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Why do black voters tend to vote Democratic? A deep dive into history explains.

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TheGrio Politics Explained with Natasha Alford

Every election season, the query comes up: Why do black voters traditionally support the Democratic Party? While some raise this query with the goal of pushing black voters toward the Republican Party, it’s necessary to understand the important thing points in American history that led to today’s voting dynamics.

After the Civil War, the Republican Party was generally known as the party of President Abraham Lincoln, who signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and effectively ended slavery in 1865. Because of President Lincoln’s role in emancipation, many black Americans supported his party once they gained the fitting to vote and remained loyal to the Republicans in subsequent years.

In the post-Civil War era, Southern Democrats had a repute for bitterness over defeat by the North, overt racism, and voter suppression tactics like taxation. But there may be evidence that black voters’ loyalty to Republicans began to waver during Reconstruction, an era during which black residents experienced significant political and social gains only to see their rights once more come under attack.

In the early twentieth century, W. E. B. Du Bois criticized the Republican Party for allowing African Americans to lose the fitting to vote while they were in power, according to historian Blake Wilson. As increasingly black people moved North through the Great Migration, Democrats began to gain support through union influence. This change became more evident within the Nineteen Thirties through the presidency of Herbert Hoover, when the Republican “Lily White Movement“they tried to recruit members who were hostile to blacks, thereby pushing black voters away from the party.

Another turning point was the Nineteen Thirties, when President Franklin Roosevelt New Dealset of social safety net programs helped black families get better from the Great Depression. However, a major shift in black voters leaving the Republican Party occurred within the Sixties, when key Democrats equivalent to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson played a task in supporting civil rights laws. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 were all passed during this time, and Democratic support for racial justice attracted much more black voters.

This period of the Sixties also saw the rise of the Republican Party.Southern Strategy,” which exploited racial tensions to appeal to white Democratic voters who were indignant about advances in civil rights. Republicans were able to recruit disaffected Democrats to their party.

Political scientists Dr. Ismail White and Dr. Chryl Laird, authors of Steadfast Democrats, argue that civil rights victories strengthened Democratic Party loyalty amongst black voters. “It was not until the Democratic Party took over the civil rights role in the mid- to late 1960s that black support for the party coalesced into the reliable Democratic voting bloc we know today.” he wrote Doctor White and Doctor Laird.

They also note that “group solidarity politics” has been a key think about black voter loyalty, although black Americans are ideologically diverse. This solidarity is seen as a strategic move, using the collective power of the vote to make the Democratic Party responsive to their concerns. It didn’t hurt that the party itself has a racially diverse leadership, nominating a black major-party presidential candidate, Barack Obama; the primary black legislator to lead a congressional party, Hakeem Jeffries; and now the primary black and Indian-American female presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris.

In recent years, Democratic policies equivalent to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) of 2010 and the American Rescue Plan of 2021 have had a disproportionately positive impact on Black Americans. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesThe Affordable Care Act resulted in a 40% drop within the uninsured rate amongst black Americans. These legislative victories helped further strengthen the party’s relationship with black voters.

However, African Americans usually are not a monolith. Pew Research test in 2019, it was estimated that 4 in 10 black Democratic voters were ideologically moderate, and a smaller percentage were ideologically conservative.

When President Joe Biden and Donald Trump were presumptive presidential candidates, many surveys showed slight increases in support for Donald Trump amongst some segments of black voters, particularly amongst Black menTrump’s gains amongst some black voters got here at the same time as outstanding black conservatives equivalent to Tara Setmayer and Michael Steele have publicly distanced themselves from the Republican Party, criticizing the party’s direction under Donald Trump.

But since Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the highest of the Democratic ticket, recent Washington Post/Ipsos poll shows that a growing variety of black American voters say they’re “absolutely certain” to vote for Harris.

This shows that it just isn’t only the political party that matters to black voters, but that candidates at all times matter when it comes to actual voter enthusiasm and turnout.

Ultimately, while debates about black voters’ loyalty to the Democratic Party will be expected to proceed (in the event that they are a viable topic for media debate in any respect), history shows that a mix of civil rights progress, social justice policies, and group solidarity has helped maintain the Democratic Party’s advantage amongst most black voters.

In about two months, Election Day will show just how significant that advantage is.

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Politics and Current

Here’s why you should vote for Kamala Harris

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Kamala Harris, theGrio.com

As Vice President Kamala Harris explained in a Tuesday speech outside the White House attended by tens of 1000’s of supporters, including me, the private stakes for each of us within the 2024 election are extremely high.

We all have lots to realize by electing Harris as president. If former President Donald Trump wins, we have now all the pieces to lose. This is particularly true for black people.

What’s at stake?

Preserving our democracy and freedom. Maintaining prices of food and other goods. Protection of reproductive and voting rights. Increasing educational opportunities and residential ownership. Increasing the affordability of healthcare. On these and other issues, Harris would make our lives higher while Trump made them worse.

When it involves Black people specifically, Harris — who, if elected, would develop into our second Black and first female president — understands from first-hand experience the devastating impact that systemic racism has on us. He desires to open the door to the American dream for everyone.

Harris he promised to not raise taxes on people making lower than $400,000 a yr. But it could require the rich and enormous corporations to pay their fair proportion of taxes to fund programs that profit thousands and thousands of us, creating a chance economy that may enable people not only to survive, but to progress.

Lifestyle

Trump advocates policies that may make life worse not only for Black Americans, but for most Americans. He would do it cut taxes on corporations and millionaires and billionaires like him, forcing cuts to programs that profit thousands and thousands of Americans and increasing the national debt. His other proposed tax cuts would depart the Social Security trust fund without enough money to pay full advantages to seniors and others, forcing a 33% reduction in advantages. in 2031

Harris would do it maintain the inflation rate by eliminating food price gouging, protecting our trade relationships with other countries, and taking other actions. It would lower taxes for the overwhelming majority of Americans.

Harris said she would sign the bipartisan compromise laws fix our broken immigration system, improve border security and create a path to citizenship for some immigrants. Trump ordered GOP lawmakers to reject bipartisan laws because he wanted to make use of illegal immigration as a campaign issue quite than solve the issue. They listened.

Harris said she would work with Congress to pass the laws protection of reproductive rights nationwide. But Trump boasts that he appointed three Supreme Court justices who joined conservatives already on the court to overturn a 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. And now, 25 million women live under Trump’s abortion bans and restrictions.

The vp does proposed policies Down maintain the kid AND health care cheaper, including increased tax relief for parents of minor children. Trump has senselessly said his tariffs would make childcare cheaper and he claims “plan concepts” replace the Affordable Care Act, also often called Obamacare.

Harris pledged to guard and develop voting rights. Trump desires to make it harder to vote by imposing latest restrictions. If he lost, he didn’t agree to simply accept the election results.

The vp would do it take motion spurring the development of three million latest homes and apartments and would give first-time homebuyers a $25,000 tax credit to assist them with their down payments. It would create a $40 billion fund to assist local governments construct reasonably priced housing. claims Trump deportation of thousands and thousands of illegal immigrants will release their homes for latest tenants, but economists disagree that this may solve the reasonably priced housing shortage because as many as a 3rd of employees constructing reasonably priced homes are illegal immigrants. Without their work, there will likely be no latest homes.

Harris wants to cut back a part of the $1.6 trillion in federal student debt owed by greater than 40 million Americans. Trump doesn’t. Harris wants to extend aid for K-12 education. Trump he said desires to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, which provides much of this aid.

Harris would help Americans start small businesses increasing the deduction for startup expenses from the present $5,000 to $50,000. Trump is concentrated on helping large corporations.

Harris wants to guard us from getting worse hurricanes, tornadoes AND droughts attributable to climate change, which is accelerating attributable to fossil fuel emissions. She wants reduce fossil fuel emissions and increase clean energy production. Trump wants to extend fossil fuel emissions by increasing production of oil, natural gas and coal.

Black Americans, like everyone else, want an America that’s fair and equitable and provides us all a likelihood to succeed. Harris will give this to all Americans because he cares about us and loves our country. Donald Trump won’t do this because he only cares about himself, making as much money as possible, staying out of jail, and arming the federal government to punish anyone who dares to criticize him.

For all these reasons, we want Kamala Harris to be our next president. She desires to spend the subsequent 4 years working to enhance our lives, but she will only do this if we take a short while to vote to place her within the Oval Office and make her our chief public servant.


This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Politics and Current

Sexy Red endorses Kamala Harris, leaving Trump in the dust

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Sexyy Red announced that she voted for Kamala Harris, switching her support to the Democratic candidate after previously supporting Donald Trump.

The “Pound Town” rapper went to X to share her latest political sentiments. She revealed that she voted for Harris, claiming that nobody should tell her and others what to do with their “coochies”.

“I’m just voting,” Sexy Red exclaimed. “Don’t tell us what to do with our pussies!! #Kamala4President.”

This differs from Red’s previous thoughts on who should lead the country. Promoting false claims about how Trump provided stimulus checks to Americans during the Covid-19 pandemic, she initially endorsed the GOP candidate for re-election.

Her original endorsement of the conservative and controversial politician sparked a backlash. Many said she was spreading misinformation to voters about “free money.”

“They support him in the hood. At first, I do not think people would fuck with him. They thought he was racist and talking nonsense about women. But when he began getting black people out of jail and giving people free money. Oh baby, we love Trump. We need him back in office,” she added he said further 2023 episode of Theo Von’s podcast, reproduced by The Independent.

However, a resident of St. Louis clearly modified his mind. With the abortion ban remaining a significant issue, the sex-positive artist decided to forged her vote for Harris.

Before this latest admission, Red used Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogans and imagery during her “Sexy Red 4 President” tour. Headlining July’s Governor’s Ball music festival, the hip-hop singer sported a big inflatable MAGA hat in the background while acting on the New York Stage.

However, Red quickly stated that she isn’t endorsing anyone but herself this election season. Additionally, she denied rumors that she would seem at any Trump rallies.

“This is the President of Sexy Red 4.” I’m my very own candidate and I don’t support anyone, period,” she once stated.

Trump has yet to comment on Sexy Red’s switch. Still, it would not be unusual for him.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Politics and Current

‘Keep Calm-ala’: Kamala Harris Makes a Surprise Appearance on ‘SNL’ alongside Maya Rudolph Ahead of Election Day – Essence

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Photo: Jeenah Moon/Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris surprisingly joined Saturday Night Live on November 2, just three days before the 2024 presidential election, for a hilarious appearance alongside co-star Maya Rudolph, who plays her throughout the season.

The evening kicked off with a series of incarnations featuring James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump, Dana Carvey as President Biden and Andy Samberg as Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. But the true spark got here when Maya, as Harris, stopped for a moment in front of the mirror and asked loudly for some sensible advice.

“I would like to talk to someone who was in my position… a black South Asian woman running for president, preferably from the Bay Area,” Rudolph said.

Kamala Harris herself enters the stage, wearing a matching suit and greeted with thunderous applause from the audience. Sitting across from her SNL doppelgänger, Harris smiled and said, “It’s both you and me, sister. Nice to see you, Kamala. I’m here to remind you: you got this. Because you can do something your opponent can’t do. You can open the door.”

The line made a cheeky reference to Donald Trump’s recent fight with a garbage truck door, and the audience laughed as Harris giggled throughout the sketch and Rudolph imitated the vp. – I’m really not laughing like that, am I? he asked Harris. “A little,” Rudolph replied, adding a dramatic touch.

The two Kamalas then argued over Harris’ name, as did her opponent, Trump has repeatedly mispronounced.

“Kamala, take my palm,” Rudolph said, grabbing Harris’ hand. “Americans wish to stop the chaos and end the drama-ala by having a cool recent stepmother. Sit back in your pajamas and watch a romantic comedy.

Harris suggested including “Legally Blonde-ala.”

“Because what do we always say?” Harris said. Then she and Rudolf said in unison, “Keep calm and don’t be fooled.”

Together they chanted, “Keep Calm-ala and Carry On-ala,” after which finished their sentence: “We know each other so well that we’re ending even… faith in the promise of America.”

They ended it with a call for votes. “I will vote for us,” Rudolph said, and Harris jokingly replied, “Great! Any chance you are registered in Pennsylvania? Wasting no time, Rudolph replied, “No, I’m not.” Harris shrugged. “Well, it was worth a try!”

The duo then delivered the classic SNL farewell gesture: “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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