Black Lives Matter Activists Are Not Voting After DNC Result—Is There Really Another Option Besides Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump?

some Black Lives Matter activists were disappointed. With Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as top choices for the election, they decided they have no other choice but to withdraw from voting.

According to PRI, activists like Hawk Newsome have decided to abstain from voting until either candidate makes Black Lives Matter a priority. Newsome and his colleagues in the Black Lives Matter movement even drove to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland to voice out their concerns. They also traveled to Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention.

“Neither party has stepped to the front and made Black Lives Matter a priority,” he says. “Hillary Clinton has the votes of millions of African Americans in her hands. But she’s promoting herself. And the problem is that we are settling [for that]!”

This is a bold move for the Black Lives Matter movement. Newsome is leading this campaign and they are urging African Americans to withhold their votes for either parties unless the candidates make a firm stand on their concerns about police brutality.

The campaign, called “I Ain’t Voting,” was created so the primaries could focus their attention to their cause even more. Newsome believes they are still struggling to win the fight the former generation has fought for.

Though there are open rights for African Americans, there have been massive debates regarding the blatant police brutality.

Newsome did not endorse any candidate, but he said he believes Donald Trump might become an opportunity for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The activist added that the presence of Donald Trump’s representation of the white supremacy in the U.S. politics just highlights Hillary Clinton’s growing need for a strong opposition on Donald Trump’s case.

“Before, we fought to have our right to vote,” he says. “But now we need to fight to have our right to vote mean something.”

“Black Americans have a chance right now collectively to say to the Democrats: ‘Hey, if you don’t give us criminal justice reform, we’ll give the country to Donald Trump.’ That’ll send the Democrats into a frenzy. Black lives will matter then, I guarantee you.”

Newsome might have inspired other African Americans to act, as well. In an interview with the Source, Nick Cannon had similar thoughts regarding the upcoming election.

Nick Cannon said that anyone could just “Google my efforts” and see that even before he became famous, he already was a loud voice in his community.

Nick Cannon added that he is “over political” so he does not fall for “the tricks and lies.” Cannon also suggests for everyone to take a closer look at the candidates and to really study them well.

Though he is extremely critical of the candidates, Cannon said he understood the concept of “the lesser of two evils.”

“I feel like they all work for the same system. Even in my stand up act I talk about when you go to a restaurant and on the menu all they got is bulls**t but one is sugar coated bulls**t. That one might be sweeter but you still eating s**t.”

Seeing that Clinton and Trump are the two major options for the election, Cannon said “they don’t respect my vote.”

“They don’t speak to my community. It’s an elitist mindset. It’s unfortunate, but it’s unfortunate that some of us have been so brainwashed to think that these are the only choices that we have, and that if I vote for this person my life is going to change this way, and if I vote for this person my life is going to change that way. It doesn’t work like that.”

Now, it is up to the two candidates if they want to keep working hard to keep the Black Lives Matter movement’s voice or not.

[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]