Dear Mr. Candidate,

My name is Emanuel Wallace and I’m a twenty-seven year old Black male that lives in Ohio, one of the swing states in this upcoming election. I’ve seen you on television and read articles and stories about you in the newspapers and magazines all the time. I’m well aware of the fact that you want and need my vote to win this November, but I want to know what I’ll get out of it. I don’t mean to sound selfish or perhaps self-serving, but I’d really like to be able to be informed of what I should be looking forward to. I often hear you giving speeches and telling anecdotes about someone you’ve met along the campaign trail and how they’ve inspired you in some way. Let me tell you about me…I’m from Cleveland, Ohio, I was raised in what I guess could be called a lower middle class two-parent household. As a child, I did fairly well in school, stayed out of trouble, and went on to pursue greater things for myself at a four-year university and more recently my MBA. During my second year of my undergraduate studies, my father drowned in Lake Erie. By the grace of God and support from family and friends, I made it through that situation and completed my studies.

Fast forward a few years into my role as the presumptive patriarch of my family, and things have changed just a bit. My mother and I struggle to stay afloat as time and health issues have taken their toll on the both of us. My responsibilities have become greater, I accept and acknowledge that, but it’s also becoming increasingly difficult for us to cope with the changing times. We do the best we can, but the hope that my family had instilled within me has mutated into disparity and disgust. I say this because I feel that regardless of my achievements in the past, it seems as if society refuses to give me a fair shake. I want to begin a meaningful career, instead of begging to work odd jobs that say “so what?” to my education in order to just get by. I’m caught in the middle it seems. Employer A says that I have too much education, while Employer B says I don’t have enough experience. At times I feel like if I’d done nothing with myself, I’d be in better condition. I don’t want to go on an everlasting rant about this, but it’s something that’s very important to me. I’m also at a loss when it comes to getting public assistance. Even with these rising prices, being single with no children works against me. In the event I’m able to work and earn the money to pay my monthly bills on time, there’s barely enough for any other expenditures. However, according to the system, I am over-resourced. Heaven forbid I may want to buy food or perhaps gasoline to get from here to there. It makes me wonder what my circumstances would be like if I did go around and make a factory of children. Perhaps I wouldn’t even have to write this letter.

So, Mr Candidate…as you campaign throughout the country over the next couple of months, I want to hear more from you about what you can do for me–and the millions of others like me. I think that I can speak for the majority of people when saying that I don’t like the direction that this country has been moving in for quite some time and I want to see some improvement. I want to believe in you and your abilities, but you need to give a reason to believe. Can you do that, Mr. Candidate? Good luck in November.

Sincerely,

Emanuel Wallace