White Allyship: Was It Just a Fad?

The voting patterns of millennials from 2008 to 2020 is so wild. I’m going to explore for my newsletter this week, but here’s a sample in some states of the millennial vote in 2008/2020:

AL: D+3/R+17
CA: D+53/D+29
FL: D+24/R+2
KY: D+3/R+12
ME: D+37/D+6
NC: D+48/D+13

— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) May 24, 2021

The optimists are saying that there has been an enduring shift in White racial attitudes toward the “racial justice” movement:

Politico:

“One year after the death of George Floyd,there is widespread recognition that America’s national reckoning on race still has a long way to go. But another thing is becoming clear: data suggests public opinion on racial justice issues has changed dramatically, powering a sustained and historically significant wave of activism among white Americans.

It’s a development with wide-ranging political and policy implications, creating the conditions for rethinking approaches to policing, criminal justice, housing and health care disparities, to name a few. President Joe Biden’s unprecedented acknowledgment of — and frequent references to — systemic racism is but one reflection of the altered dynamics. …

Wise also noted the importance of educating the next generation as an outcome of the movement for racial justice.

“You can get people in the streets — the question is if you can get them to raise their kids differently,” he said. “I do suspect that a lot of the younger people who have come in will stay connected to the larger social justice umbrella over their lives.”

People who participated in BLM protests tended to be young, and polling data for younger voters suggests that support for BLM and similar racial justice initiatives will continue to rise over decades. Among white voters aged 18-34, support for the movement significantly outweighs opposition — the opposite of other white age groups, who mostly oppose the movement.

James thinks the next generation of voters may bring the country closer to justice. …”

The pessimists are saying the White allies were virtue signaling and were only around for a season of solidarity that peaked last June.

U.S. News and World Report:

“Based on the name alone, it’s hard to mistake the social and political leanings of Reparations Club, a low-profile Los Angeles independent bookstore. Jazzi McGilbert, the proprietor, says it’s a cheeky “calling card” to her clientele, a not-subtle hint that her stock consists almost entirely of books about Black issues by Black authors, from WEB Dubois to Colin Kaepernick.

Last spring, amid intense demands for racial justice after the police killing of George Floyd, a surge of white customers swept into her shop, clamoring for books on race, African American history and literature. They were heeding the call of Black Lives Matter movement leaders, who urged aspiring white allies to educate themselves beforelinking arms with protesters – and fill the coffers of Black-owned businesses in the process.

That kept McGilbert’s cash registers ringing: In June alone, “our sales topped the entire previous year,” she says, a big boost for a fledgling business struggling to survive during a recession and a global pandemic. “We’re still here because of that shift.”

But as the BLM protests waned during the fall and winter and President Joe Biden replaced Donald Trump in the Oval Office interest seemed to wane.

But what went up eventually came down: A year later, McGilbert says, sales “have definitely tapered off,” with far fewer whites have come to her door. …

Given those developments, Dowe says, it’s not surprising white allyship gradually faded, despite clear evidence that the “race problem” in America is far from solved. …”