Today's Date: June 6, 2023
LAZR INVESTOR DEADLINE: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Announces that Luminar Technologies, Inc. Investors with Substantia   •   Los Angeles Public Library to Host Inaugural Juneteenth Celebration "June Jubilee: A Celebration of Black Excellence"   •   The Jeff T. Green Family Foundation Invests in Team Dayā, to Build a Primary School in Nicaragua   •   NEE INVESTOR DEADLINE: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Announces that NextEra Energy, Inc. Investors with Substantial Losse   •   AHF Demands LA County Step Up to Stem STIs   •   FNKO INVESTOR DEADLINE: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Announces that Funko, Inc. Investors with Substantial Losses Have O   •   80-20 Educational Foundation Calls for Fair Coverage of Asian Americans in Supreme Court Case   •   OSE Immunotherapeutics Presents Clinical Abstracts on Tedopi® at the ASCO 2023 Annual Meeting   •   Hard Rock Hotel New York introduces experiences for guests to "Love Out Loud" this June   •   Government of Canada Supports Projects to Prevent and Address Family Violence in British Columbia   •   Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Celebrates 27th Annual Fetal Surgery Family Reunion at the Philadelphia Zoo   •   Transgene and NEC Present New Data on TG4050, an Individualized Cancer Vaccine, Showing it Induces Specific Immune Responses aga   •   FIBRA Prologis Receives Investment Grade Credit Rating of BBB+ from S&P   •   Nation's Finest Marks 50th Anniversary with Milestone Event Honoring the Nation's Finest 50 Leaders Who Have Gone Above and Beyo   •   HH Global aligned to the Net Zero Standard   •   CN Bio Appoints Dr. Samantha Macro as Chief Financial Officer   •   Zura Bio Completes Approximately $80 Million Financing with the Focus on Advancing ZB-106, a Potential First-in-class Anti-IL-17   •   Carbios Aims to be a Leader in Growing r-PET Market with an Ambition to Capture 8 to 12% Share by 2035 Through Licensing Model   •   On Lok Partners with San Francisco Health Plan to provide Enhanced Care Management to Eligible Medi-Cal Enrollees   •   Hyundai Canada's Don Romano honoured with WXN 2023 Canadian Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (CEDI) Award
Bookmark and Share

Black Dem Support For Obama Still Strong

James Wright, News Analysis, New America Media, Washington Informer

 

WASHINGTON - Blacks in the Democratic Party remain enthusiastic about President Obama and his policies despite the ailing economy and a growing concern that the administration is not paying enough attention to the needs of African Americans.

African-American Democratic leaders who attended the Democratic National Committee’s Winter Meeting at the Wash-ington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Northwest from Thu., Feb. 24-Sat., Feb. 26, were generous in their praise of Obama.

“I think he is doing a fantastic job,” said Matt Johnson of Los Angeles. 

“Whether it is passing health care reform, repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, passing the stimulus package and saving the auto industry, President Obama has shown real leadership in these tough times. He is doing just great.”

Obama, the first Black to win the presidency, is extremely popular with African Americans. A recent Gallup Poll reported that the president is approved by 91 percent of Blacks, while he registers positively with 55 percent of Latinos and 36 percent among Whites.

The Black vote played a crucial role in Obama’s win in the 2008 general election. Blacks supported Obama over Repub-lican Party nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) 95 percent to 5 percent, respectively.

The heavy Black turnout played a role in Obama winning Southern states such as North Carolina and Virginia. The last Democrat to carry North Carolina was Jimmy Carter in 1976 while Lyndon Johnson was the party’s last nominee in 1964 to carry Virginia.

While Johnson’s home state of California is considered a Democratic certainty in recent presidential elections, that is not the case for Texas. Texas has not supported a Democrat for president since Carter in 1976 and has been a lock for the Republicans since.

One of the Lone Star State’s leading Black Democratic activists is former State Rep. Al Edwards, who is from Houston. Edwards, 73, had been a leader for the “Jesse Jackson for President” campaign in Texas in 1984 and 1988.

Edwards was the chief sponsor of the bill creating June 19th, known as Juneteenth by Black Texans, as a state holiday.

Edwards, who served in the Texas House from 1979 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2011, said that Obama “is doing well.”

“It’s going to take some time for him to turn things around,” he said. “He is not turning around a boat in the middle of the water, he is turning a ship with bad cargo around in the water and that takes longer. The ship is turning though.” 

Edwards said that Obama’s health care reform is a reason for the president’s popularity among Blacks. He said he found it interesting that those who oppose Obama’s policies are the “ones who are so opposed to helping their own interests.”

“Obama saved General Motors and Chrysler and his actions saved thousands of jobs,” Edwards said. 

“The president has reformed the banking industry and the list goes on regarding what he has done for the country. What he is doing is for everybody.”

McCain defeated Obama in Texas by 11 percentage points. It should be noted that Obama won heavily populated counties that had major cities such as Harris (Houston), Dallas (Dallas), Bexar (San Antonio) and Travis (Austin) in addi-tion to the southern part of the state that is predominantly Latino.

Blacks in Texas tend to be located in the Houston and Dallas metropolitan areas.

While Blacks embrace the president, there are concerns. Some Black personalities, such as author and television show host Tavis Smiley, have said that Obama has not embraced the Black agenda for the uplift of he race.

Still, others like the Rev. Jesse Jackson of Rainbow-Push Coalition and his son, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) have been critical of the administration for policies that they deem not to be in the best interest of Blacks, such as the presi-dent’s recent budget proposal.

David Bositis, a senior research associate at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, has heard the critics of Obama.

“There are some activists who are complaining because they were expecting some things that were not realistically go-ing to happen,” he said. “But overall, African Americans are satisfied with the president.”

Johnson, 42, said that it was important for Blacks to understand the position that Obama is in.

“We must remember that Obama is president of our country, not president of just the Democrats,” he said.

Edwards said that he understands that there is unease among some Blacks regarding the president.

“That can be cured by better outreach by the White House,” he said. “That is something we need to talk about.”

The criticisms are small compared to the goal of Blacks Democrats in 2012.

“No constituency has been more loyal to this party than African Americans and there is nothing more important than getting President Obama re-elected,” said Clyde Williams, the DNC’s outgoing national political director and a District resident.

Edwards and Johnson said that Blacks will turnout in large numbers in their respective states and nationally to put Obama back in the White House next year. 
Bositis agrees.

“There is no question that Blacks will turn out to vote to re-elect the president,” he said. 

“If I were a betting man, I would say that he would be the favorite to be re-elected. What really matters are how well the economy is doing and how things shake up in the next year and a half.” 


STORY TAGS: Black News, African American News, Minority News, Civil Rights News, Discrimination, Racism, Racial Equality, Bias, Equality, Afro American News

Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News