This might be a stretch on my part, but perhaps one reason for the bond between Hillary and PoC...

[YoungDemCA]

...has to do with the fact that she too has been on the receiving end of bigotry (albeit sex/gender-based bigotry) and discrimination, vile hatred and outrageously offensive remarks, and is widely perceived by much of white America (especially white men, but also, admittedly and unfortunately, a significant number of white women) as a "threat" to the "traditional values" of "our country" (i.e. white America's country)?

Let's face it...just as the American media and the white public has held President Obama to an impossible-to-meet standard (a standard which they would never even consider holding a white man to), so too has Hillary been held to a similar double standard. Just as President Obama must constantly walk a very fine line between being perceived as "too Black" to be not seen as a threat or "not Black enough" to authentically represent the interests of the Black community (and other PoC, for that matter), so too must Hillary constantly walk a fine line between being perceived as "too feminine" to be taken seriously and being considered "a rude, shrill bitch." I strongly suspect that the Black community - that is to say, Black people, and most Black voters in particular - have picked up on this, ever since the early days of Bill Clinton's Presidency, when Hillary clearly and confidently stated that she was not interested in being a "submissive" or "deferential" First Lady...not by a long shot.

Which leads me to the commonalities between how Hillary is stereo-typically perceived, and how Black women are stereo-typically perceived by white America. Simply put, both Hillary and Black women are accused of being "overly assertive" or even "aggressive" because they don't conform to traditional white, middle-class gender norms. In other words, they are not being ladylike. And thus, the double bind that both Hillary (and other ambitious, Type A personality women, in business, politics, and the like) and Black women find themselves in: the more they assert themselves, with confidence and without shame, as strong, driven, and capable women, the more their womanhood (and by extension, their very humanity) is denied and degraded, and the more outright hostility, abuse, and - potentially - violence they face from men (usually, white men) as well as those women who enable and enforce sexism in general. And people still seriously wonder why so many women are reluctant to seek out leadership roles, or shy away from them altogether!

IMHO, all of the above could very well be a significant explanation for why so many Black voters embrace Hillary. But that's just my view; I'm curious to read those of all you fine folks here in the African-American Group!

[UMTerp01]

1. Bravo. Very good points

I have talked to many Black women who have pointed out the exact things you mentioned about why they feel a bond with Hillary Clinton. In particular, older successful Black women who have been through the struggle of playing the fine line between not wanting to be the "angry Black woman" but also needing to exert confidence and strength. This is something that many millenials who haven't been through the wringer yet don't quite get and its why Hillary's support with older Black women is astronomical. Its not a stretch at all.

K&R

[The Polack MSgt]

2. I think that

The thought "The same people that hate me hate her" is a factor.

Nice OP YoungDemCA

[Spacedog1973]

3. Personally I think its more to do with location

She moved to Arkansas and met with bill and following that, her involvement with POC and issues which resonate with them, seemed to increase. I happen to believe that when surrounded by racism, white people can either become a part of it, or fight against it. Further, some of the best white allies come from the South, both professional and unsung. Its their deep and daily understanding of racism that tends to do it, rather than the 'theoretical' understanding that so many white people outside these areas seem to hold.

White women, white gay people, white minorities unfortunately, show little natural empathy with people of color despite ther own marginalisation. I see it like poor whites that look on POC and say to themselves; 'Lucky we don't have it as bad'. Making sure they aren't on the 'last rung of the ladder' by if necessary, applying a 'boot to the face' of the black man hanging on there below them.

Bill Clinton was one of those white people, that knew racism and I believe would have taught Hillary much of the realities of living in the south.

In regard to why black people resonate with Hillary rather than Bernie, for myself, I like to call it an instinct: Racism can kill you, if you can't read the signs, to see the clues, to develop a 'feeling' for people who may harbour prejudice with malice. A white person who isn't racist is pretty obvious, a white person with carefully hidden prejudice is the norm unfortunately and a POC has simply to wait for the clues to come tumbling out. I would say Bernie is an old school guy, a sort of professor with his head in the clouds, obsessed about numbers and theorems; when brought to 'earth' and asked about the issues of the day, he is at a loss, clumsy and thoughtless as he has been throughout his campaign when speaking to POC. Those clues, perhaps without malice, nevertheless come tumbling out. They sound like fingers on a chalkboard to me. His online advocates amplify that 'deafening screech' until its unavoidable.

Hillary on the other hand can talk of the issues with a level of understanding that is genuine. Again; instinct. You can't bullshit an understanding of racism to a POC, any-more than an able-bodied man can bullshit what it is like to live 5 years in a wheelchair to a disabled man in a wheelchair. Hillary is old though, as is Bernie. Sometimes we forget how old these people are and how difficult it is for them to resonate on these issues off the back of such a president as Obama who obviously knew the issue inside and out.

It comes to this; for Hillary to cheat the black vote and turn her back on them after getting their votes, would require her to knowingly backstab them. That would be an evil act. Bernie would do it through ignorance, which is far too easy. In addition, his followers, similarly ignorant, wouldn't see any issue with him doing so.

[ecstatic]

4. Excellent points! nt

[bettyellen]

5. I have always felt more of a kinship with POC in the workplace than the men, because to a large

extent they would "lord it over us" by treating us like second class citizens. I know not all women feel that way, but it has been very much my own experience.

[BlueMTexpat]

6. In the early 1970s, during an in-service

teacher conference, our keynote speaker was a young black activist who made almost exactly these points about women being second class citizens. I long ago forgot his name - for shame - but I will never forget how outraged my white male colleagues were at the mere suggestion. It shocked me out of my cocoon of white privilege enough that I have been keenly aware of it since.

Excellent OP!