By: Rainy “Country Cutie” Cates
The signs are up.
The chants echo.
The streets are full.
But something feels… off.
Across cities like Houston, Chicago, and L.A., thousands have taken to the streets to protest the latest wave of deportations sweeping the nation. The images are striking: families locked arm-in-arm, children holding posters reading “I belong here,” and calls piercing through the noise:
“Black America, we need you.”
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It’s not the first time we’ve heard this ask. But this time? The call hits different.
Let’s get into it.
Undocumented individuals—many of them Latino—are now facing the consequences of an administration that made its intentions very clear. There was no bait and switch. The platform was public. The threat was loud. And yet…
46% of Hispanic voters cast ballots for Trump in 2024.
That’s up 14 points from 2020.
55% of Latino men backed his campaign.
Meanwhile, Black voters stood largely united, with 86% supporting Kamala Harris and only 13% voting for Trump.
[Source: Pew Research, AP VoteCast]
These aren’t just numbers. They’re receipts.
Hear me out.
Black Americans are once again being called on to stand in the fire for someone else’s blaze. And sure—we know fire. We’ve lived through it. We’ve been scorched and still managed to rise. But now, as families plead for solidarity in the face of mass raids and ICE crackdowns, some of us are left asking:
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Where was this same energy when we were marching for our lives?
Would the same folks now crying for empathy have marched with BLM if ICE raids were targeting Black communities instead? Or would they have just… minded their business?
Does hate outweigh empathy?
Here’s the hard truth:
- 32% of Americans support deporting all undocumented people.
- 51% say some should go.
- Just 16% oppose deportations entirely.
- And ICE? They’ve been locking up more non-criminal immigrants than ever.
That means people with no criminal history—parents, coworkers, students—are being scooped up and disappeared. Gone. No warning. Just… gone.
[Source: Pew Research, Washington Post]
Empathy says: This is wrong. Period.
But resentment whispers: Y’all voted for this. Own it.
And somewhere in between? That’s where Black folks are being asked to stand.
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Again.
Are we allies or are we always the help?
It’s a gut-check moment, sis.
Because while Black folks have always believed in collective liberation—have always stood for what’s right—there’s an underlying tension here. A feeling many of us can’t shake:
Are we being asked to stand in solidarity, or simply being used until it’s convenient to look down on us again?
Because let’s be real: the moment certain communities feel “safe,” some get real quiet when our lives are still on the line. That’s not solidarity. That’s survival politics.
And we’re tired.
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The bigger question.
This ain’t just about immigration. It’s about empathy. About politics. About power. And about whether America ever truly wants Black support—or if it only calls when the house is already burning down.
So, here we are. In the thick of it.
Marches on one side. Memories of silence on the other. And a Black community caught—once again—between the burden of leading the moral charge and the bitterness of being the only ones who always show up.
So I’m asking you, dear reader:
How do you feel? What do you think? Are you joining the fight? Or just watching from the sidewalk this time?
It’s your favorite Bama Blackberry serving you a Snack Time that lingers. If you’re gonna have a cheat day, you might as well do it the right way. Everybody wants a piece of Cates.