The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    Bernie Sanders and the Black Vote-July 2015 Edition

    By rmrd0000 on Sat, 07/11/2015 - 4:56pm |

    Bernie Sanders has a history of fighting for Civil Rights, but his record is not well known in the black community. Hillary Clinton has name recognition in the community and many black legislators and acquaintances who can serve to verify her connections to the community. little things matter. Joe Biden searching out "Mouse" at the 2012 NAACP Convention was hilarious but sent a subtle message that Biden was connected. Hopefully, we will see similar connections from Bernie Sanders. The black vote is critical for lack presidential candidates.

    Sanders sees class and economics as the reason for the financial status. Blacks tend to see race as a very important factor in their status. He notes that his policies will benefit the black community.

    “I have a long history in fighting for civil rights. I understand that many people in the African-American community may not understand that,” he said. “Given the disparity that we’re seeing in income and wealth in this country, it applies even more to the African-American community and to the Hispanic community. And what we are going to do is make a major outreach effort to those communities, let people know my background, let people know my record.”

    The problem with the "If they only understood' position is that it mimics the position taken by the Republicans in their approach to the black community. African Americans make up only 1% of Vermont's population. Does Sanders understand the desires of black voters?

    One slip that Sanders makes is to classify Barack Obama as the "African American" President. Present day Hillary Clinton avoids this trap of dismissing black voters.

    "Well, here's what you got. What you got is an African-American president, and the African-American community is very, very proud that this country has overcome racism and voted for him for president. And that's kind of natural."

    Sanders has not really adjusted racism in police departments and the criminal justice system, something that Hillary Clinton addresses. Sanders attack class disparities but ignores issues important to the black community like voting rights.

    Hillary has a commanding lead over Sanders in early polling in the black community. Sanders' situation may simply be poor name recognition. On the other hand it could be that sanders has never really had to ain his campaigns at a nonwhite audience.. Vermont is > 90% white. He has done well in Iowa, New Hampshire, and with largely white audiences, can he duplicate the support in the black community? If he does outreach to the black community, emphasizes his work in Civil Rights, and against the Draconian parts of Bill Clinton's welfare reform he may make inroads. Sanders may get help with his economic justice message from people like rapper Killer Mike. He may also appeal to groups like the Dream Defenders and other young black activists. Killer Mike has a take on economics close to Bernie Sanders. Jay-Z is making similar statements

    From Killer Mike on "Tavis Smiley"

    “I’m not tough on the white man, I’m tough on people in positions of power…If you look like them, that doesn’t matter. They don’t care. We are all a part of the worker class. We are all suffering under this oppression. We’ve taken the bait of racism, which is another form of classism masked with color, to in-fight and not see the real enemy.”

    Barack Obama had low level support compared to Hillary when he first entered the race. Bernie Sanders may get a surge as  well.

    Comments

    Not a single mention of his marching for Civil Rights, being an officer of the Congress of Racial Equality, his coordination with MLK, Jr, or getting arrested in hisweeks long sit-in to protest segregated housing?


    by Thai-Duong Nguyen (not verified) on Sat, 07/11/2015 - 5:25pm

    Reading is fundamental. You are correct, there was not a single mention.

    I started with:

    Bernie Sanders has a history of fighting for Civil Rights but his record is not well known in the black community.

    I noted his statement:

    “I have a long history in fighting for civil rights. I understand that many people in the African-American community may not understand that,” he said. “Given the disparity that we’re seeing in income and wealth in this country, it applies even more to the African-American community and to the Hispanic community. And what we are going to do is make a major outreach effort to those communities, let people know my background, let people know my record.”t


    by rmrd0000 on Sat, 07/11/2015 - 6:29pm

    The links also describe his Civil Rights history. The real problem is that people want to know what have you done lately? This question is something Bernie Sanders should be able to answer.

     


    by rmrd0000 on Sat, 07/11/2015 - 6:32pm

    The answer is in the quote you posted. Wealth inequality affects minorities disproportionately more, and he's leading the fight against that, as the only presodential candidate not financed by the Wall Street powers that lobby to keep the wealth to themselves. This is all very obvious.


    by Thai-Duong Nguyen (not verified) on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 12:44am

    Blacks see race as an important issue. If you look at redlining of neighborhoods, racial bias in home loans, etc, you see racism throughout the system. The judicial system is rife with racial bias.


    by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 11:42am

    HUD recently announced a program to address issues of suggestion in housing. Obviously Republicans are against the proposal.

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/11/obama-hud-take-on-racis...


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 12:40pm

    Sanders was being interviewed by Al Sharpton the other night and Al was focusing on Sanders history of working in the Civil Rights Movement etc. Sanders was part of SNCC which I don't think many people, of any race, remember.


    by Elusive Trope on Sat, 07/11/2015 - 10:45pm

    The Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee?   Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown?  I remember!  Bernie was part of that?


    by MrSmith1 on Sat, 07/11/2015 - 11:29pm

    He mentioned he was in some way connected to SNCC on his campus. I don't think he played a key role, but he was there in some fashion supporting the  SNCC on his campus. 


    by Elusive Trope on Sat, 07/11/2015 - 11:42pm

    Yes he was a part of the Congress of Racial Equality

    ...as a college student he organized sit-ins against segregation, worked for a union, protested police brutality and attended the 1963 March on Washington. Throughout that time, the central theme of his life has never wavered. 

    ...By his 23rd birthday, Sanders had worked for a meatpackers union, marched for civil rights in Washington D.C., joined the university socialists and been arrested at a civil rights demonstration. 

    ...The civil rights movement also became a home for him. He became a leader of an NAACP ally called the Congress of Racial Equality. He was arrested while demonstrating for desegregated public schools in Chicago. 

    ...On a frigid Tuesday afternoon in January, 1962 the 20-year-old from Brooklyn stood on the steps of University of Chicago administration building and railed in the wind against the college’s housing segregation policy. “We feel it is an intolerable situation, when Negro and white students of the university cannot live together in university owned apartments,” the young bespectacled student told the few-dozen classmates gathered there. Then he led them into the building in protest, and camped the night outside the president’s office. It was Chicago’s first civil rights sit-in. 
    http://time.com/3896500/bernie-sanders-vermont-campaign-radical/#3896500/bernie-sanders-vermont-campaign-radical/ 

    If you have time I would recommend you listen to his speech in Madison, Wisconsin. It is about an hour long. I linked to the start of his speech. 

    https://youtu.be/OewBDIwy-O4?t=546


    by Bugguy (not verified) on Sat, 07/11/2015 - 11:59pm

    I remember SNCC.  They were part of the Freedom Riders and did passive non violence protests.  


    by trkingmomoe on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 12:08am

    This is an article, just a Google away, from the Burlington Free Press, written in 2013. It highlights an interview with Sanders that's worth a quick read.

    Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was a 22-year old student at the University of Chicago in 1963, participating with civil rights groups in Chicago and organizing financial support for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was among the hundreds of thousands of people who took buses to Washington D.C. for the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. In a recent interview with the Burlington Free Press, Sanders said the memory of that day continues to shape his work.


    by barefooted on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 12:40am

    Bernie Sanders's problem is that he currently is polling about 3% of the African American vote in 2015. He has to do outreach to the community in 2015. If he makes no direct outreach, he cedes the African American vote to Hillary Clinton.

    When the initial vote for gay marriage occurred in the District of Columbia, there was no outreach to the black community and the measure failed. Occupy Wall Street made no direct outreach to the black community and there was little black participation in the movement. If history is no to be repeated, Sanders has to come to the black community directly and ask for votes.


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 10:11am

    There is a dog-whistle statement from Bernie a Sanders on the issue of gun control.

    “I come from a state that has virtually no gun control, but the people of my state understand—pretty clearly—that guns in Vermont are not the same as guns in Chicago or guns in Los Angeles. In our state, guns are used for hunting. In Chicago, they’re used for kids in gangs killing other kids or people shooting police officers, shooting down innocent people.”  

    He is going to have to clarify this statement. It is identical to what we would hear from the NRA


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 11:34am

    Bernie doesn't have to worry about Jim Webb siphoning off any of the black vote. Webb took up the cause for embattled white culture on Fox News. He also stated the following gem.

    "Unfortunately, I think you're seeing it from both sides, which is why I mention the situation with Donald Trump with respect to Mexican-Americans," Webb said. "We're seeing an issue which should have been resolved and now is resolved, flying the Confederate battle flag in public places, morphing into something different."

    Webb then said he had talked about the issue with a close friend of his who happens to be African-American.

    "He said, 'I was just at the barbershop and I asked the brothers what they thought about this, and they said, 'Here we go again. When are we going to talk about jobs? When are we going to talk about education? When are we going to talk about harmony and bringing people together?' And that's what inclusive leadership needs to be."

    The conversation in the barbershop could have taken place. The black guy could have said that he asked the "brothers" about a topic and passed that wording to a white guy like Webb, but color me suspicious.


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 2:10pm

    I've seen two of his speeches in Iowa. Early ones. Ames and Des Moines. In both of these speeches he talks about minority unemployment rates, police reform, restoring the voting rights act and immigration. I don't know why people keep saying he's not talking about it. He is. It's essentially the same thing Clinton keeps saying a month after he's done it.


    by Krokin (not verified) on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 6:47pm

    Thanks for commenting

    Sanders needs to make his direct appeal to the black community. I suspect that most of the Black Caucus and many leaders are already in Hillary's corner.

    He does have a message, but it it being carried to white progressive sources and then filtered to the black community.

    http://atlantablackstar.com/2015/07/09/sanders-says-civil-unrest-linked-...

    Edit to add:

    Let me clarify, Sanders did appear on Tavis Smiley's PBS show in February 2015. Cornel West may be an ally for Sanders despite West criticizing Sanders for supporting the Israeli occupation of Palestine. More recently, Cornel West referred to Sanders as a man of integrity. West ans Smiley may be starting points for introducing Sanders to the Black community. One problem is that both men are somewhat marginalized because of criticism of President Obama.


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 7:21pm

    Your time line is wrong. Hillary took positions on voting rights and immigration before Sanders entered the race. You may not believe her but the idea that she is simply parroting Sanders is false.


    by ocean-kat on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 7:35pm

    Sanders has been vocal about the Voting Rights Act since the overturn in the supreme court. This is from the day it was overturned http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/video-audio/voting-rights-act-062513 I don't know why my timeline is wrong. I was at the speeches, some of his very first after his announcements. Clinton was still avoiding all political positions at that time and still talking to voters. You're right, she's probably not parroting in this case. In fact, I don't really think she is. She was converted from the segregationist beliefs of her youth by an MLK speech. Sanders was arrested trying to desegregate places in Chicago. It's one of the few areas that I don't think she really lies. I don't think she has any real difference with Sanders on the issues around here though, so I don't see why it should be her strength.

    As for her resolve to actually make meaningful economic advancements for minority communities, I think she is lacking. Her interests are pretty well established. There's a reason Rupert Murdoch and Wall Street say they would like a Clinton presidency. I can get those sources as well if you'd like.


    by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 8:44pm

    I doubt Bernie can attract many Black American supporters, maybe Eric has an opinion on this topic, anymore than he can attract any Muslim Americans and certainly not Black Muslim Americans.

    I also doubt he will appear at many if any Black American gatherings and his handlers certainly won't allow him to be exposed to critics such as Bruce Dixon or anyone else from Black Agenda Report.

    Probably the best way to view Bernie is as one half of a tag-team prepping and pumping up the White Middle Class Dems for shepherding back to the Veal Pens. Bernie may even draw enough attention to get the VP nod for his efforts.


    by Peter (not verified) on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 7:57pm

    Black Agenda Report is going to matter very little in the election.


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 8:26pm

    The BAR folks are just an example of people who could deconstruct Bernie in a few minuted if he had to confront them publicly just as any articulate Palestinian American could have him turning bright red and sputtering with a few pointed questions, but this staged populism will never allow the real world to interfere with the show.

     


    by Peter (not verified) on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 11:32pm

    Nice post, rmrd.

    Maybe Sanders deserves a larger chunk of the African-American vote. But I don't think he'll get it.

    I think the bar is higher for Bernie here. He's not just competing with Hillary for black voters. He's trying to get black voters who already have a relationship with Hillary to switch to him. Getting a voter to leave someone for you is much harder than getting a voter to pick you over someone else.

    And if Obama throws any support around in the primaries (and he may not), I'm certain he'll throw it to Hillary. At that point, it would be pretty much game over for the African-American vote.


    by Doctor Cleveland on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 10:16pm

    Thanks for the compliment.

    Sanders' best option is to appeal to young black voters. The young voters pay some attention to people like Killer Mike and young activists. The youth may be able to convince their parents to give Sanders a chance.

    I see Obama throwing his weight to Hillary.


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 10:59pm

    First of all. You are right and I am sure that he will.  Second here is is at La Raza where he spoke about race, immigrants, and equality  


    by synchronicity on Tue, 07/14/2015 - 5:20pm

    Thanks for the video.  I don't underestimate his political skills. We also know were his heart is and that is the most important thing he has to sell to the people. 


    by trkingmomoe on Tue, 07/14/2015 - 7:04pm