"Why African-American voters may doom Bernie Sanders’ candidacy"

[TheBlackAdder]

19. I am a neutral primary candidate Democrat, respecting both Clinton and Sanders.

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Making blanket comments about me being a Sanders supporter just shows the same generalizations criticized.

Having taken quite a few poli-sci courses, having politically engaged family members, growing up in a politically engaged household that stressed civic duty and equality, I have a pretty decent optic on what I comment on. As a kid, my family spent weekends helping to revitalize sections of Camden, NJ. We sacrificed income, food, clothing, etc. as my family pursued civil justice. I am civic-minded and my kids are being raised the same way. While I partially get where you are coming from, since we have different intersectional backgrounds, my commenting as an authority of your community would be just as narrow as Sheryl Sandberg's comments about women Leaning In (something that was destroyed by Bell Hooks-The Feminist Wire).


Studying political history, nothing will change regarding the political institutions of this country if there isn't a disruption to it. It was mostly passive changes that we've seen over the centuries in this country, with the exception of major institutionally-disruptive milestones such as the Civil War, Suffrage, WWII (with women working), and the Civil Rights Movement. The ERA was kind of stopped because Phyllis Schlafly mobilized conservative women, who helped to stop the ERA, as 45% of the US women ended up being against it. Why isn't there an ERA now? Mostly because small bills were enacted to grant partial relief. Just enough to take the pressure off of another ERA drive (which I totally support having the ERA enacted). The same thing is happening in the AA community, just enough relief to prevent faction, just enough to prevent another national protest movement. But, where does that leave the progress in this society? It leaves us pretty much where we are, where politicians talk about change to get the vote, and nothing happens.


Just as black women were co-opted by the white upper-class women during the later part of the 19th Century and straight through to the suffrage movement--only to be ignored after their goals were met, the same thing will continue to happen. Stuff has to change, and it's not going to change by retaining the status quo.


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