(Todd A. Smith)
United States Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and state Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin, Texas) both have bright futures in national politics.
But for many African-Americans, Rep. Crockett shone a little brighter than her recent opponent in the Texas Democratic primary for United States Senate.
That is why so many African-Americans felt a sense of despair when Crockett lost to state Rep. Talarico.
Many have even said that they will not cast a vote for Talarico in November, which would be a grave mistake because flipping the Senate would provide more checks and balances to the current presidential administration.
But I do understand their anger because many White people have preached merit over the last two years in opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Many have said that jobs and positions should not take diversity into account.
Instead, many have said that jobs should go to the person that earns it by merit and qualifications.
But when an African-American is more qualified and has more experience like Crockett, many people still vote for a White man with a less impressive resume because they believe that the White man would be more electable in a general election.
While that rationale might be true, especially in a red-leaning state with a history of racism like Texas, it destroys the notion of merit-based opportunities.
The best person does not always get the job, especially when the most qualified person is a minority.
Often, the best White man gets the job, even if he is less qualified than his African-American and female counterparts.
That same type of rationale often goes into hiring in corporate America.
The most qualified candidate is sometimes an African-American woman, Asian man or Hispanic transgender person, for example.
But because the good ole boys in the executive offices feel more comfortable with a White man, the minority often gets passed over continuously, even when they are overly qualified.
My cousin once trained a White subordinate.
And when a promotion opened that my cousin was next in line for, they gave the promotion to the White subordinate that my cousin trained.
People see the same thing happening in Texas politics.
While Talarico is a talented leader, Crockett held a higher position than he did.
Therefore, if promotions are about merit, Crockett should be the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate since she already served in the United States House of Representatives.
Talarico has only served on the state level.
To make matters worse, when voters or politicians attempt to level the playing field by opening top-notch jobs to people from various backgrounds, they often get accused of reverse racism.
There is no doubt that Talarico is a future political star, especially because he can reach rural and working-class White people and Christians.
But he was not the most qualified candidate in comparison to Crockett.
And understandably, that is upsetting many African-Americans because we still must be twice or three times better than White men to be considered qualified or equal.
Just being more qualified than White men is not good enough for African-Americans.
We must be exponentially better, and that is still not always good enough.
A few African-Americans, like former President Barack Obama, were so exceptional that they shattered that racist glass ceiling.
President Obama was Ivy League educated.
His public speaking inspired people and brought tears of joy.
His rags-to-riches story made him relatable, despite his intellect and talent.
And his swagger and history-making candidacy brought many newcomers to the polls in 2008, making him the first African-American commander-in-chief in this country’s history.
But juxtapose President Obama’s rise to President Donald Trump’s rise and any halfway intelligent person can see the double standard.
President Trump had n political experience.
Obama had served in community, state and national politics.
Trump had a history of racism, such as refusing to rent his properties to African-Americans in the 1970s and calling for the death penalty for Black and Brown teenagers falsely accused of assaulting a White jogger in New York’s Central Park in the 1980s.
Furthermore, African-Americans who appeared on his reality show “The Apprentice” in the 2000s, like Kwame Jackson, told RegalMag.com about Trump’s racism.
He was accused of sexual assault.
Trump was accused of paying hush money to exotic dancers.
He inspired an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump made fun of disabled people.
The future president bankrupted casinos.
Nevertheless, many American voters still view him as a business genius, even though he inherited much of his fortune and position in life from his daddy.
While in office, Trump’s policies have led to more wars, losses in the stock market, job losses and higher gas prices.
But to many, because he represents the White power structure, Trump is considered the best president ever.
While Talarico is not as bad as Trump by any means (he is actually a great politician), his victory has many disgruntled African-Americans in Texas contemplating stepping away from the political process because they do not feel their needs are being addressed.
Moreover, they believe that when there is a candidate like Crockett who is the most qualified and determined to address their needs, the less qualified White person gets the job because White people feel more comfortable with a White man in power as opposed to an African-American woman.
Talarico was even accused of calling politician Colin Allred a “mediocre Black man.”
Combine that with his campaign strategy to spend much more time courting White and Hispanic voters during the primary, and many African-Americans in Texas believe his election would mean more of the White status quo.
While Talarico is a special talent, so is Crockett.
Unfortunately, only one politician could win the race.
But African-Americans know that even if Talarico was a mediocre White man, many other White people would have preferred that over an exceptional African-American woman.
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