Tag: African Americans

WASHINGTON — Progressives have some intellectual and moral work to do. What are cast as political challenges to liberals and the left are also philosophical problems. It's a question joined most pointedly in arguments over "identity politics." All politics is about identity in some way, since all of us think of ourselves as, well, something. To use an example I am especially familiar with: I'm a reasonably well-off white male liberal who grew up in a middle-class family in a working-class city in Massachusetts where Catholicism and trade unions were important parts of life. This limited tour of my political psyche is the sort of exercise all of us can engage in. This alone makes the war on identity a non-starter among progressives and Democrats. On the left, the word "intersectionality" has gained popularity as it deals with the cross-cutting effects of race, gender and class, and there is no doubt that progressive politics will, of necessity, be intersectional. But beyond buzz words, progressives must find a politics that links worker rights with civil rights, racial and gender justice with social justice more broadly. In his book "Modernity and Its Discontents," Yale political scientist Steven B. Smith offered this in an essay on the philosopher Isaiah Berlin: "Identities are not just things we have, they define who we are.

“The vote was surprising, but I knew the town wanted change. They have four children and three grandchildren, all in the Troy area. “The requirements were more than some families could handle,” she said. With its high poverty rate the town receives funds from the state for development. “In Troy, you can tell where all the money is going,” she said. But there are other grants for development that could have been used in other areas.” One area Allgood is particularly concerned about is Southside, known colloquially as “The Bottom” and populated primarily by blacks. “That will allow for more of the economic development piece we all agree on,” she said, adding that properly developing all the town “will cause Troy to BE the county seat, an example for other towns in the county. She has been meeting with Peabody Concerned Citizens of Southside, who are asking what can be done for that side of town. She would like to see workforce development “connect the dots to have a pool of resources available to pull people out of poverty.” Allgood said Southside has a GED program but she wants to see more funds for training in trades. “I’ve been known as Pastor Sherri in the community,” Allgood said.

Welcome to On Politics, your guide to the day in national politics. But for Democratic organizers, civil rights activists and African-American elected officials, Mike Espy’s loss in the Mississippi Senate race on Tuesday cut deep. Their ranks include eight black candidates who won in majority white districts. But in some of the highest-profile races, mostly in the South, efforts to elect black Democrats came up short. Mr. Gillum, Ms. Abrams and Mr. Jealous would have been their states’ first black governors — and the only black governors in office in the United States. And had Mr. Espy won in Mississippi, he would have been the first African-American to represent his state in the Senate in nearly 150 years. It wasn’t a win but it was certainly a victory.” The outlook for minority candidates is likely to get clearer next year, when multiple black Democrats could be running for president. ____________________ 2020 Watch • John Kerry tells Harvard students that he’s “going to think about” running for president. • The Willamette Week reports that Senator Jeff Merkley has “quietly asked” state legislators to change a law barring running for two offices at the same time, allowing him to run both for senate and president in 2020. ____________________ What to read tonight • A new twist in the special counsel investigation: Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, admits in court to engaging in negotiations over building a Trump tower in Moscow well into the 2016 campaign.

Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith at an election night party in Jackson, Miss., this month. — A special election for the Senate in Mississippi has become a test of racial and partisan politics in the Deep South, as a Republican woman, Cindy Hyde-Smith, and an African-American Democrat, Mike Espy, compete for the last Senate seat still up for grabs in the 2018 midterm campaign. Ms. Hyde-Smith, who was appointed to a seat in the Senate earlier this year, seemed until recently to be on a glide path toward winning the election in her own right. A private Republican poll last week found Ms. Hyde-Smith’s lead over Mr. Espy had narrowed to just five percentage points, three people briefed on the data said. “It would’ve been so much better if she apologized,” Mr. Feaster said. The contest went to a runoff when none of four candidates received the 50 percent of votes needed to win outright. Strategists in both parties believe Ms. Hyde-Smith remains the favorite: She was the top vote-getter in the first round, slightly outpacing Mr. Espy even though there was another Republican — Chris McDaniel, a divisive, strongly conservative state senator — on the ballot. No Democrat has won a Senate race in Mississippi since 1982. “People know there’s a runoff. Mr. Espy’s advisers have told political donors that they believe he needs to mobilize black voters in force and win about a quarter of white voters to defeat Ms. Hyde-Smith, a near-herculean task in a state where the two political parties are split chiefly along racial lines.

Even though Kanye West has been outspoken in his controversial support of President Donald Trump, wife Kim Kardashian insists that her husband doesn’t understand “the politics” of the president — but likes his “personality.” “I feel like he’s very misunderstood and is the worst communicator,” Kardashian said of West in an interview with CNN commentator Van Jones on Wednesday at a criminal justice reform conference. West is “very not political, actually. He just happens to like Donald Trump’s personality — but doesn’t know about the politics,” said Kardashian. “So I’ve educated him recently.” She explained: “I know it’s very confusing because when you see someone wearing a red [“Make America great again”] hat, you would think that they are supporting that. “But I also do believe people have their own journeys. I know his heart, so I know that one day what he’s been trying to say will come out.” Check out the rest of the interview in the video above. Kardashian’s comments about West begin at 26:00. He said later on Twitter that he had been “used to spread messages I don’t believe in.” He referred to his apparent support for a movement that encourages black Americans to leave the Democratic Party for the Republicans — but offered no other specifics about how he had been used. — ye (@kanyewest) October 30, 2018 CORRECTION: A previous version of this story indicated that “Blexit” is black support for Brexit. A Minnesota nonprofit that uses the term to refer to investing in black-owned banks and businesses has sent Owens a cease-and-desist letter over her use of the name.

Today’s intersection of race, politics and sports harks back to the 1960’s. They could be setting themselves up for years of regret, knowing that when the times called for action they did nothing. Today’s NFL players have their reasons for engaging in the protests, or not. Those who are quietly sympathetic to the cause, but aren’t saying or doing anything about it, should take heed of Bob Cousy, a man from a different time and sport. But that’s what Cousy is doing. In answer to his conscience, Cousy wishes that, as team captain, he had privately pulled aside Russell during those seasons between 1957 and 1963 and said, “Russ, I’ve got your back.” He also wishes he had spoken out, even telling Boston’s white sportswriters, “I understand Russ’s feelings. When conscience comes into conflict with the wallet, conscience rarely wins – perhaps especially so in the NFL. San Francisco cornerback Richard Sherman, an African-American, says it “would mean a great deal” if more white players took part in the protests or spoke out in support of them. Sherman understands an NFL player’s need to protect his job: “This is your livelihood. At long last, Cousy had answered to his conscience.

By Micha Green, AFRO Washington, D.C. Editor, mgreen@afro.com Politics aren’t for the faint of heart- and, according to the new book, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics,” it’s taken some of the strongest people around to keep politicians and parties in tact- Black women. Described as the “four most powerful African-American women in politics,” Donna Brazile, Yolanda Caraway, Leah Daughtry and Minyon Moore wrote “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics” and on Oct. 27 three of the authors were featured on the Armstrong Williams Show. “The purpose was to share our lessons being eye witnesses to history,” Brazile, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, told Williams. Moore, who served as the director of the White House Office of Public Liaison under the Clinton administration, said the key to her success in politics was an understanding of business. “Well that belonged to the White House and we had to figure out ‘How do we get it back?’ That was the first time we ever buried somebody,” Brazile said. “It was just marvelous.” Moore told several stories about the Clintons. She explained that Clinton was one of the first presidents who insisted on a diverse cabinet. I want to have strong women in my cabinet,’” Moore said. “We were seeing that people were going to the polls and they weren’t voting for president. They were voting down ballot [not voting president and vice president]…76,000 people did that in Michigan and we didn’t find that out until later.” Through all the lessons from careers in politics, the women explained that the true purpose behind the work is beyond partisan ideals.

Kanye West says he's "distancing" himself from politics. Run by Conservative commentator Candace Owens it encourages black Americans to quit the Democratic party. It seems Kanye West intends to step away from politics altogether now. Report Writing to his 28.7 million followers the musician said: "I support creating jobs and opportunities for people who need them the most. Apparently he meant to write "amend". And his performance on the American comedy show Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago sparked outrage and amusement in equal measure. "So many times I talk to a white person and [they] say, 'How could you like Trump, he's racist?'" Kanye West has been very upfront about his support for President Trump. Kanye West ended this latest series of messages saying: "I believe in love and compassion for people seeking asylum and parents who are fighting to protect their children from violence and war." Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Trump train travels to Florida Happy Halloween! Read more DeSantis is running against Democrat Andrew Gillum, the first African American nominee for governor in the state’s history. With Gillum slightly ahead of DeSantis in recent polling, the GOP is hoping the president can successfully encourage Republicans to go to the polls. On the flipside, Trump’s full-throated support for DeSantis might get out the Democratic vote. The national Republican party withdrew support for King’s campaign on Tuesday, and Land O’Lakes, a large dairy and animal feed company in King’s district, said it would no longer offer its support. Steve Bannon is struggling for relevance … and company Trump’s former chief strategist is on a tour of the US, notionally to drum up support for Republican midterm candidates. The latest example of Bannon’s dwindling relevance came on Tuesday, when 25 people showed up at one of his rallies in North Topeka, Kansas. Bannon was campaigning for Republican Steve Watkins, running for congress in Kansas’ second district. Fitzpatrick has 47% in the poll, conducted over three days at the end of October, with Wallace on 46%. Sen. Aaron D. Ford (@AaronDFordNV) This campaign has always been about Nevada families.

And when we talk about identity and politics, we - and yes, that includes NPR - can be specific about some identities and vague about others. GARCIA-NAVARRO: So we often talk about African-American voters or Latino voters. But we use different language for white voters, right? What happens is we then tend to think that the things that concern white voters are not the things that concern voters of color and that voters of color are, somehow, the only ones who engage in identity politics. GARCIA-NAVARRO: What are the political implications of not being specific when we talk about white people? What we saw was that we did not see white people as voting in a racialized way because by ignoring their race, we're saying, oh, they're voting on their economic anxiety. And so by - and instead, focusing almost exclusively on all of these other issues and ignoring the role of race, we actually ignored the biggest story in our country - that racial anxiety really propelled Donald Trump into the White House. And so this also, I think, speaks to the very unsophisticated way that we talk about race in this country. I think the way that we covered the election showed that bias to be very glaringly clear because we were ignoring literally what voters on the ground were saying, right? But also, when we talk about fairness, is it fair, is it accurate to say you're talking about suburban voters if, in fact, you are only talking about a segment of those voters who are white?