Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey is the author of Amazon Bestseller “Kamala, The Motherland, and Me,” which is available via Amazon. Photo provided.By 2050, one in four people on the planet will reside in Africa, where the average age is just 19. With one of the most consequential elections approaching, only one candidate believes the future will be largely influenced by Africa: Vice President Kamala Harris, who is still the most senior U.S. official to visit Africa during the Biden Administration. Notably, former President Donald Trump never visited the continent. Eight years ago, Trump asked Black voters, “What do you have to lose?” Today, we are better positioned to understand how today’s decisions will impact Black people worldwide in the future. Spoiler alert: the future may look more like the harm done to Tulsa and less like dreams of a real-life Wakanda.A few months before receiving the Democratic nomination for President, I interviewed Vice President Harris in the West Wing for my memoir, “Kamala, The Motherland, and Me.” She shared insights and notable reflections from her historic trip to Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia. I asked her what voters concerned about Africa should expect if Trump returns to the Oval Office. Her response was clear:“When people tell you who they are, listen to them the first time. He is the one who talked about ‘s-hole countries’ and has so clearly expressed an intent not to support international rules and norms. He has a perspective that is that of an isolationist. And all Americans should be concerned about that because do understand, isolation does not equal insulation,” she said. “The 1930s taught us that when America withdraws from its alliances, threats will visit themselves upon us. We are stronger when we are a leader in building and fortifying partnerships.”She noted, “The partnerships I’ve been working on to further American interests, including economic interests, including our interest in innovation and technology in building clean energy economies, would allow us to mitigate against the harms of the climate crisis.” Foreign Policy recently reported, “since its enactment more than two decades ago, exports through the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which expires at the end of 2025, have largely benefited oil producers.” Who Americans elect will either miss or meet the moment to make historic investments in a clean energy economy led by Black leaders. If undecided American voters choose to abstain from the November 5 election or fall for Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, they should understand Trump’s intent to enforce mass deportations and implement Project 2025 will likely destabilize Black communities at home and abroad.Photo submittedInstead of the “love thy neighbor” welcome treatment my father received when he immigrated to Texas from Ghana to study medicine in 1970, harsh immigration policies like mass deportation and conspiracy theories about Black immigrants will create distrust in communities and ultimately enlist neighbors to police one another. This politically toxic atmosphere will make it harder for Black individuals seeking asylum, educational opportunities, and economic mobility – ultimately increasing the likelihood of racial profiling, a practice that has historically endangered Black lives. Foreign Policy recently reported, “During his presidency, Trump issued an immigration ban on six African nations, including Nigeria. That ban was swiftly reversed by President Biden when he took office. Harris supports H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, while Trump limited the program.” As noted by NAACP, Trump’s Project 2025 would push to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives would exacerbate these issues, likely making the American government more hostile to Black people at home and abroad. Furthermore, as reported by the New York Times, U.S. intelligence agencies have linked Russia to false claims about Haitian voters. This suggests that bad actors aligned with Trump, his anti-Black rhetoric, and anti-Black policies will likely operate with impunity, threatening the safety and security of Black communities in the US and abroad. A vote for Trump would incentivize the exploitive impulses of industry leaders in places like Silicon Valley, looking to dominate the artificial intelligence industry by controlling sources of critical minerals for energy. A vote for Trump would forfeit a rare opportunity to shift away from a humanitarian and public health-centered US-Africa relationship toward an economic opportunity agenda that reaches across the Atlantic.“We should view our relationship with the continent not as a matter of benevolence but as a partnership, not what we’re doing for the continent, but what we’re doing with the continent,” Vice President Harris said during our conversation in her West Wing office. The Harris campaign has reportedly “assembled a 25-strong team to devise a comprehensive US-Africa policy if she wins the White House.” But only your vote can determine if she returns to the West Wing on January 20, 2025, in the Oval Office with Wakanda-like ambitions on her “to-do list.”The future is on your ballot. Think of our ancestors. Choose wisely.###Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey is the author of Amazon bestseller “Kamala, The Motherland, and Me,” Host of “A More Perfect Union” podcast, White House correspondent for KBLA Talk Radio, and professor at Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education & Psychology. Follow him @DrNiiQuartelaiThe post For the Love of Wakanda: What Kamala Harris told me in the West Wing and what people of African descent have to lose in a second Trump term appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.