Say It Louder! Black Voters, White Narratives, and Saving Our Democracy

In this debut, political analyst and media commentator Cross takes on cable news networks, venture capitalism, a century of Russian attempts to influence American politics, and more as she examines the role of Black voters in US politics. Cross shares her experiences as a young aspiring journalist who is forced to drop out of college owing to financial pressures but is able to win jobs, first at a local radio station and, shortly after, at CNN. She later produced a successful daily email newsletter analyzing recent news and politics, leading to regular appearances on cable news shows. Cross provides numerous examples of U.S. political and cultural systems working as they were designed; upholding whiteness and suppressing those who are not white, such as the media’s focus on recent Russian influence on Black voters while downplaying American white supremacy’s long role in erasing Black voters and their votes—literally, in some cases. Cross writes with entertaining and personable prose, almost as if readers are listening to her speak. She incorporates history extensively into her text, connecting the past to the present while looking ahead to the future.