Shaun King has a new article up at The Intercept, where he discusses the lack of diversity among senior staff in the Democratic party.
Barkley is right that there’s an imbalance in the way black folks turn out for Democrats like Jones versus the way those Democrats then turn around and treat them. Unlike Obama’s election, the black vote is in essence used by Democrats to advance white politicians’ power.
Consider these facts: The United States does not have a single black governor of the 50 states; not one of the 50 states currently has an African-American attorney general; just two African-American Democrats serve in the United States Senate — two!
And it’s not just the politicians themselves, these imbalances are built into the power structures politicians have built around themselves, too. Every United States senator has a chief of staff. Guess how many of those are black? Two! And both of them are Republicans! Each U.S. senator has a communications director; only one is black, and he also works for a Republican. Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez recently posted a photo of the last crop of interns to work for the party — and almost all the faces were white. — theintercept.com/...
It is incumbent on us to fix this. And that means we need to speak with Democrats in office, up and down the line, including your senators, and ask them what they are doing to ensure their staff reflects the broader population and the Democratic party. So call your senator, and ask them.
DK user poopdogcomedy has several other good suggestions below: “I would recommend contacting the NAACP and getting involved to really mount pressure on the DNC and Perez and Dem Senators to hire black COS & Press Secretaries. I would call on you to get us to sign up more for these organizations to push the party and to get involved with Black PACs and the Latino Victory Funds”
In the article, King references an interview Charles Barkley gave after Doug Jones’ victory:
In a series of tweets to go along with the article, Shaun continues to hammer home just how scant the resources Democrats expend on black communities are.
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@subirgrewal