As the presidential election nears, more and more people are weighing in with their opinions. Tariq Nasheed recently went to Twitter to tell his 250,000 followers not to vote.
On Sept. 22, Nasheed tweeted, ” The smartest thing Foundational Black Americans can do this election cycle, is STAY THE HELL HOME and NOT vote.. Don’t let any of these non-FBA groups SHAME you into voting when it helps THEM but not YOU as a FBA”
Nasheed is a filmmaker, author, and activist who founded the Black think tank the Foundational Black American convention. Nasheed also goes by the names Tariq Elite, King Flex, and K-Flex, and has produced documentary films on the history of Black people and authored books on dating for men and women.
Among Nasheed’s documentaries are “1804: The Hidden History of Haiti ” (released in 2017); “Hidden Colors,” a history of African and aboriginal peoples released in 2011, “Hidden Colors 2: The Triumph of Melanin” (2012). He also wrote and directed the 2013 horror film “Dark Medicine” and wrote the books “The Art of Mackin” and “Play or Be Played: What Every Female Should Know About Men, Dating, and Relationships.”
Nasheed’s tweet, while controversial, is in line with the sentiment of other Black notables. Ice Cube, Diddy, and Charlamagne tha God threatened to take the Black Vote hostage, especially after Biden quipped during an interview with Charlamagne that if Black voters don’t vote for him, they’re not Black.
While many were offended by Biden’s views, Los Angeles Times editorial writer Carla Hall said Biden was right — he just shouldn’t have said it out loud.
“Charlamagne was right to remind Biden on his show, “The Breakfast Club,” that Democrats take Black voters for granted. That’s true. The Democratic Party has a history of assuming: Who else will Black people vote for? And the Republican Party often acts as if it lost Black folks from the get-go,” Hall wrote.
But added, “Biden and the Democratic Party are a better choice than Trump and the Republican Party. It’s as simple and sometimes depressing as that. And not voting at all is dangerous. It only ups the possibility that Trump wins. Republicans vote, they don’t stay home. Even in a quarantine.”
In response to Nasheed’s call for Black Americans not to vote, many disagreed.
“This election is way too important to tweet something so dangerous like this!” Forevershante tweeted.
“NOPE, this ain’t it fam…did this shit with Hillary and look what we ended up with…I’d rather deal with someone I oppose but will listen than someone I oppose and could give two shits about hearing me out” @TekHeadKev tweeted.
The Wise @Wise_Jones agreed with Nasheed: “From a logical position @tariqnasheed is correct. Name one thing over the past 50 years that has changed in the positive towards restitution? The scare tactics gotta stop and someone needs to approach us in a serious manner.”
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In 2019, Nasheed retweeted videos of Trump talking about Republicans wanting to help Black people and the GOP’s efforts to revitalize Black communities.
Nasheed butted heads with American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) founders Yvette Carnell and Antonio Moore over MAGA and how it has really helped Black people.
Nasheed agreed with Trump, to which Carnell and Moore took offense. Moore Tweeted that Nasheed’s thread didn’t “make sense” because it was not based on “real politics.” Carnell pointed out that politicians will say anything but it all amounts to “vacuous, meaningless symbolism.”
