Woke isn’t enough: What Democrats must do to win back Black voters

In the years since Barack Obama left office, there have been two seemingly contradictory developments in Democratic Party politics. On one track is the Democratic Party’s leftward lurch into broader social justice advocacy in which anti-racism, dismantling white supremacy and other cultural issues commonly summed up by its detractors as “wokeness.” On the other is the recent drop in support for Democrats among African Americans, and especially Black men.

It’s clear that the Democratic Party has become an anti-racism party. Spend any time in progressive spaces and you’ll see that notions of equity and racial/social justice have permeated through the party.

It’s a great development for the party that was once the home of segregationist politicians. The problem is that this hasn’t worked well in bringing Black voters back to the party.

The Democratic Party needs to expand its appeal to African Americans by embracing a pro-growth and entrepreneurial abundance agenda on top of its current anti-racism and criminal justice reform platforms. While there are a number of issues that affect all Americans but disproportionately impact Black people, one area that deserves attention in particular is occupational licensing. Polling shows black voters are looking for reforms that will allow for financial security and don’t feel that it’s possible to separate racism from their economic prospects.

Across the country, cities and states have placed barriers to entry in a variety of fields, ranging from legal and medical work to drivers and hair dressers, ostensibly for safety reasons. The problem with these occupational licenses is that in many cases they have prevented or outright prohibited people from starting businesses that can put them on the ladder to the middle class.

In the worst forms, these licensing regimes were established to prevent Black people and other minorities from entering the field at all. This is perhaps most starkly seen in laws in which bar exams were historically used to “keep out Blacks, Jews, and other immigrants.” 

This cap prevents law school graduates (who’ve already spent thousands of dollars to get an education) from establishing themselves as lawyers and building a lucrative career. It also has the downstream effect of limiting the number of people who can legally represent others in criminal cases, adding to the overburdened criminal justice system. Public defenders offices are already over capacity with cases, artificially restricting the legal profession through onerous licensing regimes means that there are fewer lawyers allowed to defend disproportionately Black defendants.

Some might argue that this isn’t a hill to die on since not everyone wants to be a lawyer and defendants and litigants need to be sure that their representation is competent. But not every state requires a bar exam to practice law. Wisconsin allows anyone who graduates from a Wisconsin law school to practice law, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, four other states (Utah, Washington, Oregon, Louisiana) and the District of Columbia allowed for temporary diploma privilege. But it is obviously true that for a number of factors (including cost and aptitude) a law career is not something attainable or desirable to most. So, what about something less specialized, a skill nearly everyone learns: driving.

It may surprise people living in the 38 states without professional licensing for chauffeurs, but in 12 states and the District of Columbia, being a chauffeur requires a professional license, with the cost to obtain one up to $275 (D.C.) and two years of experience (Tennessee). Yes, $275 for a license to do something most Americans learn to do as teenagers and many people can do by simply downloading an app and meeting cursory requirements.

In one of the more onerous states for this license, Tennessee, you only need to do this if you’re accepting payment, “volunteering” to drive others does not require a license in the Volunteer State. I’d call it a cash grab, but Tennessee doesn’t charge much for its license (only $4.50), so it’s really just an arbitrary requirement that locks people out of the profession.

Worse, since driving is so ubiquitous, it’s theoretically an easy job for otherwise unskilled or unemployable people to start making money with. Considering that a lack of employment options for (disproportionately Black) ex-felons fuels recidivism, these licensing regimes make it harder for them to re-enter society, find gainful employment and stay out of the system.

Still not convinced? There are valid reasons why you’d want to make sure that a chauffeur is more licensed than an Uber driver, and not everyone uses a car service. What about a service most people have a need for, but are often in short supply? Hair care licensing is perhaps the most notorious of all licensing regimes. Every state requires some form of licensing for cosmetologists and barbers, and 33 require them for something as simple as shampooers.

In Iowa for example, you’re required to go through 2,100 hours of education and pay $130 to get a barber’s license. To be a shampooer, you need the same 2,100 hours of training, but you get a small discount on your license ($113). Down the Mississippi River in Louisiana and Mississippi, the differences are glaring. Despite having a larger Black population, Louisiana’s 500-hour licensing requirement for hair braiding has resulted in only 18 licensed African hair braiders, while neighboring Mississippi (which has only a registration requirement) has over 5,000 African hair braiders. Hair care, a skill many start nurturing when they are young, can blossom into a business, so why are we crushing these jobs with onerous regulations?

How are low-income African Americans with skills and entrepreneurial aspirations supposed to establish themselves if at every turn they are stymied by bureaucratic red tape, not to mention the cost of education to be able to qualify to pay for the license? Democrats have an opportunity to re-engage the Black community by embracing an agenda that reduces these barriers and lets more Black people pursue stable working and middle-class jobs.

The NAACP’s research findings show that Black people want a “hand up not a hand out.” Entrepreneurship is the best way to provide an easier avenue for Black people to enter the economy, but it will require the government to stop being a roadblock.

Markose Butler is a director of community outreach and training at the Progressive Policy Institute’s Center for New Liberalism.