In just about one year, the United States will determine its next president. Republican or Democrat? Man or woman? Minority or majority? These are only some of the questions voters will be juggling when they head to the polls next November.
Even though the election seems far away, many people, including me, have been using the past few months to determine who they think would be best at the job. You can analyze the debates, familiarize yourself with policy or attend a rally to really get to know the candidate, like 23-year-old Johari Osayi Idusuyi did.
On Nov. 9, Idusuyi attended one of Donald Trump’s presidential rallies in Springfield, Illinois. A black student at Lincoln Land Community College in Illinois, Idusuyi came to the rally with “genuine intentions,” Jezebel reported, but decided at some point during the rally that she was not so into Trump’s speech. So, she did what all of us would do: she pulled out a book and started to read.
An occurrence like this may not seem too significant, and in most cases, it probably wouldn’t be, except for the fact that Idusuyi was seated directly behind Trump, right in the main view of the camera and the world. At one point, an older couple, not too pleased with Idusuyi’s lack of attention, decided to tap her shoulder and motion for her to pay attention. She ignored the request and went right back to her book, and a 6-second Vine of the confrontation has since gone viral.
Oh, and the book she was reading? It was “Citizen,” by Claudia Rankine, which “explores the pervasiveness of racism and microaggressions in America.” Ironic, considering Trump’s past comments have angered and disappointed minority Americans.
Idusuyi’s actions, while entertaining, bring up an important aspect of American politics that is not spoken about too often: the treatment of minorities in elections.
Idusuyi says that when she and her friends arrived to the event, they were encouraged to sit in the so-called “VIP” section, right behind Trump. She noted that there were not a lot of other minorities there, so the placement was “strategic.” Basically, Trump’s staff was allegedly using Idusuyi to fill the position of the token minority at a political event.
Clearly, minorities are important in elections, or Trump’s staff would not have been so concerned with making sure Idusuyi sat in full view. But there are hypocrisies and ironies here. First, like I said before, Trump is not exactly known to be the most progressive or accepting candidate. But also, the American political system diminishes the presence of minorities within itself.
Historically, there has not been a high turnout of minority voters in elections. Around the time of the 2014 election cycle, a report by Pew Research Center discovered that nonvoters are significantly more likely to be minorities, less affluent or to have less education than voters. Plus, also in 2014, legislation that implemented harsher voting restrictions targeted people in these demographics, making it even more difficult to vote.
Restrictions cut down early voting time, affecting people who work long shifts with hourly wages. Other restrictions increased the necessary amount of identification needed for voters, and also made the use of student IDs unacceptable in some states. Some also made it increasingly difficult for people to register to vote in the first place.
Donald Trump and other politicians attempting to include minorities in their campaigns or in the background of their speeches is annoyingly contradictory. Politicians who employ such tactics are only using these constituents for their own gains, and are not actually doing anything to help them live better lives. When was the last time Donald Trump offered insight on institutional racism, or spoke on how minorities are especially influenced by the aforementioned voting restrictions? Exactly.
Events like this remind us to keep a close eye on our candidates this election season, especially as the competition becomes more intense and as the nominee from each party is chosen. The future president must not be a man or woman of superficial tokenism, but a person of action. Words must be mirrored by action, and if they are not, they are simply invalid.
When Idusuyi pushed away that man’s hand and continued to read her book, she made this idea glaringly clear. No matter how many different races someone’s campaign manager squeezes into a “VIP” section, that candidate must have genuine intentions, or it does not count.
At the end of the day, one thing is clear. Idusuyi may not know exactly whom she wants to vote for in the next election, but when asked by Jezebel whether she’ll be voting for Trump, she responded, “Definitely not.”
