At DNC, Democrats appeal to country music fans and ignore loyal, but disillusioned, voters

When people say Nashville is a 10-year town, they’re typically referring to the amount of time it takes for a musician to hone their skills and make the right connections, to finally land a label or publishing deal. In Mickey Guyton’s case, however, 10 years was the long stretch between her signing with Universal Music Group Nashville and the release of her first full-length album, 2021’s “Remember Her Name.”

Had it not been for the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent reckoning that swept into all corners of society, including the country music industry, Guyton may have had to wait longer. But as it was, she burst into national consciousness with “Black Like Me,” a song detailing her experiences as a Black woman navigating predominantly white spaces, a song that seemed tailor-made for the summer of 2020.

Guyton's momentum was undeniable, so even as country radio refused to play her and folks around town called her an opportunist, Universal finally agreed to drop an LP. The album's title was a clear spin on the “Say Her Name” movement, designed to draw attention to the oft-forgotten Black women who’d lost their lives to violence and systemic racism, as well as Guyton’s newly minted role as industry activist.

Yet when it came to the music itself, Guyton’s approach was far less polarizing, and aside from “Black Like Me,” much of the album sought to evade the Black-white dichotomy. This was evident throughout the record, but particularly on the second track, “All American.”

“We got the same stars, the same stripes…” Guyton sings. “…Ain't we all, ain't we all American?”

Democrats send the message the country music is not just for Republicans

Guyton performed "All American" during the first night of the Democratic National Convention. Later, Americana artist Jason Isbell took to the stage to sing “Something More Than Free”. Their appearances were a not-so-subtle appeal to working-class country music fans who may have grown tired of Trump’s antics. Smart, to say the least.

For years, while the left has appealed to its diverse base by associating with acts from music’s most “urban” genres (see Megan Thee Stallion’s four-song set at a Kamala Harris rally in Atlanta), country music has remained within the sole purview of the right.

As proof, a lot of folks will hearken to the Dixie Chicks (now The Chicks) and lead singer Natalie Maines’s 2003 assessment that the group was ashamed to be from the same state as then-president George W. Bush. But country’s Republican roots run far deeper.

In 1970, President Nixon declared October “Country Music Month.”

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And while Loretta Lynn is often praised as an example of country music’s hidden progressivism (mostly because of the “The Pill,” her ode to birth control), she spent much of her career endorsing right-wing presidential candidates. The list includes Donald Trump and George H.W. Bush and, perhaps most notably, George “Segregation Forever” Wallace.

It matters, then, that Democrats are attempting to capture and shift the narrative that true, down-home American patriots must rally for the GOP. And amidst the onslaught of Monday night’s excitement and celebratory backslapping, Guyton and Isbell's stage turns were rare moments in which Dems didn’t preach to a well-established choir.

But while I commend Democrats for attempting to appeal to voters outside their core base, I was confused by the lack of an appeal to disillusioned members within it.

Nods to entertainment don't solve economic hardships of Black men

President Joe Biden’s end-of-night concession that “[protestors] down the street have a point” and his promise to “keep working to bring hostages home and end the war in Gaza and bring peace and security to the Middle East” felt like throwaways, akin to my oldest son mumbling out a forced apology to his brother after holding him in a headlock for ten minutes.

And despite the repeated references to Donald Trump’s comments about “Black jobs,” there wasn’t a single mention that Harris has a plan to address inconvenient truths about the employment prospects of Black Americans, particularly Black men.

According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Black men have the lowest employment-population ratio among all adult men, at 60.5%. Additionally, multiple studies have found that Black men who do find employment typically have lower quality jobs and earn less money than their white counterparts.

But instead of addressing data like this, establishment Democrats tend to meet reports that some Black men are considering a Republican vote the same way they view the news that the Biden administration’s long-standing support of Israel in the Gaza war is the straw that finally broke other voters’ political allegiance: with cynicism.

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If history is to be the judge, Dems will continue to press forward. They’ll continue to supplant the priorities of their individual constituents with their own agenda and then bank on the hope that said voters will eventually come to their senses ? that when neither option is ideal, the familiar will always triumph over the unknown.

And that’s too bad. Because in these cases as in others, the age-old sales adage remains true: It’s far more expensive to acquire new customers than it is to keep the ones you already have.

Andrea Williams is an opinion columnist for The Tennessean and curator of the Black Tennessee Voices initiative. She has an extensive background covering country music, sports, race and society. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @AndreaWillWrite.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: DNC 2024: Dems can seek new voters without ignoring disillusioned ones