Black voters across the U.S. mobilized in this year’s midterms, proving essential in remaking the electoral map for Democrats.

Black students organized in key states against voter suppression tactics. Black voters collectively endured long lines, overcame a wave of targeted disinformation and, in some cases, defied threats of federal intervention en route to a “Blacklash” that was key to Democrats’ “blue tsunami.”

Simply put, Black voters turned up and showed out. And with that, it’s past time to retire the tired rhetoric about Black voters prioritizing the couch over voting.

You have likely heard this trope emphasized over the years, in what can feel like an agonizing tradition. We’re sold an image of crucial Black voters loafing around at home, rather than feeling motivated enough to vote. And even when promoted by seemingly well-meaning voices who want more Black folks to vote, the trope is steeped in some pretty harmful stereotypes about Black people — Black men, in particular.

I certainly detected a whiff of this narrative in the coverage of Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s supposed struggles with Black voters and the potential for many of these voters to stay home. Neither came to fruition.

And yet, this kind of rhetoric about unmotivated Black voters has become cyclical. Georgia’s Stacey Abrams has gone on the record in dispelling some of these same narratives that swirled around her gubernatorial bid and Kamala Harris’ presidential bid, yet never materialized.

And, to be clear, I understand this as a tactic for voter mobilization groups. Part of me says, “Do what you gotta do to turn out voters.” And in this sense, that means playing on Black people’s desire not to be branded as lazy.

But it’s a misguided obsession — and a particularly irresponsible one for the media to harp on. I’ve never seen any evidence to suggest, for example, that the number of Black people who stand to willfully abstain from voting in any election exceeds the number of Black people who see their right to vote denied or compromised, due to voter suppression tactics. And so it seems reckless to lend more attention to the abstention talk than to address voter suppression — which the news media ought to do more.

Black people have made it abundantly clear that they are not apathetic when it comes to democracy. Frustration over this contrary narrative was the focus of a recent discussion I joined with Black Men Vote, a nonprofit voter mobilization group. As I explained, I’m a relatively young Black man with a pretty comfortable couch, and yet I’ve never felt any urge to choose it over voting. (Sorry, Wayfair.)

And I’m not extraordinary in that regard. The midterms are yet more proof.

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