My thoughts on Bernie and the black vote.
I’m a long-time lurker on DailyKos and I feel this website has taught me an enormous amount about politics and related topics. But I’ve never signed up for a username or published a diary. Now I feel the need to put some thoughts down and get some feedback. Here’s the disclaimer: I’m a white 50 year old woman and can’t claim any direct experience of what it means to be black in America. However, I did grow up my entire life in the South, living in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas at various times. Thus, I do know something about the overt and subtle racism that exists there. Second disclaimer, I’m a Bernie supporter. But I like Clinton too and would vote for her if she wins the nomination.
So...Bernie is not doing well with the black community, as we saw dramatically in South Carolina. Some have stated that it is because he has lower name recognition. This is probably true, but I’m not sure it is the main reason. As time goes on, Bernie is becoming better known to all Americans, including black Americans. Others have hinted that it is anti-Semitism. Although this could be true for a very small percent of the population, I do not think it explains the choice of the majority. Maybe black supporters don’t like Bernie’s proposals? I also doubt that as most of Bernie’s proposals (free public college tuition, universal healthcare for all, $15/hr minimum wage, reduced corruption in campaign finance, etc.) enjoy strong majority support with Americans. And these policies in general will help the black community. I get the idea from some discussions that there are a group of people (hopefully not many) who think black people are obtuse and therefore don’t understand how Bernie’s policies would benefit them. I don’t think that is the answer either. So what could account for the low levels of black support so far. This is a complicated question as each person is different and has different priorities in life. However, I’d like to propose a couple of potential factors that could play a role in some people’s choice of candidate.
I think two aspects of the current situation are affecting the choices of black voters. The first is loyalty. Black voters know which party has stood most strongly with them in combating racism and bringing about civil rights. There is a long history there that cannot be easily brushed aside. I think black voters feel a strong connection to the Democratic party and want to keep it strong. Bernie has not been a Democrat and is running without the support of the main Democratic party leaders. He states that he wants a political “revolution”. I know that Bernie has always caucused with the Democrats and strongly shares many of their ideas and principles. But it is easy to see that for some voting for Bernie is in a way voting against the Democratic party. Would Bernie’s political revolution destroy the Democratic party or change it so much that it will not be as effective in protecting black voters? These are important questions that each person has to consider when they decide who to vote for.
The second aspect that I think is important to understanding black votes is related to the first. It is love for their children. Black voters do not want to see the country return to how it was before the civil rights movement, when racism was terribly overt. Imagine you are a black parent in a small town in South Carolina. You have a wonderful, smart, talented son of 12 years old, but there are some who don’t like him simply because he is black! You have probably experienced significant racism in your life; maybe there is a local KKK clan in your county. What if your son was one of the ones who was gunned down in a South Carolina church after being kind and helpful to a white racist? What if your son was the one found hanging from a swing set under circumstances that could not possibly be suicide? What if your son was Tamir Rice, playing in a playground and minding his own business before being brutally shot down? Black parents would do whatever it takes to avoid this, as would any parent. So they will vote for the candidate who stands the best chance of helping their sons and daughters avoid these kinds of situations. Bernie is an unknown quantity, but the Democratic party has been there to help them over time. The party is not perfect and Hillary is not perfect, but it is a wall between their children and danger.
So can things change? History is not going to change, so the strong connection of the Democratic party with the black electorate will remain. Racism doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. What could change is perhaps how Bernie and his supporters understand black experiences in America today. If they could change how they look at things, they might be able to discuss these sorts of topics with black voters and see if it were possible to bring their two views together to both strengthen the Democratic party and to change some of the things that are not right about it at the moment. Anyway, these are my thoughts. I hope your comments are kind, since this is my first attempt at writing at DKos. I also apologize in advance if I’ve offended anyone. That was not my intent.