If you've been around a while, you've heard me say it hundreds of times: Race is a social construct.

Race was created and has always been manipulated to make sure that the people in the dominant culture — in the U.S., that means people who are white, middle class, Christian, male and cisgender — can maintain power.

History is full of examples of this, but we don't need to only look to the past to see it happening — it happens all the time, right now, in our own communities, and one current example is the fight to restrict Black voting power.

I'm sharing my thoughts about this in today's episode, "Real Quick: Black Voting Power," which is the second episode in our new Real Quick series!

You know when you're talking to someone and the conversation is about to wrap up but there's one more thing you want to say before you part ways so you say, "Real quick, ____"? There are lots of things I want to say or wish I could add that don't quite fit in an episode or qualify as a full episode on their own, so this Real Quick series is my way of sharing those thoughts with you.

Whenever we have a Real Quick episode, you can plan on getting two mini-episodes that week. If you missed our first Real Quick episode that was released on Tuesday, don't forget to also check it out!

Get your Voting Action Plan

Whether it's for a primary election or a general election, if you're voting for your local school board or president of the United States, being an informed voter is crucial — and takes more effort than just skimming headlines or reading one-off articles on social media.

We're here to help! Head over to firstnamebasis.org/vote to have the First Name Basis Voting Action Plan sent straight to your inbox!

Articles, Studies & Podcasts Referenced In The Episode

First Name Basis Podcast, Season 2, Episode 28: "How to Become an Informed Voter"

First Name Basis Podcast, Season 7, Episode 11: "Real Quick: Politicians Need Experience"

First Name Basis Podcast, Season 6, Episode 1:"Racism is Built on a Big Fat Lie Pt. 1: Blood Quantum and the One Drop Rule"

First Name Basis Podcast, Season 2, Episode 14: "What is Privilege And What Do I Do About It?"

"Who counts as Black in voting maps? Some GOP state officials want that narrowed," by Hansi Lo Wang, NPR

Song Credit: "Sleeper" by Steve Adams" and "Dive Down" by VYEN