George Bush defeated John Kerry in the popular vote for President on November 2, 2004, 51% to 48%. In spite of Bush’s win, 56% of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction, 51% think the Iraq war wasn’t worth fighting and 52% don’t approve of the job that Bush is doing. The Daily Mirror in the United Kingdom titled its cover story, “How can 59,054,087 people be so DUMB?” But, Americans have spoken, which is arguably why this country considers itself great.

President Bush increased his support among African Americans from 9% to 11%. The fact that Bush had articulate Blacks in prominent positions in his cabinet such as Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Education Secretary Rod Paige, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, certainly didn’t hurt.

Bush and the Republican Party also made historic gains with other minority voters, which included 42% of the Hispanic vote. Bush’s support came from 88% of white voters. Bottom line…what do the election results mean to African Americans and other minorities?

In addition to a significant increase of unemployment and poverty among African Americans in Bush’s first term he also declared war on affirmative action by opposing the University of Michigan Law School’s affirmative action case before the Supreme Court. I am still furious with him for inaccurately stating that Michigan’s admission policies “amount to a QUOTA system that unfairly rewards or penalizes prospective students based solely on their race.” The admission policy was clearly not a “quota system” and Bush knew that. The New York Times reported that Bush chose the racially charged word, “quota,” because of the negative reaction the word elicits in polls.” .Expect more of the same.

Also, in his first term, Bush used recess judicial appointments to get civil rights opponents past the Senate. He appointed Charles Pickering, who is known to have worked closely with southern segregationist leaders and intervened from the bench to reduce the sentence of a convicted cross-burner. William Pryor has been known to question voting rights, raising the ire of civil rights leaders; Bush gave him a recess appointment to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. ……Expect the more of the same position.

The “saving grace” is that the Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof 60 seat majority in the Senate and Bush will not be able to stack the courts with right-wing conservatives (“…if the Democrats do their job,” says Michael Moore). Other good news is that five more African Americans were elected as members of Congress, including Obama Barack, Senator from Illinois and the return of Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. Personally, I know that McKinney has long been in the struggle, fighting for Black business and African American issues.

However, Bill Cosby’s wife, Camille Cosby, reminds African Americans in her open letter on racism that the African American right to vote will expire in the year 2007. The Voters Rights Act signed in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson was just an ACT, not a LAW. So, in 2007, Congress will once again convene to give African Americans the “right” to vote and the extension must be approved by 38 states. To those Black folks who do not exercise their right to vote, it may be academic if the extension fails. Can you believe it? “White” Americans have spoken!

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