Search Results for: black vote

Huge Black Voter Turnout Historical Threat to Whites

Black Voter Turnout Leads to White Backlash Since the end of slavery in the US, increases in Black Voter Turnout have led to a white backlash. Black voter turnout during the Reconstruction era of the 1870s lead to the emergence of large numbers of African American elected officials in the American South. This black political power was viewed as such a threat to white America, that it lead to organized white terror campaigns of murder, lynching, voter intimidation, voter suppression, and a new legal system of American Apartheid or Jim Crow. Black Voter Intimidation, Voter Suppression That Post- Reconstruction initiated backlash was the historical precedent for the voter intimidation and voter suppression being witnessed in the United States in the early 2020s.  It reversed all of the gains of the…
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LeBron James on Black Voter Participation, Misinformation and Trump

More Than a Vote, the collective of athletes headlined by the basketball star LeBron James, on Wednesday will introduce its final political push before Election Day, a rapid response and advertisement operation meant to combat the spread of misinformation among younger Black voters.The initiative, which is a collaboration with the political group Win Black and includes some celebrity partners, will seek to educate younger Black voters on how to spot false political statements spreading on social media. The goal is to provide advice that culminates in young people making a plan to vote — either by absentee ballot or in person.Called “Under Review,” the effort will be featured on Snapchat through Election Day, and will include videos from celebrities and activists like Desus and Mero, Jemele Hill and the athletes…
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Joe Biden “Is No Longer Worthy of the Black Vote”

Donald Trump continued his criticism of Joe Biden on Friday following the former Vice President’s remarks about diversity in the African American community. The President has repeatedly tried to frame Biden’s comments as evidence that he does not deserve votes from Black Americans. He made the claim again on Twitter. “After yesterday’s statement, Sleepy Joe Biden is no longer worthy of the Black Vote!” Trump wrote. After yesterday’s statement, Sleepy Joe Biden is no longer worthy of the Black Vote! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2020 On Thursday, Trump made the same criticism, though his apparent appeal for African American votes has been met with derision, especially considering his recent claims about employment. “Joe Biden this morning, he totally disparaged and insulted the black community. What he said…
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Biden risks alienating young Black voters after race remarks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden's controversial remarks about race this week risk alienating young Black voters who despise President Donald Trump but are not inspired by his Democratic rival.When pressed by Errol Barnett of CBS News on whether he'd taken a cognitive test, Biden responded that the question was akin to asking the Black reporter if he would take a drug test to see if “you're taking cocaine or not? ... Are you a junkie?”In a later interview with National Public Radio's Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Biden seemed to draw distinctions between Black and Hispanic populations in the U.S. “Unlike the African American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community with incredibly different attitudes about different things,” he told the Latina reporter.He later walked back the comment.Black…
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As Pete Buttigieg Courts Black Voters, His Sexuality Is a Hurdle for Some

A Buttigieg advertising and marketing campaign memo that surfaced final week advised “being homosexual turned into as soon as a barrier” to enhance from some dusky voters in South Carolina. Pete Buttigieg spoke on Saturday to South Carolina voters at a homecoming tailgate event at Allen College, a historically dusky campus in Columbia.Credit...Bryan Cereijo for The Unusual York TimesROCK HILL, S.C. — Addressing a convention of African-American church congregations on this vote-rich metropolis, Pete Buttigieg quoted scripture on Sunday morning and extolled his “Douglass Notion” to fight racial inequities in The USA, undoubtedly one of several attempts this weekend to confront his strikingly low enhance amongst dusky voters.But Mr. Buttigieg furthermore undertook an attractive assignment earlier than the African Methodist Episcopal worshipers. As a homosexual, married man addressing a denomination…
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Stacey Abrams and Power of Black Vote in South

Stacey Abrams Showed Power of African American Vote in South In the 2018 election for Governor of Georgia, Stacey Abrams achieved a historical milestone. Like Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama before her, Stacey Abrams demonstrated the power of the African American vote in deep Southern states. Many within Democratic party circles often acknowledge the role of African American voters as the "base" of the Party; however, within some of those same circles, there has been a reluctance to make the major investments necessary to educate and mobilize infrequent African American voters to vote their numerical strength on a more consistent basis. Conservative White Democrats or African American Base On the contrary, there have been several instances where millions of dollars have been spent chasing so-called moderate to conservative white Democrats…
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Black man arrested on $100K bond for voting, and Texas GOP advances bill making it harder to vote

“The arrest and prosecution of Mr. Rogers should alarm all Texans,” said Andre Segura, legal director of the ACLU of Texas. “He waited in line for over six hours to vote to fulfill what he believed to be his civic duty, and is now locked up on a bail amount that most people could not afford. “He faces potentially decades in jail. Our laws should not intimidate people from voting by increasing the risk of prosecution for, at worst, innocent mistakes. We will continue to fight for justice for Mr. Rogers and will push back against efforts to further restrict voting rights.” The ACLU of Texas and attorney Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube are representing Rogers, who was released from jail after the nonprofit Bail Project posted his bail. “His story is infuriating — and…
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Joe Biden grilled by voter on ‘you ain’t black’ remark at town hall

Joe Biden launched into a nearly incoherent policy rant in response to a question from a young black voter who tossed his infamous “you ain’t black” comment back in his face as he simply asked what the former vice president would do for African Americans if he won. Student Cedric Humphrey from Harrisburg, Pa., who identified as a “progressive Democrat,” appeared visibly unimpressed as the 77-year-old former veep rambled about how the right to vote was a “sacred opportunity” and erroneously claimed that he had reformed the criminal justice system during an ABC News town hall. “What do you have to say to young black voters who see voting for you as further participation in a system that continually fails to protect them?” Humphrey asked Biden. “First of all, as…
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Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Alicia Garza Says Joe Biden Is ‘Far Away’ From Changes Democratic Voters Want

As protests against racial injustice spread across the country after Floyd’s death on May 25, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has positioned himself as the candidate who could root out systemic racism in America. But Alicia Garza, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement and the principal of Black Future Labs, says Biden is still “far away” from the change that Democratic voters want to see.“Frankly, I think [the Biden campaign is] well aware that they are pretty far from the concerns that this movement has put forward—and that is not acceptable,” Garza said during a TIME100 Talks discussion. “We need to push him to be a better candidate if he’s going to be the presumptive nominee.”Garza co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013 in response to the…
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Jennifer McClellan Wins in Virginia and Will Be State’s First Black Woman in Congress

Jennifer McClellan, a veteran Democratic state senator, won a special election for Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, making her the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress.Ms. McClellan, 50, will fill the seat formerly held by Representative A. Donald McEachin, who died Nov. 28 of colorectal cancer. She has cited Mr. McEachin as a mentor and was highly favored to win in the safely Democratic district, which stretches from Richmond, where she is based, to the rural counties along Virginia’s border with North Carolina.She defeated Leon Benjamin, a Republican Navy veteran and local pastor. Mr. Benjamin lost to Mr. McEachin by nearly 30 points in November.Virginia Democrats, including the party’s entire congressional delegation and many local and statewide officials, were quick to…
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Bold New Amazon Labor Union Wins Vote

Amazon Labor Union Win is Huge Upset The Amazon Labor Union founder Christian Smalls was the subject of racist and condescending remarks by Amazon management. The company made a conscious decision to make him the face of the organizing campaign. According to the text of a leaked company memo, Amazon executives, including Jeff Besos, stated that Smalls was "not smart or articulate". Boy, did that backfire on them! The former Amazon employee Christian Smalls led the victorious push to unionize the Amazon warehouse on Staten Island. According to Steven Greenhouse who has written extensively for decades about labor issues and organizing for the New York Times, The Amazon Labor Union "victory at the Amazon warehouse in Staten Island is by far the biggest beat the odds David versus Goliath, unionization…
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The US Supreme Court Just Authorized More Voter Suppression

The United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) dealt several blows to the Voting Rights Act last week. In a majority conservative 6-3 ruling, SCOTUS upheld two Arizona restrictions. The first prohibits individuals other than close family members or caregivers from collecting mail-in ballots. The second requires elections officials to reject votes from people who report to incorrect precincts even if they are registered voters in their states. One of the few dissenting voices, Justice Elena Kagan, stated: “What is tragic here is that the Court has yet again rewritten—in order to weaken—a statute that stands as a monument to America’s greatness, and protects against its basest impulses. What is tragic is that the court has damaged a statute designed to bring about ‘the end of discrimination in voting.’” This transcends Arizona. At a…
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Republicans In Georgia Are Targeting And Removing Black Election Officials

Georgia Republicans are using new voter suppression laws to target and remove black local election officials. The New York Times reported: Across Georgia, members of at least 10 county election boards have been removed, had their position eliminated, or are likely to be kicked off through local ordinances or new laws passed by the state legislature. At least five are people of color and most are Democrats — though some are Republicans — and they will most likely all be replaced by Republicans. The same targeting is happening in Arkansas and Kansas and could soon be coming to Arizona. There has rightly been a great deal of discussion about the Republican election-rigging laws impact the ability of people to vote, but an even more sinister element of these bills is…
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Democrats stage mass walkout, prevent vote on Texas election law bill

Texas Democrats staged a mass walkout late Sunday night as a last-ditch effort to stave off a vote on a GOP “election integrity” initiative that would overhaul the state’s voting laws, reports said.  “Members, take your key and leave the chamber discreetly,” state Rep. Chris Turner, the Democratic caucus chair of the house, wrote in a text message to party members at 10:35 p.m. local time, the New York Times reported.  Turner added: “Do not go to the gallery. Leave the building.” The dramatic departure came after a marathon tug-of-war with the Republican party and prevented the House of Representatives from having the minimum number of lawmakers necessary for a vote before the midnight deadline. Around 11 p.m., the State House speaker Dade Phelan was forced to adjourn the session…
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Black Democrats, Conflicted on a Voting Rights Push, Fear It’s Too Late

To Jackson’s tight-knit voting rights community, members of which view themselves as torchbearers in the mold of Mr. Figgers and Mr. Evers, it’s all evidence of a lingering absence of urgency.“If the people who were most impacted by this were white people, Democrats would’ve done something about this a long time ago,” said Rukia Lumumba, the executive director of the People’s Advocacy Institute in Jackson. Her brother is the mayor of Jackson and her late father also held that role. “They thought, ‘Oh, that’s just the South,’ and not that what we’ve experienced here was coming to the rest of the country.”Mr. Holder, who now runs a group that focuses on redistricting and ballot access, said he would encourage senators to eliminate the filibuster to pass the For the People…
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Republicans across the nation escalate the war on voters, and the filibuster is their key weapon

Right now, the Republican legislatures in at least eight states controlled by their party are trying to seize complete control of the election process, over civil servants, judges, and county officials. Georgia is ground zero. "It's looking at total control of the election process by elected officials, which is not what it should be," Helen Butler, a Democratic county board of elections member told The New York Times. "It's all about turnout and trying to retain power." Iowa's Republicans have made enacting emergency voting rules a criminal offense and Arizona's Republicans are trying to take over the conduct of the state's elections. They don't want a repeat of 2020, when massive voter turnout gave Democrats the White House and Senate and mobilized millions of new voters. At this point, democracy…
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In Georgia, Republicans Take Aim at Role of Black Churches in Elections

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Sundays are always special at the St. Philip Monumental A.M.E. church. But in October, the pews are often more packed, the sermon a bit more urgent and the congregation more animated, and eager for what will follow: piling into church vans and buses — though some prefer to walk — and heading to the polls.Voting after Sunday church services, known colloquially as “souls to the polls,” is a tradition in Black communities across the country, and Pastor Bernard Clarke, a minister since 1991, has marshaled the effort at St. Philip for five years. His sermons on those Sundays, he said, deliver a message of fellowship, responsibility and reverence.“It is an opportunity for us to show our voting rights privilege as well as to fulfill what we know…
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The never-ending coup against Black America

There’s a lot that feels unprecedented about today’s electoral crisis in Georgia, and there’s earnest concern that we may never recover from Donald Trump’s damage to democracy. On December 5, the president went to Valdosta to engorge his ego, prattling on for close to two hours before a crowd of roughly 10,000 fans about imaginary voter fraud.  [...] It’s significant that Trump’s campaign to subvert democracy, by invalidating so basic a precept as a citizen’s right to have their vote counted, is unfolding in a place where basic rights for Black people are already invalidated as a matter of routine. What is the history of Black Georgia but a testament to the precariousness of Black people’s ability to participate in public life? What are the ways they have been selectively…
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Donald Trump’s Requested Milwaukee Recount Has Resulted in Even More Votes For Joe Biden

The state of Wisconsin has been the tightest during the last two presidential elections. In 2016, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton there by around 24,000 votes. And in 2020, Joe Biden defeated Trump in the state by slightly under 21,000 votes. Hillary Clinton asked for a recount in 2016 and things barely changed. Donald Trump, who has been much louder in his allegations of fraud, only sought recounts in two counties. One of those areas was Milwaukee County, which has a sizable suburban and black population. But according to reports, that recount has backfired on Trump as Biden’s lead has only grown. The Washington Post’s Rosalind Helderman tweeted on Friday, “Milwaukee County concludes its recount of the presidential election — one of two counties where Trump sought a recount in…
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#RolandMartinUnfiltered Partners With Black Information Network/IHeart Media To Simulcast Six Hour Election Night 2020 Special

Award-winning Host and Managing Editor Roland Martin on set of his daily show #RolandMartinUnfiltered "The 2020 Election is one of the most consequential we've seen in American history, and Black voters will play a crucial role. Our goal at #RolandMartinUnfiltered is to provide unparalleled coverage of not only the presidential and U.S. Senate races, but the many local races that impact our people,” WASHINGTON (PRWEB) November 03, 2020 Award-winning journalist and BIN Commentator Roland S. Martin of #RolandMartinUnfiltered will bring the funk on Election Night 2020, anchoring an exclusive live special from the heart of Washington DC at Black Lives Matter Plaza, "The Black Information Network Presents: Election 2020 - Black Votes Matter - hosted by Roland Martin." The six-hour live stream and radio simulcast airs on Tuesday November…
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Vote challenger chaos in Detroit was white privilege on steroids

Having lived in metro Detroit for more than two decades, I know what would happen if African American Detroit residents attempted to force their way into a room where votes were being counted in the predominantly white suburbs. It wouldn’t end well.The opposite scenario unfolded Wednesday in downtown Detroit. Shouting “Stop the count!” and "Let us in!", several dozen election challengers, most of them white, tried forcing their way into a vote-counting room at the TCF Center after being denied readmission, according to the Detroit Free Press. A Detroit Police Department spokeswoman told me that no arrests were made.Officials had sealed off the area because it was overcapacity due to COVID-19 restrictions. Several hundred Democratic, Republican and independent challengers were already inside the facility observing the vote count and looking for any irregularities, but officials were not…
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Building on a history of resistance, Black women lead the way in this election

While Harris’s nomination is historic and meaningful, Black women’s overwhelming interest and commitment to casting a ballot is not a new feature in American politics. In 2008 and ’12, Black women voted at the highest rate of any race and gender subgroup.  [...] The passage in 1920 of the 19th Amendment, which granted voting rights to all women in theory but only white women in practice, had little effect on Black women’s lives. Through an array of legal and extralegal strategies, white Americans worked to keep Black people from practicing the constitutional right to vote. Black women passionately resisted these efforts. During the 1960s, for example, civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer led a nationwide movement to expand the voting rights of Black Americans. It was a bold act of defiance—and a matter of…
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Trump’s Hard-Line Immigration Policies Go Before Voters

McALLEN, Texas — The leadership of the Department of Homeland Security gathered on Thursday under the shadow of 30-foot, black-painted, steel bollards to promote the near completion of 400 miles of President Trump’s border wall.The politics of the moment, five days before the election, was lost on no one.“The only reason we haven’t reached another crisis is because of the policies and procedures this administration put into place over the last several years, including the construction of an effective border wall system,” Chad F. Wolf, the acting homeland security secretary, told reporters, photographers and cameramen. “Abolishing these measures or reversing course is absolutely no way forward.”Immigration has not been a central theme of the race between Mr. Trump and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic nominee, but…
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Kushner Says Black Americans Must “Want to Be Successful” to Benefit from Trump’s Policies

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a top adviser, said Black people must “want to be successful” if they want to benefit from Trumpian policies. “One thing we’ve seen in a lot of the Black community, which is mostly Democrat, is that President Trump’s policies are the policies that can help people break out of the problems that they’re complaining about,” Kushner said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.” “But he can’t want them to be successful more than they want to be successful.” You can watch Kushner’s remarks below. WATCH: Jared Kushner implies many Black Americans do not “want to be successful.” pic.twitter.com/QolVpNFxPP — DNC War Room (@DNCWarRoom) October 26, 2020 Polling indicates that Black men might still see some appeal in the Trump campaign despite Trump’s…
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Nationwide dispatches from Vote Early Day voters

Voter education is particularly important in an election held in the middle of a pandemic. The Vote Early Day website is just one of many that provide a plethora of resources to help people find out how to vote early, since policies and procedures vary from state to state.  xAs of today 10/24, Americans can vote early in person in these states... (Deep breath) AK, AR, AZ, CA, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MI, MN, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, PA, RI, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY#VoteEarlyDay https://t.co/lrvwtZHTMq— Swing Left (@swingleft) October 24, 2020 As we count down the days until we #VoteThemOut, there’s a a social media phenomenon that many people, including your fearless writer, have become fascinated with: Voting lines. Some…
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Retired Navy Admiral William McRaven Announces He Voted for Biden

Retired Navy Admiral William McRaven endorsed Democrat Joe Biden in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal published today. McRaven, who was the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014––and was behind the successful raid of Osama bin Laden––said he has already voted for Biden in Texas. “Truth be told, I am a pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, small-government, strong-defense, and a national-anthem-standing conservative,” McRaven wrote. “But, I also believe that black lives matter, that the Dreamers deserve a path to citizenship, that diversity and inclusion are essential to our national success, that education is the great equalizer, that climate change is real, and that the First Amendment is the cornerstone of our democracy. Most important, I believe that America must lead in the world with courage, conviction and a…
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Black Family Reunions, a Wellspring of Political Wisdom, Evaporate in 2020

Bettie Griggs, a retiree in Los Angeles, was 12 years old and living in Louisiana when her mother received her first voter registration card in the mail. It was 1965.“I can still recall the joy that she had,” Ms. Griggs said. “I can recall seeing that the card was actually stamped ‘illiterate’ and thinking, ‘Oh my God, they stamped her card illiterate.’”The long history of voter disenfranchisement in the United States is a central theme that guides Ms. Griggs’s family reunions, held every other year in Shreveport, La.That is because in the African-American family tradition, reunions frequently act as opportunities for political organizing, with older generations emphasizing to younger family members the importance of registering to vote. Save the church, Black families have often lacked designated spaces — public, and…
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Trump Has Chosen Photo Ops Over Substance in Encounters With Black Leaders

On Martin Luther King’s Birthday in January 2017, Donald J. Trump, then the president-elect, welcomed a group of civil rights leaders, led by Dr. King’s eldest son, into his office in Trump Tower.After a tour of Mr. Trump’s celebrity curio collection (Shaquille O’Neal’s sneakers, size 22, were a highlight), the visitors presented him with a proposal intended to prevent state voter identification laws from disenfranchising people of color.The delegation had low expectations. Mr. Trump had championed the lie that President Barack Obama was not born in America and, in their view, played to racial fears during the 2016 campaign. He quickly dashed even those modest hopes. Low turnout among Black voters, Mr. Trump declared, had helped him defeat Hillary Clinton.“Many people didn’t go out — many Blacks didn’t go out…
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Which Candidate Do Voters Trust to Handle the Unrest?

Welcome to Poll Watch, our weekly look at polling data and survey research on the candidates, voters and issues that will shape the 2020 election.The trips this week to Kenosha, Wis., by President Trump and Joseph R. Biden Jr. laid bare the political bets both presidential candidates are making about how voters will respond to the scenes of unrest playing out in some American cities.Mr. Trump has focused on his support for law enforcement while criticizing rioters as “anti-American,” hoping to stir fear among swing voters about unruly demonstrations.Mr. Biden, for his part, has hit back hard, insisting that right-wing vigilantes are also a big part of the problem — and that systemic racism must be rooted out of law enforcement to help heal the country. At the same time,…
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