Politics and Current
‘Hope Returns’: Michelle Obama’s Powerful DNC Speech Endorses Kamala Harris, Tells Trump Presidency Might Just Be ‘Dirty Work’ – Essence
Michelle Obama returned to her hometown of Chicago Tuesday night, where she delivered a passionate and unequivocal endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in the course of the second night of the Democratic National Convention. The former first lady, revered for her grace and poise, made no bones about addressing delegates in a speech during which she denounced Donald Trump and honored Harris with a message that “hope is back.”
“There’s something wonderfully magical in the air, isn’t there?” the previous first lady said. “It’s the contagious power of hope.” She continued: “As we embrace this renewed sense of hope, let’s not forget the despair that we’ve felt…let’s not forget what we’re up against,” Obama said.
Obama was direct and candid throughout her speech, particularly when discussing the racism she and former President Barack Obama faced during their eight years within the White House — racism that was often stoked by Trump himself. The former president has notoriously perpetuated the “birtherism” conspiracy, questioning the birthplace and legitimacy of Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president.
“Donald Trump has spent years trying to make people afraid of us,” Obama said. “His narrow, limited view of the world made him feel threatened by two hard-working, educated, successful men — who happen to be black.”
Former first lady Michelle Obama last spoke on the Democratic convention in 2016. The country was within the midst of a contentious and vulgar presidential campaign, and it seemed as if when Trump descended the golden staircase to announce his candidacy for president, he took all the country with him.
In an try to elevate the discussion and rise above the vitriol, Obama uttered the now iconic line:When they go low, we go high.” But after 34 felony convictions, two impeachments, and one riot, Mrs. Obama was in a unique mood last night, directly criticizing Trump and calling on all Americans who consider Trump is unfit to be president to work hard to elect Kamala Harris.
In a moment that resonated with the audience, Obama took a jab at Trump. “Wait, I want to know — who’s going to tell him that the job he’s looking for right now might be one of those ‘dark jobs’?” she joked, referring to Trump’s controversial comment during a June presidential debate on CNN that drew applause from hundreds of convention delegates.
Mrs. Obama has openly condemned Trump and the threat she believes he poses to the nation and its democratic values, calling out his spread of “misogynist, racist lies,” his rule of taking away people’s freedom to make decisions about their very own bodies, banning books and his disrespectful treatment of the LBTQ community.
She was blunt about why she thought Trump was unfit for the job: “Omitting is petty, unhealthy, and frankly, unpresidential. Why would we accept that from anyone running for our highest office? Why would we normalize this type of backward leadership?” She continued: “We deserve so much better. That’s why we need to do everything we can to elect two of these good, generous people, there’s no other choice but Kamala Harris and Tim Walz!”
The former first lady drew a parallel between her own upbringing and the values her mother instilled in her, and Harris’s: “Even though our mothers grew up overseas, they shared the same beliefs in this country.” Obama then shared more about Harris’ mother: “She taught Kamala about justice… about our duty to lift others up, our responsibility to give more than we take.”
Calling Harris “one of the most qualified people to ever run for president,” she touted Harris’s rapport as a strength: “Her story is your story, it’s my story… Kamala knows, as we do, that no matter where you come from, what you look like, who you love, how you worship, or how much money you have in your bank account, we all deserve a chance to build a life of dignity, and all of our accomplishments deserve to be accepted and celebrated,” she said.
Obama then drew a stark contrast between Harris’ worldview and Trump’s declaration:
“She understands that most of us will never have the grace to fail and move forward, we will never benefit from the positive effects of generational wealth.” Obama continued: “If things aren’t going our way, we can’t afford to whine or cheat others to keep moving forward. We can’t change the rules, so we always win… No, we put our heads down; we get to work. In America, we do something,” she said.
In a sentiment echoed by various DNC speakers, Obama said Harris’s “can-do” spirit was evident throughout her life, “the steel of her backbone, the steadfastness of her upbringing, the integrity of her example, and yes, the joy of her laughter and her light. It couldn’t be more obvious of the two leading candidates in this race that only Kamala Harris truly understands the unseen work and unwavering commitment that has always made America great.”
The Obamas understand the withering attacks Harris will endure on her path to the best office within the land. And she warned the audience that they have to be prepared: “No matter how good we feel tonight, tomorrow, the day after, this is going to be an uphill battle, so we can’t be our own worst enemies. No, the moment something goes wrong, the moment the lie takes root, we can’t start wringing our hands.” She continued: “We can’t indulge in our fears about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala, instead of doing everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected.”
Our everlasting First Lady then encouraged the audience to “Do Something!” to make it occur at every turn. Obama also reminded everyone that they should not powerless and that this election might be won with enough effort. “We have the power to pass on the love, sweat and sacrifice of our mothers and fathers and all those who came before us. We’ve done it before and we can certainly do it again,” she said.
Politics and Current
This political strategist is making sure North Carolina remains nurtured – the essence
I grew up poor in rural Granville County, North Carolina, Shaniqua McClendon She knew she would must make cash to survive. But her college profession at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, interrupted by witnessing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina during her freshman 12 months and the election of President Barack Obama during her senior 12 months, modified her course endlessly.
“[Hurricane Katrina] “that was the first time I really started to understand the role that government plays in people’s lives,” McClendon says. “And this was a case of them not playing a good role in Black lives. I began to see that growing up in poverty was more about a set of decisions made by those in elected office – about what we would have access to and how the country and our world would function. We were a byproduct of that, and that’s why I got interested in politics. I truly believe that politics is a way to improve people’s lives.”
An internship at the White House during the Obama administration, followed by a job offer with U.S. Senator Kay Hagan, prompted McClendon to depart home for Washington. She also served as legislative director for Congresswoman Alma S. Adams; on this position, she led the charge to steer the creation of the inaugural Congressional Bipartisan Caucus for HBCUs.
McClendon continued to realize recognition. She earned distinction in her graduate studies at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, being the recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Service. “My capstone project was how to get more voter-friendly policies in North Carolina,” McClendon explains. “Because North Carolina used to be a state where electoral policies encouraged people to vote, but after the v. decision we saw North Carolina do a 180 degree turn and start being a voter suppression state.”
Her mission has remained unchanged since graduation, she says, emphasizing the enduring goal she has set for herself in her work: “North Carolina has always been a state where I have made sure we invest.”
McClendon is currently in her sixth 12 months as Vice President of Political Strategy at Crooked Media, where she founded the Vote Save America program, which has raised over $57 million and activated over 600,000 voters, volunteers and grassroots donors across the country. Her approach is to seek out an area organization to partner on this effort. “They are here all year round, and they don’t just focus on picking one person,” he notes. “It’s really rare that you just agree with the whole lot an elected official, politician or candidate stands for, but in the event you work with a company around a difficulty you care about, it’s going to improve your entire community, not only one elected person.
“Because if the person you help get elected through this organization disappoints you in a major way, you and the organization can work to replace them,” he adds. “It’s much better to be involved with an organization that’s active year-round and stay involved in the community, not just when it’s time to choose a candidate.”
McClendon’s passion for her home state is abundantly clear – North Carolina is a continuing theme. “I always think this is an important state we should focus on, but this year a few people will agree with me,” he notes wryly. “I all the time made sure that if I could ever help North Carolina, I might.
“For a long time, I felt enormous guilt about leaving home, a place I loved and wanted more than anything to make it better,” McClendon continued. “I could have stayed and used my talent there. But over the last few years, I’ve realized that you don’t have to be home to go to the place you call home. My two jobs on Capitol Hill were with members of Congress from North Carolina. In my current role, I have directed a lot of resources and attention to my home state. And I will continue to do so.”
Moreover, McClendon remains committed to supporting the rights of black women. “It became clear to me,” she says, “that black women are at the bottom of privilege in this country. Only we seem to take our needs seriously, and in a way that works for real change and improvement in our lives, not just political point-scoring or performative allyship.”
Bottom line: “We need to elect more black women,” she states. “With the presence of Black women in these spaces, we will see that we are paying much more attention to the issues that affect us.” Ultimately, McClendon notes, “Black women will always fight the hardest for everyone, not just people who look like them.”
Looking back, McClendon recalls what her achievements meant to her as a black woman with a recognizable black name. Even before research on naming bias became commonplace, she was keenly aware of her success. “I’m really happy that I’m not burdened with a lot of stereotypes associated with my name,” she says.
Of course, not everyone received this memo. During the campaign, former President Trump ally Laura Loomer issued a special warning, saying, “I’m talking about Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Fani Willis… all without credit DEI Shaniqua talking the same way.”
In response to Loomer’s comments, McClendon recalled, “I think of Kamala Harris running and the deliberateness with which people mispronounce her name or don’t even try to pronounce her name correctly.” McClendon believes these are subversive efforts intended to perpetuate stereotypes of black women, especially those with ethnic surnames, as unskilled and undeserving of praise.
“There is no one named Shaniqua of political prominence to even add that surname,” McClendon notes. “There’s just a cultural association with the meaning of the name Shaniqua, and that’s often the punchline.” Never again.
Politics and Current
More than 600 Black women join Kamala Harris in voting in the historic 2024 election
While Kamala Harris awaits her fate in becoming America’s first woman and Black woman president, the vp is leading an extended list of Black women who will likely be on the ballot across the country in the upcoming general election.
In addition to Harris’ presidential bid, dozens of Black women are running for president, including U.S. Senate candidates Lisa Blunt Rochester in Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks in Maryland.
According to Higher Heights for America, approx 600 black women will likely be on the ballot in Tuesday’s general election.
Glynda Carr, co-founder and president of the Higher Heights Leadership Fund, said this historic moment in which black women rose and fell in the elections was “ten years in the making.”
Since 2014, when Higher Heights and the Center for American Women in Politics officially monitored the status of black women in politics, it has seen a “gradual increase in the number of black women.”
Statistics from 2014 show that “only 18 black women have served in Congress. We now have 31 of them,” Carr emphasized.
In 2016, Kamala Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate and Lisa Blunt Rochester was elected to the House of Representatives. Now Angela Alsobrooks and Blunt Rochester, together with Harris, have created what women’s advocates call a “pipeline” through which other black women can run.
If each Blunt Rochester and Alsobrooks are elected to their respective Senate races, it should be the first time in history that more than one black woman has served in the upper house of Congress at one time.
Carr believes the first Black woman winner announced Tuesday night will likely be Blunt Rochester of Delaware. Polls indicate that Blunt Rochester, the current Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, suggestions his Republican opponent by more than 20%.
As we consider the historical possibilities of this election, additionally it is essential to recollect the legacy of former U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to run for president in 1972. Chisholm predicted that women and minorities would find a better path in politics “because I helped pave it.”
In 1974 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in Chisholm he said“Black women have an obligation to move from the periphery of organized politics to its mainstream arena.”
Boykin-Towns clearly points out that historically, Black women have been the backbone of many social and political movements, and their perspectives are invaluable in shaping policies geared toward ensuring equality and justice for all.
“For the first time, we are seeing Black women in places where they can influence decisions on key issues like health care, economic reform, criminal justice and voting rights,” said Boykin-Towns, the highest-ranking Black woman in the society’s leadership NAACP. “This visibility not only inspires future generations, but also challenges old barriers in politics, demonstrating that diverse voices are essential to a strong democracy.”
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Politics and Current
Donald Trump’s support among black voters is falling significantly
The final NBC News poll shows a major drop in support for Donald Trump among black voters.
Questionnaire released Sunday revealed an especially tight 2024 presidential campaign race between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican candidate former President Donald Trump, with each tied at 49%. However, there are significant differences in support across different voter demographics.
The poll shows Harris has the most important lead over Trump among Black voters (87%-9%), young voters under 30 (57%-41%), and college-educated white voters (55%-43%). Trump’s 9% approval rating among black voters is down from the 12% he received within the 2020 election against Joe Biden.
Other key splits show Harris leading among women by 16 points (57%-41%) and Trump leading among men by 18 points (58%-40%). Harris also has a major 20-point lead over Trump relating to which candidate is seen as higher at handling the abortion issue, and has a bonus relating to which candidate is higher at caring for the center class.
Overall, the poll shows a disagreement between Harris and Trump, with each receiving 49% support from registered voters in a head-to-head matchup, while only 2% of voters remain undecided. Trump holds a slight lead over Harris among white voters and people and not using a college degree, leading by 2 points at 50-48%.
The popularity of Harris and Trump is almost equal: 43% of voters have a positive opinion of Harris and 50% have a negative opinion. For comparison, Trump has 42% positive rankings and 51% negative rankings. When it comes to manage of Congress, 47% of voters prefer Democrats to steer Congress, while 46% favor Republican control.
Because of the nationwide Electoral College system, the end result of the presidential election will ultimately rely on the ends in key battleground states akin to Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Like the ultimate NBC poll, the newest polls from swing states show tight races and uncertainty.
Regardless of the end result of the presidential election, 60% of registered voters consider the United States will remain divided, while only 28% consider it’s going to grow to be more united after the 2024 election.
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