Why Cardi B's Political Activism Matters

By Michael Arceneaux


In May, a study from a polling initiative from the University of Chicago called Gen Forward reportedly noticed that young Black folks are more likely to imagine themselves “strong Democrats,” even though one-third of them believe that the Democratic Party does not care about them.


One can imagine why. In the wake of Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election, so much of the zone in political media went to white working class voters and the purported “economic anxiety” that supposedly pushed them to support Trump’s candidacy. That was habitually a far-fetched theory to nonwhite people, although our suspicions were justified as extra statistics ultimately proved Trump supporters’s true motivations: The fear of societal change — in other words, a growing nonwhite population. And while plenty of “moderate” 2020 candidates are attempting to reach across both sides of the aisle for a center-of-the-road vote, we know that if anyone is to overcome Trump in the second presidential election, they'll require a sizable portion of the Black vote and the youth vote to create that happen. And the intersection is important: In 2016, 55 percent of young voters chose former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, down from the 60 percent that backed Obama in 2012, while 37 percent voted for Trump. Yet 89 percent of the Black vote went to Hillary, including 85 percent of Black people aged 18-29.


According to a Pew Statistics Center analysis, younger voters — including millennials, Generation X, and Gen Z — cast more votes than Baby Boomers and older generations in the 2018 midterm elections, seemingly leading the way for Democratic victories nationwide. Millennial turnout nearly doubled from 2014 to 2018 and there really is fantastic potential for Generation Z to prepare its impact felt next year. Whoever decides to take on Trump will need this population to be motivated, and now, also several young Black kids feel like their party doesn’t give a damn about them. That is a problem that needs correction — otherwise, you could look forward to potentially four more years of that dimwitted demagogue.


It’s not a point several political pundits are talking about, yet Cardi B has recently brought greater attention to this reality.


In a video posted to her Instagram in late July, the 26-year-old, multi-platinum rapper called on “bloggers, YouTubers and influencers” to get the youth involved in politics prior to the 2020 election.


“We have the power to influence our youth to get wise any time it comes to our Democratic candidates,” Cardi mentioned. “We get distracted with people putting Trump on blast, like CNN constantly putting Trump on blast and the unlawful shit that he has been committing in this nation because he puts things on Twitter that distract us from all of the bullshit that he actually be doing.”


I’m not really a fan of the “distraction” argument — everything the most powerful man on the planet does and says matters. Yet her larger point is valid: People must pay greater attention to both Trump’s rhetoric and his policies. She has a point here, too: “Instead of us posting the little bullshit that [Trump] be posting on Twitter, why don’t we post almost every day these positive things that these Democratic candidates aspire to do for our nation ... This man has a big chance of winning in 2020 and we may change that.”


Changing that could mean progress on climate action immigration rights, along with a more equitable healthcare system. It may stem the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ violence that has sharply increased in the Trump era, the assault on the civil rights of Black and brown people, and the attack on reproductive rights.


Several have saluted Cardi’s call to action, yet there has been predictable pushback, much of which is rooted in classism, sexism, and racism, a devaluation of Black and Latinx advice that have been limited to rigid contexts and presentations. “You need to stick to rapping sis you of course don’t know what you’re talking about,” one commenter mentioned. “Stick to stripping!” Added another.


I’ve long recognized that several of the people who shape our political narrative are privileged, white, and stay in a bubble that prevents them from providing much in the way of nuance and substantive conversation — and most are not interested in helping decrease this disparity in representation by hiring people who look and live far differently than them. This is partly by design: The exclusionary nature of political jargon often makes people who couldn’t afford to earn law degrees feel like politics isn’t “for them,” which leads them to opt out of the conversation. The people who do understand — which is to mention, white males and those they deem “worthy” — can continue to set the status quo, insulated in their bubble. I’m still into politics in spite of this lack of diversity, nevertheless not each person else is — understandably so.


So, though Cardi B might not directly sound like your average pundit, I’m confident Once I mention it’s for the perfect that she doesn’t. A lot of those people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about because they define the same in-crowd, which is such a tiny portion of the population that their comments turn into an echo chamber, reinforcing their limited scope. At least Cardi B speaks in a way that is available to people who find often find politics to be exclusive to them and their interests.


That’s why it’s a good thing Cardi B is becoming more vocal about her politics, including her recent shows of support for Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ilhan Omar. Young people have been collectively excluded from the conversation, to the point where the youth vote is either taken for granted or thought an afterthought. If we give celebrities an all-powerful platform, it’s essential they pay it forward and push their fans to shift the focus any time it matters most.


You don’t have to be nonwhite to know what it’s like to be nonwhite living In the United States, yet you ought to care; segment of that includes making room for more nontraditional voices in politics. Cardi B isn’t attempting to be Christiane Amanpour; she's helping people who have no idea who Christiane Amanpour is increase better insight into the world around them and why they could include. And if we desire to be able to see change in 2020, we should join in, disrupt the conversation, and fill the space with language the rest of us can understand, too.