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The 2008 election and 2012
reelection of President Barack Obama were able to take
place, not because America had become post-racial, but
rather, because of increased black political power.
As the pace of the 2016
Presidential primary quickens, sprinting towards South
Carolina, Nevada, the Super Tuesday SEC primary and then
arriving in Ohio on March 15, the power of the
African-American vote is once again in play.
Unlike the recent Iowa
caucus and New Hampshire mixed primary, minority voters will
represent a sizable proportion of the Democratic electorate
in many of the upcoming contests. This has led to some
fierce in-party fighting for black support between hopefuls
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, neither who can achieve
the Democratic presidential nomination without extensive
backing from the African-American community.
For whom will I be voting?
It’s still early and
momentum is key. Clinton will more than likely take Nevada
and South Carolina. Minnesota at this point is a toss up but
Sanders is likely to win Colorado. The week following Super
Tuesday is the Ohio primary, which is expected to be a hard
fought battle with BIG implications for the winner in the
Buckeye State.
HRC, historically an
unquestioned friend of the African -American community, has
had a lock on black voters and considered a shoo-in for the
Ohio primary until former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner
withdrew her support for Clinton to back Bernie Sanders.
There are rumors that Turner felt slighted in some way by
the Clinton campaign. Publicly, Nina is saying that while
she respects Secretary Clinton, she feels that Sanders has a
greater understanding of the needs of the black community
and would thus be a stronger advocate for those issues.
Others note that
conditions in the black community spiraled downward as a
result of the consequences of mass incarceration and “end
welfare as we know it” policies that occurred during the
presidency of Bill Clinton. It is a fact that the largest
federal and state increases of inmates of any president in
American history took place during the “tough on crime”
policies passed during former president BilI Clinton’s
tenure. However, I strongly disagree with esteemed scholar
Michele Alexander’s conclusion expressed in an article in
The Nation, that it is proper to saddle Hillary with Bill’s
baggage merely because she was married to the President of
the United States.
Meanwhile, as with Turner,
Sanders continues to peel small pockets of black support
away from HRC by obtaining endorsements from prominent
African Americans such as Cornel West, author/activist
Ta-Nehisi Coates, rapper Killer Mike and others. Unless the
trickle of defections is stayed, we could eventually see a
contemporary mass exodus of black support walk away from
Clinton similar to her 2008 Democratic presidential
nomination experience.
The African-American
Predicament: What we have now is not working.
The major problem for the
black community is that there are no active, concrete public
policies in place or being discussed that will definitively
improve our general position in society. What we have now is
not working and has not worked for a long time.
The source of the problem
is the inability of those in office to identify with the
black agenda, usually because they view it only from a
position of privilege. However, going forward, in order to
obtain support, those who represent or seek the
African-American vote should have perspective into our
community. This means from the school board, to city and
county government, U.S. Congress or the presidency, whomever
it is that represents the black community should not only
talk our talk but also walk our walk.
Gun violence is a big
issue to us. Access to clean and safe drinking water is
important, as is lead prevention. A commitment to provide a
diverse, high quality education to all of our children is a
prime requirement. Voting rights, including the reduction of
early voting and access to polling locations has had a
devastating impact on our community. Police brutality and
the justice system as a whole, from how people are profiled
to how they’re charged, disparities in sentencing, the
system from start to end, is a major concern.
Despite Obamacare, access
to healthcare is still a problem as the program is
constantly under attack even as many people are falling
through the cracks. The working poor are employed at places
that don’t offer insurance and a lot of minimum wage jobs
strategically keep people from being full-time to avoid
offering insurance.
What we have is not
working and we cannot challenge the inequities and problems
by merely ignoring them.
The Bottom Line?
Hillary Clinton, with her
cache in the black community, would make an amazing
president. But the reality is that, the nation should be
abuzz about the prospects of the first woman president in
United States history. Yet, there is much more excitement
being generated by Sanders, a self- proclaimed democratic
socialist, whose message exhilarates (although he hasn’t
actually accomplished much in his years as a Senator).
I must confess that I,
like others, am very attracted to Sanders’ message, despite
perhaps, the lack of an electoral mainstream broad enough to
accommodate it.
While we need Sanders’
strong voice and continued advocacy, however, I think higher
on the priority list for African Americans is a president
who can dismantle the dysfunction of Washington gridlock. We
need a president and Congress that will not major in minors
or traffic in trivia, but will come together and finally
work together.
Who would be the best
president to work across party lines AND actually get things
done?
Hillary?
Or Bernie?
I don’t know. Not yet.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
Black Mothers of the New Movement III: A Driving Force |
