The blue ticket will not automatically guarantee the African-American vote in the upcoming presidential election.

Though this has always been the case, Democratic politicians are generally quick to assume that their party affiliation speaks for itself when it comes to racking up minority votes.

For the past several decades, Democrats have gained as much as 90% of the black vote, contributing to almost a quarter of the overall voter base. Republicans, on the other hand, have all but given up on reaching this demographic and are focusing more on solidifying their base with enough political moderation to pull a swing state or two their way. But this trend could change in 2016.

Last week, Black Lives Matter, an organization formed in 2013 to address issues like racial inequality and police brutality, caused a stir in the Democratic primary by disavowing all political ties. The move comes after the Democratic National Committee, addressing BLM’s criticism of the party, adopted a resolution in full support of the organization. And despite the fact that the movement is starting to alienate its biggest supporters in the Democratic primary, these candidates need BLM more than BLM needs them.

BLM has previously roiled the Democratic Party and demonstrated at campaign events, interrupting both former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

These occurrences send a message to black voters: there is no need to vote Democrat if the party doesn’t fully address certain issues. In a Washington Post Op-Ed, BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors states, “For far too long, the Democratic Party has milked the Black vote while creating policies that completely decimate Black communities.” Cullors continued to expose a hollow relationship between the party and African-Americans.

Due to the long history of a majority black support of the Democratic Party, major elections can fail to touch on issues important to black voters, which often never even make it to Washington. What’s left over is an assumption – one that allows politicians to graze over this demographic and spend their energy wooing less predictable voters.

But simultaneously, the more BLM resists mainstream politics, the less support they will receive from the Democratic Party.

BLM’s behavior toward candidates historically known for supporting African Americans leads certain pundits to spell doom for the movement’s effectiveness. Released footage of a private meeting between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and BLM activists shows Clinton blatantly frustrated with the group’s methodology when activists continued to pressure the Democratic frontrunner to take on their demands as a part of her campaign platform.

However, moments like these make the lack of African-American issues in the election readily apparent, and candidates like Clinton know voters are taking notice.

This could be an important turning point for Republicans, who could take advantage of this gap and attempt to sway more of the black vote. The most outspoken Republican candidate towards racial inequality is Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, but he only scratches the surface on institutional racism without concrete policy.

With only months before Iowa, Black Lives Matter is in an authoritative position in which they can fiercely challenge Democrats to take up their cause so as not to risk a schism between the party and its historically black supporters.

Keely Sullivan is a senior broadcast and digital journalism and French dual major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at kasull02@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @specialksully.

Published on September 10, 2015 at 12:21 am