Candidates in the 2016 presidential elections need to understand the power of the black vote.
DeRay Mckesson, well-known black rights activist and Baltimore Mayoral candidate, has been watching the Democratic race for president closely. “I’ve met with Bernie, and I’ve met with Hillary,” he tells Yahoo Finance. “I think that Bernie is growing in his understanding of race.”
Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have both been vocal on issues that impact the black community. Clinton recently spoke about systemic racism in the United States in front of a mostly black crowd in Harlem. In Chicago, she told crowds that each year the Windy City’s schools suspend, on average, 32 out of 100 black children and only five out of every 100 white children.
In a memorable debate moment that was shared many times over, Sanders boomed, “We need to combat institutional racism from top to bottom, and we need major, major reforms in a broken criminal justice system.”
But the candidates have also made missteps. When asked to explain his racial blind spots during a recent debate on CNN, Sanders said, “When you’re white, you don’t know what it’s like to be living in a ghetto — you don’t know what it’s like to be poor.” The backlash was immediate, with online commenters pointing out that the term “ghetto” has an offensive connotation in the black community. Both Sybrina Fulton and Lucia McBath, the mothers of slain black teenagers Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis, respectively, cited the comment in their endorsements of Clinton.
“I think [Bernie Sanders] has a firm understanding of economic inequity [but] … with his understanding of racial inequity, he is still learning, and that statement made it clear that he has more to learn,” says Mckesson.
Mckesson believes Clinton is slow to cover black-rights topics and has some questions about her authenticity. “There’s a question with her about the sincerity with which she’s putting forth these plans.” But, he says, she has “actually proposed an impressive plan around closing the racial wealth gap.”
One thing is for sure, Mckesson will not be endorsing Donald Trump for president. “Donald Trump is a bigot who does not appreciate different cultures in America,” he tells Yahoo.
