Sinclair Skinner of ILoveBlackPeople.com spoke to the {AFRO} about his ventures to protect and empower Black people globally and his new Get out the Vote campaign. (Courtesy Photo)
By Micha Green
AFRO D.C. Editor
mgreen@afro.com
When this reporter went live with ILoveBlackPeople.com founder Sinclair Skinner, people tuning in described him as a “pioneer” and “Tuskegee legend,” and in the over an hour and twenty-minutes he spoke to the AFRO, it became clear why so many people celebrate the activist, engineer and entrepreneur. From his activism at Tuskegee University, that led him to Howard University, to owning laundromats, working in politics, diving deep into the technology industry and founding ILoveBlackPeople.com, Skinner is a busy man; yet his mission has always been the empowerment and protection of Black people globally and furthering the African American agenda of safety and equality in the nation.
“We should hold everyone accountable. We need to hold ourselves accountable, not just politicians. When we wake up in the morning, we should be holding ourselves accountable for our agenda,” Skinner told the AFRO.
With ILoveBlackPeople.com Skinner has found a way to bridge his passion for activism, politics, and protecting and educating Black people. The site serves as somewhat of an online “Green Book,” for Blacks across the globe to feel comfortable in doing business and interfacing with people who are “Black friendly.” The Green Book was historically a guide so Black people could travel knowing rules that keep them safe in racist areas of the United States. ILoveBlackPeople.com has taken the Green Book idea and made it online and global.
John Lewis, CEO of Badass Vegan, donning an I Love Black People shirt from ILoveBlackPeople.com. (Courtesy Photo)
As the Nov. 3 general election quickly approaches, ILoveBlackPeople.com is now pushing their Get Out the Vote (GOTV) campaign while also encouraging all people to understand the Black agenda before making a selection for leaders of locals and the country. With their new GOTV campaign, the website will be providing and selling t-shirts with QR codes on the back that, when scanned, show information about voting in that district, as well as present information on the Black agenda.
“So what we’ve included as a part of our program, is when you scan the QR code, you actually get a list of Black agendas. From Ice Cube’s agenda, to the Black Panther Party’s agenda, Black folk have been putting together agendas for a while, it’s about connecting those agendas. And then when you go out and vote, make sure you’re voting your interests,” Skinner explained.
Some of the Black agendas, according to Sinclair, include major disparities, systemic racism, feeling unprotected by the government and police, and a major topic he broke down- reparations.
“Cut the check. There are Americans who have been denied their inheritance and the government was directly involved in it so the government in the remedy of it,” he told the AFRO passionately.
“These (reparations and justice) are all things that as we mature politically, that we are going to demand and need to expect,” Skinner added.
In addition to the Black agenda found in the QR code, Skinner said the back of the shirt has a message of “LOVE.”
“So ‘L’ stands for ‘Lead with agenda,’ ‘O’ stands for ‘Organize our communities,’ ‘V’ says ‘Vote our interests’ and ‘E’ stands for ‘Elect and stay Engaged.’ So in a real way, what we’re saying is, that this is part of a process of development that we’re going to go through and everything’s not going to always work out the way we want to, that’s just a part of it… but we need to stay vigilant, stay engaged,” the 51-year-old entrepreneur said.
Skinner admitted he would be voting for, as he called it, “The Black woman,” or rather Democratic candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris; however, he did not tell audiences who to vote for, but encouraged all listeners to vote, no matter what.
“When people say, I’m not going to vote, that can be a strategy, but in reality, it’s not very effective… Don’t pay your taxes and you’ll see which one the government really doesn’t like- not voting or not paying taxes? One will put you in jail and one they don’t care,” he said.
Even post the election, Skinner hopes to heavily empower and protect Blacks globally through ILOVEBlackPeople.com, such as through their “Proudly Black/ Black Friendly” window signs.
“We’re going to definitely continue organizing our people and making them safe.”
