New York City’s Vaccine Passport Threatens to Leave African Americans Behind

The latest data on COVID-19 vaccinations shows New York City's vaccine passport program could have dire consequences.

The Big Apple began enforcing its vaccination pass in September. New Yorkers over 12 must prove that they've received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose for most indoor activities. These include going to restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, music venues, museums and sports facilities. Mayor Bill de Blasio has given inspectors from 13 city agencies the power to enforce the program, known as the Key to NYC.

Besides business owners and their workers, black residents have also become collateral damage in New York City's war on COVID. Though chronically underreported, Key to NYC effectively bans 72% of black New Yorkers between 18-44 from indoor dining, fitness and entertainment. Activities we all took for granted before the pandemic.

The Federalist's Christopher Bedford explains why the prospect of an accelerated political realignment over COVID-19 presents an opportunity for Republicans.

In the summer of 2020, the desires of black Americans were the sole obsession of the Democratic Party. Remember all those doctors and public health officials signing a letter that claimed protesting against racism was the sole valid justification for ignoring stay-at-home orders? And now they seem to want to throw all that away — all sacrificed at the altar of Covid hysteria.

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Tensions over the racial vaccination gap have manifested far beyond New York City. Civil rights activists decry New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's push to fire unvaccinated healthcare workers. Meanwhile, NBA all-stars speak out against coercing the unvaccinated.

The pandemic's impact and policies it inspired may have jump-started the current political realignment. One where Democrats increasingly find themselves beholden to liberal Wall Street donors and Silicon Valley. On the flip side, culturally conservative blue-collar voters find themselves aligned with the Republican Party. While Democrats feel confident that Black Americans won't abandon them, the mistreatment of their most loyal voting bloc may become impossible to ignore.

Bedford continues:

Of course, none of this means the left will surrender willingly. They may be alienating the rank and file of their old base, but they're doing everything possible to pretend otherwise. Actual working-class men and women are souring on Democrats, but the SEIU, the Teamsters, the United Auto Workers — their leadership is thoroughly bought and sold; they've been accepted into the ruling class (and they like it).

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In addition, the culture of partisan identity in America (a culture particularly prominent in poor communities) will be a hard thing to change. Go to the country north of Philadelphia, the land that coal left behind, and ask people who they're voting for. More often than not, they'll tell you who their grandfather or grandmother voted for. Go to a black church in my neighborhood, and you'll hear the same.

Finally, Democratic leadership is loath to surrender black radicals' demands as a cudgel to keep middle-class whites in line. It's an incredible weapon: The kind that can make FBI agents — grown men with badges, guns and a monopoly on legal use of force — bend the knee before teenaged rabble.

It took 100 years following the Civil War for Republicans and Democrats to reshape their alliances, leading to dramatic shifts in support for each party. However, President Trump's conservative populism significantly increased his support with minority voters in four years.

Despite the obvious challenges for Republicans, history proves that demographics aren't destiny—as Democrats would like to believe.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.