Nehisi Coates Sums up How Donald Trump Benefits from
Whiteness in a Few Perfect Sentences." Fusion. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.