“Who can we get behind that y’all are going to get behind so that we can win?”
Such endurance is what often drives our political choices. Often, Black women throw their political weight behind candidates who they believe is most likely to reduce the harm facing their communities. Errin Haines, editor-at-large for The 19th, is an expert in breaking down why Black women voters behave this way at the polls. Her work investigates issues that matter to Black women and why those concerns inform how we alter the political landscape.
Hey, y’all. I’m Julia Craven, and today I’m chatting with Errin Haines, editor-at-large for The 19th, a new nonprofit newsroom that is focused on women and politics. And I’m so happy that you could join us for this installment of “Conversations with Julia Craven” for a discussion on Black women and the 2020 election. Next week, I’ll be back to talk to somebody else who is also making strides in their respective fields.
Black women, when they show up at the polls, they don’t just show up, they show out. This is the reason that they are such a valuable part of our politics. All right, that reminds me: I’ve interviewed several politicians where when I asked them about their platforms and how they read to me as very race-centric, they always say that well, when you start uplifting Black people you’re going to bring everybody else with you, because you’re targeting the folks who are being the most disenfranchised in this country.
But, the pandemic is political for people. It absolutely is. And it’s occurring in the midst of our primary elections. And you saw people, literally, willing to risk their public health for the health of our democracy. Standing in hours-long lines, trying to social distance as best they could at precincts. But the pandemic meant that most of the older poll workers, who would typically be manning those precincts, were not able to do that because of safety concerns around coronavirus.
Black folks showing up with snacks, folding chairs, cell phone chargers, you name it. Right? ‘Cause they knew that they were going to be in line for a long time. They have a survival kit when they hit the polls. Kentucky, same situation. You had Louisville, right? Tons of Black people trying to safely cast their ballot. And going to the polls with Breonna Taylor in mind when they went to vote.
My mom voted mail-in, and my mom is a super voter. Okay, my mom votes in every election…. She votes every single time. And I was terrified at the thought of [my mom], you know, trying to cast a ballot. Even with a mask on, even with gloves, even with sanitizer. Like all of those things, the precautions that I know she was taking in other aspects of her daily life. I didn’t want her at a precinct.
But she wanted no parts of a precinct, much to my relief. Because she is somebody who’s taking precautions. And I would hate for her to contract coronavirus trying to participate safely in this democracy. I see. She’s very passionate. She has a lot of feelings. So, now let’s get into the protests. So, one thing that you said a little bit earlier was you mentioned that the officers who killed Breonna Taylor have not been arrested, or charged, or disciplined outside of losing their jobs at this point.
In your reporting have you come across people who intend to cast ballots, or maybe who don’t intend to cast ballots, but either way, have you come across people where their decision on what they’re going to do in November is attached to our current … Well, it’s not a new narrative, but it has entered the mainstream about police abolition and just uprooting the system entirely. Because, to date, the reforms instituted haven’t worked as well as people thought they would.
We talk about enthusiasm. I think enthusiasm matters for sure, because that is what it’s going to take to beat an incumbent, period. But this president in particular. If that’s what Democrats plan to do they’re going to have to have enthusiasm. They’re going to have to galvanize people. But, I think that Black folks have not … It is a privilege to be able to cast a ballot for many Black people, for somebody that they are excited about.
Right. Absolutely. So, now let’s get into Biden. So, I have so many questions about him, because I do think he’s quite a fascinating character, truthfully. And so, there’s a lot of online critique about Joe Biden, tons of it. So, I’m wondering how the online/Twitter narratives that we get about Biden, how that squares with what you hear from people in your reporting.
But, yeah, I think for all of the conversation on Twitter about Joe Biden’s problems, about his electability, about how he was stalling, like, I’m telling you, the Black voters that I talk to … And I will be honest, I was mainly focused … I went to Iowa and New Hampshire, but I knew that this race was not real until we got to South Carolina.
So, like, I knew whoever Black people, and especially Black women, not who they liked, necessarily. They liked several people, right? But when you asked them straight up, “Who is the person, not just the person that you think can beat Donald Trump, but who is the person that you think most white people are going to vote for in America?” Because that’s the real question.
Well, listen, Veepstakes is pretty much all that we political journalists have to focus on for the next three weeks. It’s pretty much been the only story to the extent that there was a story about the campaign, since the pandemic. You know, Joe Biden pledged to pick a woman.
Val Demings, congresswoman out of Florida, whose name has come up. She was already on the radar after the impeachment hearings. But, as a former police chief in Orlando she has been speaking to the need for police reform as somebody who was a part of the system and had tried to change it.
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