Meet the Group of African-American Organizers Building Black Support for Bernie Sanders

[marmar]

from In These Times:


Meet the Group of African-American Organizers Building Black Support for Bernie Sanders
Will grassroots organizing within the black electorate be able to challenge Clinton’s hegemony?

BY SALIM MUWAKKIL


[font size="1"]A woman cheers during a Bernie Sanders campaign event on August 21 in Greenville, S.C. (Photo vis Bernie 2016)[/font]

Will Crosby, 63, a veteran political organizer in Chicago’s bruising electoral battles, is worried that the black community will be caught flat-footed in the 2016 presidential campaign.

The way he sees things, too much of the black electorate is sleepwalking in lockstep support of Hillary Clinton. She is by far the black electorate’s favored candidate, with an 80 percent approval rate.

But Crosby thinks Bernie Sanders is the best presidential candidate for African Americans. “Bernie Sanders is talking about issues that directly affect our community and he’s doing it in a fearless way,” Crosby says. Unfortunately, he adds, Sanders’ message has yet to penetrate into the black community.

Crosby and other Chicago-based black activists have formed a group called the Bernie Brigade that attempts to showcase Sanders’ progressive platform and long history of support for the black struggle. The group canvasses for Sanders in majority-black neighborhoods and holds pro-Sanders events. “We’re still very much engaged in an educational process,” he notes. “Many in our community are unfamiliar with Bernie. They just see an elderly white man from remote, white Vermont. And, quite frankly, that’s a hard sell.”

Crosby says attitudes are easily changed when they hear Sanders’ political spiel and his policy prescriptions, especially on reforming the criminal justice system and curbing wealth inequality. But a black electorate that feels warmly toward Clinton may not take the time to listen. According to a CNN poll from June, Sanders had the support of just 2 percent of black Democrats. ..................(more)

http://inthesetimes.com/article/18405/building-black-support-for-bernie

[Anansi1171]

1. Blacks support Hillary because they have invested in the Clintons...

...and Democrats. They know that whenever a candidate claims to lift all boats, the boat with blacks in it will be lifted last(if at all, in America). And with so-called "colorblind" supporters and outreach to religious right groups that many blacks feel are simply racists, why should blacks choose to simply forfeit their political capital so they can sit on the back seat of the Bernie Sanders bus?

Amazing times with strange bedfellows, that's for certain.

I wish these organizers luck in doing what BS cannot yet seem to do for himself; genuinely connect with African-Americans. Is it really that hard, with sincerity??

[Rockyj]

3. You know that what you just wrote is BS?

You do realize Hillary is just as white as Bernie? What about her hubby Bill aiding in the criminalizing of young blacks and jailing them for minor drug crimes? What about they're so called Welfare Reformed that demonizes single mothers and promotes forcing their children's father out of the picture? I am Native American & KNOW that the Clinton's do not have a special connection to minorities! Where ever that came from is BS! Meanwhile when Hillary Clinton was being elected president of the College Republicans at Wellesley College, Sanders was actually being arrested for protesting against segregation in public schools in Chicago!
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/20-examples-bernie-sanders-powerful-record-civil-and-human-rights-1950s

[Anansi1171]

16. Hillary and Bill were imperfect at best in their record on race, no question.

But some AAs understand that beyond platitudes, this has to do with sharing actual power - to invest, to appoint, to have access to, to award, affect and influence. This matters too!

I appreciate your experience as a Native and perhaps you can understand...if I went to a vested interest like say the Cherokee Nation which runs a massive business, and I say "your government contracts, your people appointed to these boards, you're ability to get a seat with this key leader, are not as important as how I BELIEVE MY CAUSE WILL BENEFIT YOU! Got it?

And these people agree with me, so what's wrong with you already?"

Bernie Sanders looks to me like...amazingly...the actual diminishing of black American influence, in the party and in America. I can't go for that, no can do.

Guess I missed the good old white teach-in of Summer '15 on DU, where it was explained to us these were not the droids we were looking for. Is Bravenak still on suspension from school or has she just been expelled already?

[Barky Bark]

42. Then I ask you a simple question

What issues is Hillary better than Bernie?

[SidDithers]

44. ...

Sid

[SMC22307]

53. Waving?

Impressive.

[TM99]

66. If you think for an instance

that our community 'shares power' with the Clinton's you have drunk the kool-aid.

A few elite 1% are definitely a part of the new establishment DNC status quo. Holder, our former AG, has just gone back to Wall Street where he originally came from. Funny how he spent all of that time fighting for our communities. Oh wait, he didn't. He pushed the war on drugs and watched the largest number of young black men and women be killed by cops under his watch compared to any other.

Sanders fights for economic and social justice and has a stellar history of doing both. Clinton does not.

Our community is no more special or different than any other. We have a shit ton of low information voters. We have a lot of men and women who will vote for promises but not the actualities. We have a lot of men and women who will vote time and time again against their own best self interest.

You and Bravenak can make it about some Millennial Post New Left personal rage against the white progressive fighting truly on our side but then you are just falling for the same shit that makes poor uneducated whites vote for god and guns all the while they hope that one day they will be millionaires. We will NOT be sharing power with a Clinton administration any more so than we did with Obama and he is a fucking black man!

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

84. Bernies going to have an impossible time cracking that cracked logic.

I feel sad that AA's will vote for Hillary and they will get just what they asked for. More of the same.

And I will resent it BIG TIME, if Bernie loses because AA's have their heads up their (not going to say it), that will be a slap in the face of all rational people.

"Bernie Sanders looks to me like...amazingly...the actual diminishing of black American influence, in the party and in America. I can't go for that, no can do."

I'd love you to flesh that out a bit. I'm not seeing that at all.

[Glassunion]

20. What about her hubby?

Bill is not Hillary. They are two separate folks.

[questionseverything]

27. hillary was involved in rounding up votes for those god awful policies so not seperate

[SoapBox]

6. Flat footed and Sleepwalking...

As said in the article.

If you think for one second that HRC is going to be a saviour, well, you are going to be caught flat footed big time.

[Anansi1171]

17. I am wide awake!

I don't expect much by way of salvation from HRC, really. I'm here with you through Obama, I'm all done with transcendent politicians, and that's no knock on him. The Right is hungry for that, hence Donald Trump.

I'm concerned with jobs for black folks; that's the root of racism as it exists today.

[SwampG8r]

30. Glad you recognize

Economic justice is needed for social justice
Bernie Sanders agrees
Hillary not so much

[HooptieWagon]

79. IMO they go hand in hand.

Social justice doesn't mean much if we're all equal in the bread lines. And economic justice doesn't mean much if minorities are excluded from it. Bernie understands they are intertwined, that's why I support him.

[Uncle Joe]

7. When you undermine democracy in Honduras and support a military coup all because

their President wanted to raise their starvation minimum wage, you're not putting Americans in boats, just raising the water level here in the U.S. and causing great misery abroad.

[sabrina 1]

13. So what did the Clintons do for AAs? I have been listening to many AAs asking that

question now. Things haven't improved much for AAs over the past several decades. Unemployant and incarceration, thanks to the 'tough on crime' laws the Clintons helpe push, is at a frightening level.

So what is it that should encourage AAs to vote for Hillary?

[ancianita]

15. Did a lot of bad stuff back in the day. I know. I was there with them trying to be "tough on crime."

It was a euphemism for cracking down on black communities that weren't using drugs any more than white communities were -- and got away with. Black people knew it. Major leaders of the Black Caucus didn't even support the Clintons' huge budget push for legislation of the War on Drugs.

Michelle Alexander in The New Jim Crow tells every little dirty detail about how the Clintons set about to ruin African American communities across the country. The Clinton era set up The New Jim Crow in America.

[questionseverything]

28. so why are you supporting that?

[ancianita]

33. I meant I was there when they were trying to be "tough on crime." No, I wasn't "with" them on that.

I meant THEY did a lot of bad stuff back then. Not me.

[questionseverything]

39. i am confused

the clintons hurt all poor people with their "welfare reform", poc worst than most

put a 100,000 cops on the street with nothing to do but harass poor people and mostly poc

put half a million in jail for simple possession of a plant again mostly poc...she doesn't even want the sick and dying to have relief

do you think they have changed their goals? because i am sure they have not

just out of curiosity why do you think this time would be any different?

[ancianita]

49. I didn't say I thought they'd be different, but they'll be better than anyone the GOP's got.

I doubt their changing goals, tho' Bill has apologized for some of his past domestic stances.

And I do believe in presidents "evolving" through sheer pressure of public opinion polls and WH online petitions, but being the first woman president may pressure Hillary to go along with status quo in order to get one or two legislative wins which, without a majority in House or Senate, is probably all she'll get.

If they get back in the White House, I just think the Clintons are as likely to be as benignly indifferent to the structural racism they helped solidify in the 90's as they were ignorant of the long term effects of what they enacted.

I think they've always got something to prove to elites, not to The People. Doesn't mean they won't make token effort, though.

[99th_Monkey]

70. But why support Clinton then, instead of Bernie in the primary? I still don't get that part. -nt-

[ancianita]

71. I absolutely don't support anyone but Bernie in the primary. I've never said anything but that. Ever

I've never waivered in my support of Sanders or West's endorsement of him.

I only speak of my issues with the Clintons' past actions when they were in power. I'd still vote for her in the general though I don't trust her to do much for The People or the AA struggle.

[99th_Monkey]

72. OK, sorry I misunderstood. peace. go Bernie! -nt-

[questionseverything]

74. the choice is not between hillary and the gop

it is between hillary and bernie

i appreciate this discussion and how civil you are being so i am encouraged to ask...what jobs are you talking about when you speak of poc "investment" in the clintons?

and do you really mean you do not want all boats to rise?

[ancianita]

80. The Clintons past actions caused all boats to sink for African America. Their record:

In 1992 Bill Clinton in his campaign vowed he wouldn't ever permit any Republican to be perceived as tougher on crime than he.

1. Before the NH primary he flew home to oversee the execution of Ricky Ray Rector.

Once elected Clinton endorsed the federal "three strikes you're out" law from his 1994 State of the Union address.

2. Clinton signed a $30 billion crime bill that created dozens of new federal capital crimes, mandated life sentence for three-time offenders and authorized more than $16 billion state prison building grants. Clinton's "tough on crime" policies resulted in the largest increases in federal and state prisoners of any president in US history.

3. Clinton signed the Republican-led bill into law -- The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which ended welfare by giving block grants for TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families), that imposed a five-year lifetime limit as well as a LIFETIME BAN on eligibility for welfare food stamps for anyone convicted of a felony drug offense including first time simple possession of marijuana.

Washington under Clinton slashed funding for public housing by $17 billion and boosted corrections by $19 billion, making prisons the nation's main housing program for the urban poor. Because of his "one strike and you're out Initiative, Clinton waged the toughest admission and eviction policy that drove out any minorities swept up in the drug war and made them homeless, locked out of mainstream society with the title Felony and locked out of their own homes.

4. Clinton enthusiastically embraced Reagan's 1981 infusion of military intel, research, weaponry and equipment to local, state and federal police across the country. WORSE, HE OFFERED MONEY to officers and departments for drug arrests. Paramilitary SWAT teams that used to serve routine search warrants for drugs surged, since city or county-led arrests got them $153 in state and federal funding.

Was that enough for Clinton? Hell, no.

5. Clinton backed Reagan's Byrne Act to the hilt to seize under forfeiture both property of alleged drug possessors and all property of anyone deemed associated with them -- grandmas, friends, anyone.

80% of all forfeitures went uncontested because even when a person was found innocent of criminal conduct, once the property was seized, the owner had no right of counsel and the burden of the property's "innocence" was on the innocent. $1 billion in assets between 1988 and 1992 alone. This doesn't even include DE or other federal agency actions, either.

And they didn't get kingpins; hell, no, they got little guys. Poor folks locked out of a racist, uncaring society, trying to just get the basics, are hit the hardest by the war on drugs. Today, drug tasks forces run like wolf packs because of federal grant incentives. In Oakland, task commanders would start a shift with "Let's go out and kick ass...Everybody goes to jail tonight for everything, right?" Only because some Malibu owners complained did the 2000 Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act get passed.

Because of Clinton, the war on black people -- oops, I mean drugs -- is here to stay. (Obama drastically increased funding by $2 billion for Byrne grants)

The Clintons were instrumental in making The New Jim Crow a fact of life for AA's in America. No wonder Coates isn't down with old school leaders.

Today, felony charges waged by race-neutral speaking prosecutors on blacks are not the charges put on whites. Lawyers learned the prosecutorial trick of filing charges with the feds for blacks, but with the state for whites, which mostly use misdemeanor, not felony charges.

Today, the felon label has created the biggest population of minority disenfranchisement in the US, NOT gerrymandering.

When we let the Wall St. felons go free, the New Jim Crow is what we all eat. It's what's for dinner.

Sorry if I've gone on and on, but this shit should piss off every conscious humano in this country.

The short answer to your question is no, there is no 'investment' that AA need have with the Clintons.

[questionseverything]

82. i agree with everything you wrote

glad you are supporting bernie

i was mixing you up with a different poster, i apoligize

the only thing i would add is, white people are affected too,not equally but still affected

example..stop and frisk went after poc 85% to 15% white...if you were the white guy in that 15% you were just as screwed as the other 85%,,,which is why we must stand together

[ancianita]

83. All the more reason for poor whites 2 "give up the psychological bribe of whiteness" & go for Bernie

[beam me up scottie]

38. And then there was Ricky Ray Rector.

Hillary is pro-death penalty like her husband.

[ancianita]

50. That was more of his proving how "tough on crime" he was. I was so disgusted at the time.

[beam me up scottie]

64. I was horrified when I read about him.

He basically executed a child in a man's body to get elected.

[sabrina 1]

48. Thanks, I haven't read that, but I know that Hillary is on the record for

supporting the disastrous 'tough on crime' legislation.

These polls we see of AAs overwhelming support for Hillary. That's not what I am hearing from AAs.

I wonder who they are polling? Landlines eg, are used in most polls. Stats show now that most young people eg, do not use landlines. And how about the many AAs who are not even registered to vote? How do you poll non-registered voters?

Also, most AAs, again according to statistics, have no idea YET who Bernie is.

But those who do, seem to me to be very enthusiastic about him and are working hard to get the word out in their own communities.

So I'm now wondering if this isn't just another talking point attempting to preempt what is inevitable, overwhelming support for Bernie once AAs get to know him. Iow, smear him before they learn what he is about.

However, these tactics haven't worked so far, so I'm not worried about the support of minority communities once they learn about Bernie, his record and his long history of fighting for Civil Rights.

I have seen several AAs who have large followings say the have 'switched from Hillary to Bernie because he has been fighting for their rights all of his life'.

[ancianita]

51. I wonder who they're polling, too. The book, btw, is hard, but rewarding and worth your time.

[erronis]

75. You nailed it. Thx.

[Number23]

14. "Amazing times with strange bedfellows, that's for certain." Ain't that the truth

Last edited Mon Sep 14, 2015, 06:53 PM - Edit history (1)

Though I would not be in the same continent with some of these folks, let alone share a bed.

Nice to see you again. As you can see, we desperately need more black voices around here.

Edit: Though looking in this thread, it is beyond apparent that some non-blacks not only think that we need to be spoken for, but seem to be all too happy to appoint themselves the ones to do it.

[Anansi1171]

18. It's good to be back and Thank You!

Many days I would lurk and just couldn't engage. Incredible debate and I refuse to let a generation of young democrats and anyone calling themselves a Progressive proceed with colorblind racism and white washing...Oh Hell No!

I've fought the Right doing it, now I take it from the Left?

Et tu, Brutus?

I know there's people on this board who ACTUALLY believe there's a war on white Americans!

But Ok, we can dialogue, I can listen.

But when we talk about winners and losers, and you say don't worry because I'm not going to HAVE winners and losers, well I say you still don't understand, I am BLACK IN AMERICA-!!!!!--!!!!

[Number23]

21. You are saying something these people have burned a thousand calories DESPERATELY trying not

to hear. You are asking the question they have spent a thousand threads screaming isn't really an issue (the irony of all that is apparently completely lost on them) when they're not busy questioning the intelligence of black voters.

I refuse to let a generation of young democrats and anyone calling themselves a Progressive proceed with colorblind racism and white washing...Oh Hell No!

I think that ship has sailed, at least here on DU. But your initial question in this thread was spot on.

I wish these organizers luck in doing what BS cannot yet seem to do for himself; genuinely connect with African-Americans. Is it really that hard, with sincerity??

Which is why you were immediately blanketed with laughable attempts to change the subject, or even worse, desperate attempts to sound intelligent and informed about the black condition, including the need to remind us that black people are not a monolith!! Apparently black people need to even be reminded that we don't all think alike!

There was a great article in Salon yesterday that was titled something like "Black People aren't feeling the Bern" or something like that and they raised similar questions. If Bernie has been the great champion for black people and black issues the way his most vocal and er... PASSIONATE supporters keep saying, then why have so few black people heard of him????

I am glad to see this Black Sanders group. Nothing makes me happier than seeing black folks politically engaged. And these people are probably fully aware of the massively uphill battle they have due in no small part by Sanders' own behavior, including his bizarre decision to add Cornell to the mix.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

29. Why have so few black people heard of Bernie Sanders?

Probably for the same reason so few white people had heard of him.

He hasn't spent decades bragging on himself and seeking the camera like so many other politicians. He's been chugging away working on getting amendments passed to make things better, not just telling folks 'Hey look at me, I'm your champion!'

[Number23]

31. Sorry but that doesn't cut it. Not even close.

I would buy that if so many of his supporters hadn't spent the last 3-4 months screaming that he's always been such a stalwart defender of black rights and issues. If that's the case, then he would be known.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

32. He's been a stalwart defender of the poor, too.

But again, he's not known by most of them.

Hell, I'd bet half of his 'screaming' supporters barely knew anything about him before 4 months or so ago.

[Number23]

35. 25 years in Congress and the people he's purported to help the most have no idea who he is??

How is that good???

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

37. Who do we know?

Cruz? Gohmert? Boehner? McConnell?

Simply being known can be as simple as being a jackass.

Millions of people go to work every day, day after day, do a damn good job, make the country a better place, and we never hear about them.

Bernie works, he works consistently and quietly. He got billions put into the ACA for community clinic funding. But the only people who could tell you that if you did a poll on the street are policy wonks.

Is that money to help people any less important simply because very few people know he was the one who got it in?

(Edit btw, good night, I'm really tired tonight, so I'm headed out.)

[Number23]

40. You're right but those people have not campaigned for the House, Senate and now president

He got billions put into the ACA for community clinic funding. But the only people who could tell you that if you did a poll on the street are policy wonks.

Alot of his strongest supporters have crapped on everything president Obama did, starting with ACA. Are you sure that you want to tout this here??

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

41. Heh. I'm about to head out for the night, but a quickee

I'm not a fan of parts of the ACA either, but it shows what Bernie does in the Senate - he takes bad bill and makes them less bad.

(My entire objection to the ACA is the lack of any sort of alternative to private insurance for those not already on medicaid or medicare, which I view as propping up the parasitic health insurance industry when it was in a death spiral.)

Night.

[Number23]

43. I'm actually glad to see his support for ACA. It's too bad he's not campaigning with that

instead of Cornell.

Take care.

[AgingAmerican]

34. You are saying his record on civil rights is BS?

You're not buying it, because nobody has proven to you it exists? I call bullshit. You have been handed every possible form of evidence for months. You flat out refuse to acknowledge his record exists, let alone consider it.

[Number23]

36. No, that's apparently what you're saying and what you must believe. Because no one has come

close to saying or even implying that.

Honesty with oneself is a good start. Back to my conversation with the person I'm actually interested in speaking with now.

[AgingAmerican]

54. See #31

nt

[cui bono]

63. You should get a new schtick. This one has been done to death already.

[Anansi1171]

65. Ouch! Shoot, maybe I can shuck and jive a bit...

...the only thing missing was an ad hominem! Well played.

[RufusTFirefly]

77. Shuck and jive? Interesting choice.

Long before Sarah Palin used that phrase against President Obama, Hillary Clinton's surrogates were using it against candidate Obama.

Obama Trounces Clintons’ Racist, Entitled S.C. Campaign

The trouncing that Hillary Clinton got in South Carolina proved that the racist and entitled campaign that the Clintons ran there backfired.

The Clinton campaign kept saying, “He’s black, black, black,” as author and South Carolina activist Kevin Alexander Gray pointed out on Jesse Jackson’s “Keep Hope Alive” program Sunday morning. And Bill Clinton used coded language, like the “old okie-dokie,” which served to remind whites of Obama’s blackness, Gray added. That's like saying don’t fall for the old “shuck and jive.”

And speaking of “shuck and jive,” that’s exactly the phrase Andrew Cuomo used to disparage Obama in New Hampshire, saying he can’t use that “shuck and jive” at press conferences.

From The Progressive

[Enthusiast]

73. Insulting post! Blacks would not sit in the back seat of the Bernie bus! That is false!

Where do you get off?

Strange bedfellows? What strange bedfellows?

You are doubting Bernie's genuine sincerity? That is downright absurd!

[noiretextatique]

2. excellent!!! eom

[WillyT]

4. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[jalan48]

5. What I don't get about the majority of black people/Representatives supporting Hillary.

She's a Third Way Democrat which means she has strong ties to Wall St. and the big banks. Black communities currently have high rates of unemployment and poverty. Do these folks think the crony capitalism of Wall St. is the answer to their problems? Really? I'd venture to say those members of the Black Caucus who want to be part of the Third Way are more interested in promoting their own well being rather than that of their constituents.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. That is not hard, this is history

traditionally AA support the establishment candidate. They were behind her in 2008 as well, that is until that strange kid from Chicago started winning primaries. The challenge will be for the kid from Vermont to repeat what the kid from Chicago did. And yes, it is very possible given the dynamics currently at play in American politics. But people forget that community organizer from Chicago was not winning the hearts of minds of African Americans, or other minorities for that matter early on.

[jalan48]

9. Yes, but I still can't believe Black leadership believes in Third Way crony capitalism.

Wall St. pays off candidates, it doesn't solve deep seated problems like poverty and unemployment.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Which is one of the reasons the tensions within the community exist

hold it, tensions I am not supposed to know a word off.

Will PM you

[Anansi1171]

19. Thanks for confirming that lack of empathy so apparent from those asking the question.

I love how suddenly the spoils of politics amount to crony capitalism when it benefits blacks. How convenient.

[jalan48]

22. The spoils going to Representatives is a good thing?

I thought their job was to work for their constituents? BTW-it has nothing to do with race, rather with a corrupt political system. You know that, right?

[TM99]

67. Why not? The one percent are the one percent.

It does not matter if they are black or white or a man or a woman.

And while there may still be institutionalized racism in America, a rich black man with political capital still gains more than that young black man dealing dope in the ghetto's while he hopes that his rap will make him the money to get out of the hell hole he was born in.

This is why both West and Sanders both agree that there is no economic justice without social justice and no social justice without economic justice. Ask yourself why so many black civil rights leaders were Marxists, socialists, and Socialist Democrats during the 1960's and 1970's. Why were and are so many of our great civil rights leaders ministers or religious people?

[forest444]

11. If I were an African-American voter, I'd look for a candidate with a history of being on my side

And that man, is clearly Bernie - no matter how much the media tries to wedge Black voters away from him.

Recent articles have questioned the appeal of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders among minority voters. What many of these articles haven’t mentioned is the long record Sanders has on civil rights and racial justice issues.

Bernie was an organizer with both the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), groups critical to the 1960s civil rights movement. Sanders was even arrested in 1962 for protesting segregation, and he marched in the 1963 March on Washington.

In 1991, alongside the Congressional Black Caucus, Bernie was one of the few white Congress members who fought to preserve Pell Grants for incarcerated citizens, earning the praise of civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis. More recently, Sanders has been outspoken on the topic of police violence and has supported reforming the broken criminal justice system.

Considering all this, it’s no surprise that the NAACP gave Sanders a 100% rating in 2012 and 2014. http://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/readers/2015/09/08/bernie-sanders-has-long-history-civil-rights/71876834/

He's also the only candidate staunchly in favor of decriminalizing pot - which is routinely used to target black youth (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/19/bernie-sanders-marijuana_n_7337454.html).

Bernie, moreover, endorsed Jesse Jackson in both his campaigns - and Rev. Jackson has endorsed him (http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/17/politics/bernie-sanders-jesse-jackson-black-lives-matter/).

[Enthusiast]

78. +1 You nailed it.

[forest444]

85. Thank you kindly.

My hope is that African-American Democrats, whom the media are actively trying to wedge from the candidate who best represents them (Bernie), will see past all the noise - and past the plants.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2015/08/blm-activist-who-shut-down-sanders-is-radical-christian-sarah-palin-supporter/?ref_widget=trending&ref_blog=lovejoyfeminism&ref_post=parenting-without-god

[Enthusiast]

86. I share your hope.

[Bobbie Jo]

87. Exactly...

If only they would just LISTEN and understand rather than think and research for themselves.

So frustrating!



AND...he marched with MLK! I'll be they weren't even aware of that.

[U of M Dem]

12. I think this kind of 'voting bloc' based analysis

of candidate support is going to leave many in the establishment and pundit-class sorely disappointed in this primary battle.

HRC and the GOP have a behemoth challenge in Bernie Sanders as he genuinely connects with people - he has been listening to the people his entire career and not advisors, cronies, or statisticians.

HRC's canned, calculating, and cryptic demeanor only makes the Sanders candor that much sweeter.

Sanders' anti-establishment / pro-citizen message has already shaped the debate in the Democratic Primaries and will be the Achilles heel for the GOP in the general. It is a message that anyone who isn't an establishment player naturally wants to hear more of.

Politically speaking, Bernie is (unfortunately) an anomaly, but he is going to continue to galvanize the 99% regardless of what demographic they fit into with this message.

African Americans are not a monolith, nor are they mindless lock-stepping sleepwalkers as the OP's article suggests.

One of Bernie's strong suits is internet campaigning and with this he has and will continue to connect his message to diverse communities regardless of arbitrary demographic codifier.

[Autumn]

24. Isn't that the truth?

attitudes are easily changed when they hear Sanders’ political spiel and his policy prescriptions, especially on reforming the criminal justice system and curbing wealth inequality.

Thanks for posting this great article.

[Babel_17]

25. Good for them! As the conversation turns to Social Security ...

As the conversation turns to Social Security, the task that they set for themselves might prove easier. Senator Sanders position on Social Security is unsurpassed by other candidates.
If you're a blue collar worker, or doing other stressful work, you know how hurtful it is to hear talk about raising the retirement age.
Many of us don't have homes we can use as ATM's, or a 401k that got through unscathed the Bush era meltdown. Pensions ... it's like we're a lucky few, those of us that have some kind of one.
Senator Sanders is in tune with that reality, and we know we have his ear.

[orpupilofnature57]

26. + 1000 for Courage and Vision !!!!!!!

Anything I can do for them and Bernie I will .

[Aerows]

45. What are you people talking about?

Don't you know that a bunch of white people have decided that black people don't like Bernie?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251591120#post45

[Truprogressive85]

46. Political revoultion is coming

I'm proud to be an African American supporter of Sen. Sanders; anyone who doesn't like it can kick rocks

If you are an African american and support HRC go head that's your business

I've seen multiple threads on bashing Dr. Cornel West as a surrogate for Sen. Sanders
yet in 2008 a HRC surrogate Geraldine Ferraro said the most vile racist statement towards Obama
It was HRC who was trying to label Obama "soft on crime" a tactic that are used by white conservative to rile white voters.

[Aerows]

47. I'm not African American

But every African American in this country is just as able to decide for themselves who they want to vote for, and this pigeon-holing crap needs to stop. It's as bad as assuming all white people like Trump.

We have a Primary. As Democrats, we decide who we want to be President. It wasn't Hillary in 2008, and I kind of liked her then. It's going on 2016 and her ideas are way past their expiration date, imo.

You are an individual, I'm an individual and we are all Americans making our individual voices heard. Yours is no more or less significant than mine. We all make a choice for our future leadership.

[artislife]

56. Geraldine....

Oh yes.

I found it hard to muster sadness when she passed.

[Bonobo]

61. Don't forget Cuomo's "shuck and jive" comment.

Or the smearing of Obama as a "slumlord".

[kwassa]

52. Hey everyone, you seemed to have missed this part of the article!

A critique of Bernie.

Sanders faces a problem that often confronts progressive mavericks who strike a chord with an enthusiastic sliver of the Democratic electorate, but who routinely fail to ring a bell with voters of color—Paul Tsongas, Gary Hart, Jerry Brown, Eugene McCarthy. These candidates have often been blinded by cultural assumptions that devalue the sensibilities of the black community. Adding to this traditional distance is Sanders’ decidedly old-school brand of socialist politics, which is devoted to the materialist notion that economics primarily shape the sociopolitical agenda. In that formulation, race is superstructural—a mere appendage to the means of production.

But in 21st-century America, race is fundamental. Sanders was rudely informed of this when Black Lives Matter activists interrupted his speeches during two campaign stops. These disruptions have forced Sanders to readjust his policy platform and stump speeches, which now include diatribes against institutional racism and the criminalization of the black community.

If Sanders stands a chance, black voters will have to be convinced, again, that Clinton is not the best candidate. A black man convinced them last time; can an elderly white man do it this time?

[artislife]

57. I am pretty sure we know this.

Sanders has a tough row to hoe for Blacks and Latinos. This is a Latina talking. One of his failings in my mind, was that he spoke to everyone the same. That was also a strength but from reading here and other places I came to realize that wouldn't cut it.

But I am encouraged by his speech today and the other night as he seems to have started to pin point issues, key words and strong beliefs of the people who are directly in front of him.

I do think he believes we all want and need the same thing, so I cannot fault him for actually looking past my ethnicity and seeing my humanity.

I do know, he needs to see ethnicity and cultural realities, too for him to build a larger support in the minority communities.

[PatrickforO]

55. This is awesome.

[MoveIt]

58. K&R

[liberal_at_heart]

59. but I thought all black people hated Bernie. Didn't they get the memo?

[Bonobo]

60. Don't listen to THEM. Only listener to black voices that agree with you! nt

[lovemydog]

62. This is great.

I'm really happy about it.

We've all had a lot of arguments here and I don't want to keep fighting amongst each other.

I agree with Sanders that we need to build a grass roots movement.

I strongly believe that grass roots movement should be inclusive. I know there will be disagreements along the way. Some valid. Some ridiculous and stupid. But I also believe we all must unify to give everyone a fair shake.

[RiverLover]

68. R & K!!

Thanks for posting.

[GoneFishin]

69. My perception of Hillary is that she is extremely disingenuous. If she gets the nomination she

will shake the Etch-A-Sketch and begin pandering to Republicans and Wall Street. If you are not wealthy you will have no voice.

[Babel_17]

76. And thanks for posting about this warm and moving development

I'm always happy to see a turn of events like this. The Sanders campaign is one of warmth that allows people bring out their best in support of it. None of that grim sucking it up and supporting our party just so we can spike the wheels of the Republican political war wagon.

This is our fight, for the 99%. These African-American Organizers are a big part of our fight and it's great to see them weighing in and supporting the Sanders campaign.