November 13th 2023.
Mark Fisher, a former leader of the Black Lives Matter movement in Rhode Island, has taken a surprising stance on the insurrectionists of January 6th and former President Donald Trump. According to the Epoch Times, Fisher considers the Proud Boys and other groups comprising the insurrectionists to be political prisoners who are “lambs led to slaughter to be sacrificed as an example for all who might want to dissent in the future.”
Since leaving Black Lives Matter Rhode Island, Fisher has founded a new organization, Black Lives Incorporated, and has become a controversial figure in the political landscape. Fisher holds positions that seem to trade in conspiracy theories, and he blames Antifa and anarchists for much of the violence during protests in 2020. He also holds a distrust for both the government and the media; when asked about his view of these institutions, he stated, “I don’t trust the federal or state government as far as I can throw them, and the media is trying to stop us from uniting. It’s the same media that caused the division between all of these marginalized groups in the first place to keep us at each other’s throats.”
Despite his distaste for the political establishment, Fisher has strong opinions about Donald Trump’s policies and what they have delivered for the Black community. He believes that Trump’s policies have gone “under the radar” and that “what you see is what you get” when it comes to his character. Fisher also points to increasing support for Trump in the Black community, citing endorsements from prominent rappers and a growing silent consensus amongst Black voters.
According to Reuters, Black voter support for Trump is indeed on the rise. Exit polls from the 2022 midterms showed that 20% of Black voters under 50 voted Republican – double the percentage of older voters who voted Republican in the 2022 midterms. Furthermore, a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted between July 11 and July 17 showed that 18% of Black voters would choose Trump over Biden if those were their options.
As the 2024 election approaches, Democrats are trying to make sure that they emphasize what they have delivered for Black voters, but some members of the community feel uninspired. Forty-seven-year-old Andre Russell of Chicago told Reuters, “I’m kind of stuck with Biden until someone else comes along. As a society, we definitely have to move past the trope of old white men running everything.” It remains to be seen whether or not these efforts will be enough to motivate Black voters to show up and vote for the Democratic Party.
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