Super Predators, Born Criminals, and the Black Misleadership Class

Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist

10 Sep 2025

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Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott and Maryland governor Wes Moore announce a policing surge on September 5, 2025. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

The treachery of the Black misleadership class knows no bounds. While Trump’s latest racist dog whistle about “born criminals” is condemned, double-talking scoundrels may pretend to be horrified while giving legitimacy and assistance to the racist police state.

“Unless we do something about that cadre of young people, tens of thousands of them, born out of wedlock, without parents, without supervision, without any structure, without any conscience developing because they literally have not been socialized. They literally have not had an opportunity, we should focus on them now . . . If we don’t they will or a portion of them will, become the predators 15 years from now.” - Senator Joe Biden speech in support of Bill Clinton’s 1993 Crime Bill

“They are not just gangs of kids anymore. They are often the kinds of kids that are called ‘super predators.’ No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.” - Hillary Clinton

“We took many people off the streets of Washington DC. They’re hard core. They’re not going to be good, in 10 years, in 20 years, in 2 years they're going to be criminals, they were born to be criminals frankly. They were born to be criminals and they're tough and mean and they'll cut your throat and they won't even think about it the next day. They won't even remember that they did it. And we’re not gonna have those people.” - Donald Trump

“If you want to have a serious conversation about things that the federal government could provide that could be helpful, it could be FBI and ATF support.” - Maryland Governor Wes Moore

“We greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what MPD has been able to do in this city,” - Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser

There is nothing more bipartisan in the United States than a racialized crime panic. Neither Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, nor Donald Trump makes a direct reference to Black people in their screeds. But their policies were and are directed at Black people. Which group is arrested more often than any other in this country? Who is most likely to be incarcerated? Whose neighborhoods are over policed? Who do the police kill most often? It is reasonable to say that Black people are the targets of this hate speech which comes from democrats and republicans alike. Even worse, the Black misleadership class gives cover to this incitement of fear and loathing against their people.

Donald Trump’s 30-day emergency takeover of the Washington DC police department was met with praise and acquiescence from Muriel Bowser, that city’s current Black mayor. It is true that the federal government’s role overseeing the District of Columbia’s governance gives Trump and congress the legal right to do as they wish. Yet there is nothing about that right which forces mayor Bowser to give Trump a stamp of approval. Not only did the mayor thank Trump for his cynical intrusion into Washington’s local affairs with comments such as, “The fact that we have more law enforcement and presence in neighborhoods, that may be positive,” but she has said nothing about Black residents being racially profiled by federal police and spending days in jail for minor offenses. She even resorted to dubious claims of her own to help make the case for his actions.

The mayor attempted to excuse her traitorous support for Trump by claiming there was a large decline in the number of carjackings because of Trump’s intervention. She pleased Trump and made herself a partner in the politically expedient imperative to demonize Black people. Bowser said that the number of carjackings during the first 20 days of Trump’s emergency declaration had dropped 87% from the same period in the previous year. That data seems impressive but the number of carjackings, along with all crime rates, had been declining significantly without a federal presence. In July, the last full month before Trump’s usurpation, carjackings had dropped to 16 incidents, a 64% decline from the same period the year before, the lowest number since May 2020. Mayor Bowser played fast and loose with crime numbers, which is not unusual for politicians, but she did so in the service of a gigantic race baiting exercise which has been very dangerous for Black people.

Bowser is not alone in going along with the pro-police narrative. Trump’s outburst about born criminals was made in part to justify his threat to send National Guard troops to Baltimore, Maryland. Maryland’s Black governor, Wes Moore, made a big show of saying he opposed a National Guard presence but at the same time, felt obliged to go along with the political imperative of over policing Black people.

Moore may have recoiled at the thought of a National Guard presence but added that he wanted Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agents instead. The FBI was the source of the Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) which killed and imprisoned so many leaders of the liberation movement. The FBI didn’t leave its past behind, but instead under the Barack Obama administration added the Black Identity Extremist designation to the law enforcement lexicon. It was never clear how the term was defined but as Black Agenda Report said in 2017, “It is a catch-all for blanket repression of Black activism of any kind.” The same agency which prioritizes the targeting and surveillance of Black activists is now lifted up as a cure for the crime that bedevils Baltimore, a city long ago impoverished by an official policy of deindustrialization which has left it in a devastated state for decades.

Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott joined the governor in requesting assistance from the FBI, ATF and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Both men proudly proclaimed a “surge” of police including Maryland state police, as they mimicked Trump in over-policing a majority Black city.

Bowser, Moore and Scott must be exposed but it would be a mistake to single them out when there is such a long history of Black collaboration with politicians whose rhetorical bread and butter are declarations of being “tough on crime” while refusing to ever “coddle criminals.” These expressions may appear to be silly but they are deadly serious code words representing the determination to maintain physical control of Black people and a system of mass incarceration which remains a foundational centerpiece of U.S. politics.

The Bill Clinton era Crime Bill became a reality with the support of Senator Joe Biden who bragged about his role in sending so many Black people to prison. His actions didn’t hurt him politically and in fact played a part in his being chosen as Obama’s running mate in 2008. What better way to make himself acceptable to white people than to have a vice president who went out of his way to put Black people in prison.

Hillary Clinton made her infamous “super predator” remarks in 1996 in service to her husband’s second presidential campaign. Whipping up fear of crime is a sure fire winner in politics and she did not disappoint. She also wasn’t hurt by her remarks. She was endorsed by Black officials and received the lion’s share of votes cast by Black people when Trump defeated her. Trump stands out only for his consistent lack of finesse. He browbeat the milquetoast mayor Bowser into giving him public approval and despite their talk, inspired Moore and Scott to take the same actions against their Black constituents as he did residents of Washington DC.

The Black misleaders owe their positions to whites who give them access to the wealthy and influential white people who provide campaign donations, and to the corporate media who decide who is and isn’t a viable candidate. They don’t reach out to Black people until the endorsements have been made and all the deals have been struck. It isn’t surprising that they show so little concern for a powerless group, even if they are putatively members of that same cohort.

As long as white people whip up fear and hatred of Black people we can expect politicians to benefit from leading the charge for demonization and dehumanization. The larger question is how to achieve even a modicum of self-determination instead of relying upon racists and their ambitious and cowardly enablers.

Margaret Kimberley is the author of Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents. You can support her work on Patreon and also find it on the Twitter, Bluesky, and Telegram platforms. She can be reached via email at margaret.kimberley@blackagendareport.com.