Reimagining Political Power: Third Party Voting, Black Radical Thought, and the Fight for Collective Liberation

As someone deeply invested in understanding how we can reshape our political engagement to better serve Black working-class communities, I often reflect on the lessons of my personal experiences, my studies and journey as a scholar in Black feminist epistemology, and my journey as a mother. Motherhood, for me, has become a powerful site of resistance—a daily reminder that our collective liberation is not only a moral imperative but a personal one, affecting the lives of future generations.

My scholarly interests in embodied knowledge, Black feminist epistemology, critical race theory, and Black radical thought have shown me that our fight for justice must encompass intersectionality, third world solidarity, and a nuanced class analysis. Something our Ancestors of the revolution tirelessly preached and practiced. In this context, it is essential to consider third party voting as a transformative step forward, as well as examine the role of the Black middle class in shaping, and sometimes hindering, collective progress. I say this a transitional, somewhat member of the Black middle class coming live and hot from the Black working class.

The Limits of the Two-Party System: A Personal and Historical Reckoning

Growing up in a working-class Black family, I witnessed firsthand the gaps between political promises and lived realities. My Grandma Babe, who embodied resilience and unyielding love, often spoke about the importance of voting as a duty passed down from generations who fought for the right to be seen as full citizens. She was born in 1923. Yet, despite the energy we put into supporting mainstream candidates, the material conditions for families like ours didn’t improve at a fundamental level. I saw in practice how my Great Gradmother began to reckon with the lack found in the bipartisanship of American politics. The promises of better housing, better schools, and more opportunities often fizzled into incremental changes that barely scratched the surface of systemic problems. Motherhood as a site of resistance was evident in the fact that my Grandma Babe visited my Uncle Abdul, her son who challenged these systems of in quite and state violence.

This dissonance between expectation and reality pushed me to delve into Black feminist epistemology, where I discovered a language for what my community had long understood but hadn’t always articulated. As bell hooks wrote, “The function of any radical pedagogy is to understand what you’re resisting and how you’re resisting.” I realized that by confining our political engagement to the two-party system, we were resisting within the boundaries set by those who benefit most from the status quo. We were allowing our collective power to be fragmented and diluted. We were settling for an unsustainable way of living.

Embodied Knowledge and the Necessity of Third-Party Politics

Embodied knowledge, a core concept in Black feminist thought, emphasizes that wisdom is derived not just from academic study but from lived experience. I would not have been able to successfully navigate spaces without this synthesis of being and knowing while Black woman in the world. This means that the Black working class, in its daily struggles against economic, racial, and social inequalities, possesses profound insights into what kinds of policies and systems are truly needed for justice. Yet, the two-party system rarely taps into this embodied knowledge, focusing instead on performative gestures and half-hearted promises that resonate more with the Black middle class than the working class. And sad to say, many Blacl working class members have bought into this system of repression.

Voting for third parties is often dismissed as impractical, a waste of a vote. But through the lens of embodied knowledge, third party voting emerges as a revolutionary act. It is a declaration that we are aware of the system’s limitations and refuse to engage with it on terms that undermine our worth. Third party platforms often advocate for policies that center economic justice, criminal justice reform, and the dismantling of oppressive systems—policies that resonate deeply with the lived experiences of the working class. Policies and practices I have felt seen in as a living descendant of those hard working faithful LaBordes from Queens. Voting for these platforms is an expression of the very embodied knowledge that mainstream politics overlooks. Hell, I deal with this embodied resistance in the academic space. It is a way to say that we see, we know, and we will not settle.

The Role of the Black Middle Class: Progress, Privilege, and Division

To fully understand why third-party voting is not only viable but necessary, we must confront the role of the Black middle class. The rise of a Black middle class is frequently touted as a sign of progress, and in some ways, it is. People who have fought to secure positions in academia, business, media, and politics have broken barriers that once seemed insurmountable. Despite my own personal gymnastics in these arenas, a Black girl turned woman is still here. However, this success comes with complications that can create divisions within the broader community.

The Black middle class, having secured a level of stability and access, often becomes invested in maintaining that stability, sometimes at the expense of radical change. This is a reality I have observed in my community and among colleagues who, while committed to justice in theory, hesitate when it comes to supporting policies that might threaten their own positions. As much as we preach about our Ancestors' right to vote, we don't preach on the lessons gleaned from abandoning respectability politics and finally integrating a way of life that is inclusive for all Black folks. Kimberlé Crenshaw’s work in critical race theory has shown how systemic inequities are maintained not just by overt racism but by subtler forms of privilege and power dynamics. This extends to the role of class within the Black community itself.

It is important to remember that the interests of the Black middle class don’t always align with those of the working class. The middle class may push for incremental reforms that ensure their place within existing systems, while the working class seeks more comprehensive changes that challenge the very foundations of those systems. This division can weaken movements and make it harder to mobilize around transformative political action, such as third-party voting. Malcolm X once said, “The middle class Negro… is usually the one who seeks to integrate with the white power structure and wants only token integration… The masses are more militant because their struggle is more critical.” 

This insight holds true today and serves as a reminder that unity must be built on shared struggles, not superficial commonalities.

Motherhood as a Site of Resistance: Why We Can’t Wait

My journey into motherhood has made the stakes even clearer. Motherhood, for many Black women, is a form of resistance in itself. It means nurturing children in a world that is not designed for their thriving, instilling them with the knowledge that their worth is non-negotiable, and fighting for a future that protects them from harm. In this context, voting is not just a civic duty; it is an act of survival and ancestral knowing that adds to the concept of voice in liberation. The choices I make at the ballot box are not just for me—they are for the world I want my children to inherit. And if that world is one where justice is not an abstract idea but a lived reality, then supporting third parties that align with these values is essential.

Audre Lorde reminded us, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Caring for our communities, and demanding policies that care for them, follows the same principle. The traditional parties do not adequately represent the needs of Black mothers who want to see their children thrive in safe, equitable, and just environments. Third-party platforms that push for universal healthcare, substantial education reform, and comprehensive criminal justice policies are more aligned with what mothers like me envision for our children.

Intersectionality and Third-World Solidarity

Intersectionality, a term introduced by Kimberlé Crenshaw, underscores that our experiences are shaped by overlapping systems of discrimination and privilege. For the Black working class, this means that our struggles are informed not just by race but by class, gender, and global systems of economic exploitation. Embracing third-party voting as a strategy would mean aligning with platforms that recognize these intersections and push for policies that dismantle them.

Moreover, understanding intersectionality means recognizing that our fight for justice is not limited to our local or national experiences. It extends to third-world solidarity—the recognition that our liberation is tied to the liberation of marginalized communities around the globe. Angela Davis once stated, “If they come for me in the morning, they will come for you in the night.” This reminds us that the systems of capitalism, white supremacy, and imperialism that oppress Black people in the U.S. are the same systems that oppress communities worldwide. Third-party movements that align with anti-imperialist, pro-human rights stances help bridge these struggles, reminding us that our fight is not isolated but interconnected. It saddens me that many working-class and middle-class Black mothers do not feel the urgency to align themselves with the mothers and peoples of other lands experiencing genocide. How can we bridge this divide?

Black Radical Thought and Class Analysis

Black radical thought, which includes the teachings of thinkers like W.E.B. Du Bois, James Baldwin, and Assata Shakur, urges us to look beyond the superficial and dig into the deeper structures of oppression. Du Bois’ concept of double consciousness—understanding how we are seen through the lens of both our identity and society’s perception of us—reveals the difficulty in advocating for change within a system that was never built for us. Supporting third-party platforms rooted in radical change means acknowledging this double consciousness and using it as fuel to challenge the system rather than adapt to it.

Class analysis is equally important here. Many mainstream conversations around race fail to incorporate a rigorous examination of class, leading to a limited understanding of the problems and solutions needed. The working-class and poor within the Black community face unique challenges that cannot be solved with the policies that cater to middle-class interests. Addressing these disparities means pushing for policies that go beyond incrementalism, policies that third-party platforms are more likely to champion.

A Call to Action

To be clear, advocating for third-party voting is not an act of political naivety. It is an acknowledgment that the systems we participate in need more than reform; they need reimagining. It is a commitment to seeking justice that is rooted in embodied knowledge, informed by critical race theory, fueled by Black radical thought, and enriched by the wisdom of motherhood as resistance.

The Black middle class has an important role to play here as well. This group can use its resources and influence to support platforms that align with true liberation, rather than just ensuring comfort within the status quo. But this will only happen if we commit to honest conversations about privilege, intersectionality, and the kind of future we are willing to fight for. If we can bridge the gap between the working-class and middle class, and extend our solidarity to oppressed people globally, we can create a powerful, united front that demands not just change, but justice.

Angela Davis said, “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” Supporting third party politics is a step in that direction. It’s a way to act, consistently and boldly, in pursuit of a world that recognizes our worth, honors our struggles, and centers justice for all. The time for cautious progress is over. It’s time for revolutionary change. Let’s embrace it—together.