I’ve been engaged in debates about the benefits of remaining in the USA, and continue in the "struggle," or leaving for a better place if Trump wins the presidential election.

Which is a better place for Blacks? There is a list circulating of eight African countries with attractive residency offers to African Americans who want to relocate. Ghana tops the list, offering indefinite stays with a possibility to apply for citizenship.

I’ve been to Ghana. English is the language of commerce, and they have a constitutional democracy. Signs of growth are on full display in the major centers of population. I met people who had clear and ambitious outlooks for their future as an independent nation, under native rule.

South Africa is also on the list at number four. They offer free citizenship to African Americans. I’ve been there too, but that country is struggling with political discord, their management of resources is dreadful (planned daily blackouts), and 45% of the population receives some type of assistance.

Too bad that Senegal is not on the list; it has a certain allure, but when I was there, the French dominance was palpable: The remnants of colonialism are prevalent in the language, culture, trade and commerce, and government.

Albeit, the six other countries on the list are rolling out a welcome mat for disaffected African Americans, I’m not sold on the value proposition of the exchange offers; if there are comparable substitutes for America’s promise to its native born Blacks.

Clearly, African nations want our ingenuity, our spirit, our joy expressed through music, dance, art, etc. And no wonder. We are the ones who have made a way out of no way despite the repressive and harmful treatments we have lived under since 1619!

Me? I am still waiting to receive my share of the 40 acres and a mule, currently valued at over $6 trillion, once promised to my great-great- great grandfathers, all enslaved in South Carolina, the cradle of the agrarian south. Yes, “Give me free," but also give me my reparations, cash preferred.

Thus, the debate: stay here to fight for democracy and my rightful share, or to move abroad to be free from the turmoil.

When asked what the bumper sticker should read to describe the 2024 election, James Carville, the dean of American elections said, “It’s the Constitution, stupid!”

The 2024 election is being touted as the most consequential test of the principles undergirding our democracy and Constitution, drawing clear lines between the two candidates for president, each accusing the other as being a threat to our democracy.

How does maintaining the sovereignty of the US Constitution benefit Black folk?

The US Constitution has defined and treated Black folk in numerous ways: 1) Article 1, Section 2 counted enslaved Blacks as three fifths (3/5) of a person which gave white Southern planters a majority in Congress; 2) the Thirteenth Amendment freed Blacks from enslavement; 3) Blacks received equal protection under the law in the Fourteenth Amendment; and, 4) we earned our rights to vote in the Fifteenth Amendment.

Additionally, various laws have been passed to guarantee that Blacks, as a protective class, have entry into full participation into American society, namely the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Those guarantees are under attack. To date, 22 states have recently adopted laws to limit the provisions of The Civil Rights Act, under the guise of anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) which bans or rolls back guarantees.

Several Supreme Court decisions have pushed Blacks back to lesser status, i.e. ruling against affirmative college admissions policies and the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness, both disproportionately affecting Black students. The threat of reversing more gains is looming under the conservative majority of the current court. Striking down Roe v Wade, eliminating the guarantee of a woman’s right to choose, is the most recent reversal with 37-40% of abortion seekers Black women.

Reminder: Once elected, the sitting president will have the opportunity to appoint up to two additional Supreme Court justices.

That should give you pause; a prompt to vote for one candidate over another.

Folk will argue that this country and its constitution is racist at its core, that the founding fathers, who were mostly slave owners had no intention to treat neither the enslaved, non-land-owning whites, nor women, as equal.

True, but abandonment of the country, and its hit-or-miss attempts to get it right on our behalf, cannot be the only option. We have used the cloak of protection under the US Constitution to achieve advances, but it has never been enough.

Kamala Harris has already extended a form of reparations to primarily benefit Black men; Donald Trump has promised retributions.

Can we walk away from the promise of one, and the curse of the other, without a fight?

In only five more days, we have compelling reasons to vote. Vote.