I was reading Shecodes' post on Black Women Vote about Obama supporters vowing to sit out the November election if Hillary Clinton wins, when I realized that I have been making a grave error. For all my insistence, here and on other blogs, that black women are not a monolith, I'm afraid I have been wrongheadedly viewing us as a voting group whose members have identical issues that are important to them. And that is wrong.
Though black women share a common desire for equality, I imagine the other issues that drive our political decisions are more varied than our hair textures and skin tones.
If mainstream voters are influenced by class, education, religion, geography and a host of other factors, is it realistic to expect black folks to vote as one? What is the "black vote" anyway?
Here are some of the issues that are important to me in the 2008 presidential campaign:
Economy
- I want to see Bush's tax cuts rolled back and the middle class given some tax relief.
- I want to see a real economic stimulus plan that puts some money back into the pockets of the middle and working class.
- I want to see major companies given incentives to keep jobs in the United States.
- I want to see someone pick up John Edwards' pledge to end poverty by 2036 and execute related tactics like raising the minimum wage.
- I want the mortgage crisis effectively addressed.
- I want the federal deficit eliminated and our dependence on foreign loans reduced.
Foreign Relations
- I want the United States to begin pulling out of Iraq, while working with the United Nations to help stabilize that country.
- I want America's reputation on the world stage restored.
Civil Rights
- I want civil rights enforcement strengthened.
- I want my right to choose protected.
- I want gay men and women to have the right to marry or pursue civil unions. At the very least, the issue should be a state matter.
Education
- I want the public school system fixed and No Child Left Behind left behind.
- I want to see a more robust federal college grant program.
Healthcare
- I want universal healthcare.
When my blogsisters, Symphony and Mes Deaux Cents, suggest voting Republican as a way for black Americans to gain power in the political process, that solution seems imperfect to me because my political beliefs tend to be the opposite of the national Republican platform. But my loyalty to the Democratic party likely seems misplaced to them. I am not an idealogue; I give the other side an honest look, it just never seems to address my needs.
Some black women are considering McCain for their vote. I don't agree with McCain's policies, but very much agree with my sisters making their own choices based on the reality of their lives. I find the idea of not casting a vote in an election shocking, but one commenter on BWV stated emphatically, "You teach people how to treat you." and vowed that Hillary Clinton would not get her vote after race-fueled attacks against Barack Obama.
In the end, it comes down to your issues and which candidate or party you think can best address them.
What are the issues that are driving your choices in the 2008 presidential election?
If black women are not a monolith, how can we best leverage our collective power in the political realm?
9 comments:
Hey Tami, if you would like to cross-post this on BWV, you are welcome to.
To answer your question, I believe that while black women are not a monolith, we share certain commonalities that require us to join together to effect change.
I think that many of us have things backward -- we are looking for candidates who will line up with our goals, instead of grooming our own candidates and sending them up the food chain to run for office on our behalf.
We ought to be TELLING the candidates what their agendas are: just like the environmentalists do, the gays do, the feminists do, the evangelicals do, and so on.
Issues like the steep variance in pay, the escalating violence against black women, the media war against black women, the prevalence of statutory rape against black girls, ethnically sensitive education for black children, and excellent & affordable childcare are items that all black women should be able to come to a high level of agreement about.
We don't have to agree on gay marriage, the tax code, etc -- those issues can be addressed by our other, individualistic political alignments.
For example, I am a budding environmentalist - but I understand that it's OK if my black sisters don't follow me down that path. They have other concerns that they find equally important.
But we can and MUST join together on the issues that are unique to black women, if we have any hope from getting out from under the bus.
We don't have to agree on everything. Remember, the real politics happen between elections. This is why I am not really sweating who black women vote for (my latest post notwithstanding).
I can guarantee that we will be the last people fed, because we were not in the back rooms when all of these people planned their platforms. It is my mission to make this the last election where black women's concerns aren't front and center in the electoral discussion.
I just had a great time in the car. I was so amused I called into the conservative radio show I was listening to.
I don't think Black folk should migrate en masse to the Republican party. I do wish we were more spread out, if you will, regarding our political affiliations.
Issues like the steep variance in pay, the escalating violence against black women, the media war against black women, the prevalence of statutory rape against black girls, ethnically sensitive education for black children, and excellent & affordable childcare are items that all black women should be able to come to a high level of agreement about.
And agree, we don't have to be for the candidate or party to (across the board) work together to demand these things of ALL politicians.
Lets not confuse these issues with parties or candidates. It about making these issues important and worth acting on.
If the choices are republican or billary I am not sure what would happen. Clearly the climate is that people don't want billary and can't live with republican, so the question is what to do? This may be one of the most difficult elections of our time...
I remember the movie Brewster's Million when Richard Pryor rallied people to vote for "None of the Above", It's sad but this election may be as confusing as that one.
My concerns are:
Health care that regular people can afford.
Better education for my kids.
Bringing those troops home.
(I have others but these are on the top of my list)
If nothing else this will be one for the books...
Hi Tami and SheCodes and Symphony,
First; I think this is the perfect opportunity to interject ourselves into the Republican Party.
They are going through growing pains and trying to re-define themselves.
We, I believe, should make a portion of our vote’s part of the Republican equation.
If they add up all of their votes and win without us, what kind of say do we have in a McCain admin? It will be another 8 years of being ignored.
But if McCain counts a significant amount of Black votes for him in the general then we become apart of the votes that they count on and therefore we will have a voice.
The reason the Republicans aren’t accountable to us is they don't get or need our votes.
We have to make them need our votes.
And what have the Democrats done for any of us lately?
Issues Important to me;
Darfur
Regulation of the media
Land trust zones
Public Transportation
Enforcing immigration laws
Reforming the Food and Drug Admin
Full disclosure. I usually vote Republican and while I don't necessarily agree that black folks should all rally to the right I have long been the unpopular voice that reminds my black friends that blindly siding with the Democrats in ignorance of the issues is foolish.
The rationale is usually that "Republican's hate black people". But I think it's safe to say that a whole lot of Democrats don't give a damn about your black a** either. They just pander because they know we tend to vote for them. Billary has proven that.
As for the issues, I think unifying this country is paramount. I think Hillary is entirely too devisive - irrespective of her politics - to get us where we need to be. After 8years of W I think the majority of Americans feel disenfranchised and we need a leader who we feel listens and understands us.
I think not enough has been made publicly (i.e., in the media) about the profound advantage Obama has in this regard as a bi-racial person having grown up in myriad cultures dominated by different races and religions.
You asked a few weeks ago: what is race? In the end, I think race is about family. It's the most expansive categorization of family anthropologists have devised (below that of the "human family"). It is instinctive in most people to have sympathy - if not out and out bias - towards their families, or folks who resemble or remind them of their families.
For multi-racial people, especially those with diverse upbringings like Barack Obama, EVERYONE is family. My family knows the reality of being black in Alambama, of being separated from family by a foreign war in Korea...I have a family of white girlfriends without whom I never would have survived adolescence. The appreciation one has for how any one family, defined by race, class, geography etc, will be impacted by a specific policy is a political advantage that cannot be ignored.
Truth be told though, if Obama wasn't running I would vote for Ron Paul. He gets it.
I would love to see Obama pick up John Edwards' platform on poverty, and not just pay lipservice to it. I think many other concerns fall by the wayside when people have good (not adequate, good) standards of living, and their basic needs met. Of course that's just the tip of the iceberg, but it's a vital tip.
As for black women leveraging our collective power in the political realm...I don't want to be pessimistic and say that it can't happen, but indeed "class, education, religion, geography and other factors" are often barriers to us working effectively and collectively in our neighborhoods, moms' groups, on college campuses and in professional settings--politics makes things even harrier.
Of these divisions, I think class (which is often linked to education) is the most insidious.
I'm not saying that these obstacles to harnessing our political power are insurmountable, but they are deeply ingrained in our daily lives.
Not to say that we need to emulate white women, but I look at NOW, for example, and see an organization that really does not speak for all white women effectively, much less all women.
So...I don't know if gender-based collective action would be as feasible as say an issue-based focus--for example, an organization devoted to eradicating poverty through political lobbying, activism, and grass-roots efforts, which is headed and founded by black women, but doesn't primarily identify based on gender and race.
~Deesha
Thanks everyone, for your comments. I'm becoming fascinated by this issue. Here is where I think I am. For black people/women to have more power in the political realm, I think we need to:
- Get smart about candidates and vote for the one the most answers our concerns. That is an individual choice. Symphony, Kimchee and MDC are right that there is a stigma against voting Republican in the black community, even though many of us are generally conservative. We need to erase that stigma, so that our presence is felt and our allegiance valued across the political spectrum. (Egads, Symphony and MDC, I think you got me to agree with you on this!)
- Black people need to get more involved in the political process. That means volunteering for campaigns, serving as delegates and precinct captains. I was listening to the radio maybe a month ago and the host was interviewing Joe Salmonese (sic) of one of the large GLBT action groups. His organization was urging GLBT folks to get involved everywhere they can, so that 1) people remember them as they are establishing platforms, and 2) their support is rewarded later on. Evangelical Christians have also used this method, and perhaps to greater affect.
- Conversation about the issues we have in common shouldn't stop after November. To your point, Shecodes, we need to push for issues like unequal pay and violence against women to stay in the spotlight. This will require a deft communications campaign, the development of key messages, and the development of media allies. Look at how conservative talk radio has normalized a lot of far right thinking over the last decade. We need our Limbaugh, Hannity and O'Reilly.
Involvement in local politics can also help advance our issues.
- Lastly, I think we need to form allies among other marginalized peoples. There is strength in numbers.
Tami,
As much as I want Barack to win, I want a Democrat in office even more. It's foolish to sit out the election and let a Republican win. The damage that could be done to the Supreme Court is immeasurable. Look at how Bush's choices have damaged the country.
We have to be believers in the Democratic process. If Hillary wins fair and square, we have to support her as we would hope that Hillary's supporters would back Barack.
Do we really want another Justice Roberts, Scalia, or Thomas added to the Court? Do we want to see more destruction of the American middle and lower classes?
There is such thing as cutting off letting spite get the best one's better judgment.
I totally agree with you, Bradski. But I am finding around the black blogosphere that other people don't care as much about those issues as you and I, which surprised me and I'm not sure why since I know that the black community is not monolithic.
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