Background: Upon completing High school I wanted to get out of Ohio so I randomly chose to go to Winthrop University (For those of you who do not know Winthrop is in Rock Hill, SC). I loved my 2 years I spent there but decided to move back home to try and save money on college (Only about 50k in debt now though I am working on my Master’s). Anyways, it would be the first time I really interacted with a number of black Americans as I went to school in the suburbs between Dayton and Cincinnati where there are a small amount of minorities in the school district (though I believe this may be changing some). Since I moved back home I have stayed in contact with a few friends I made down there. One of my friends I knew was a Bernie supporter based on her facebook posts but the other two I did not know. I chatted with one of the other two through some text messages before the New Hampshire Primaries and she was undecided between Hillary and Bernie (though she said she believed in a single-payer healthcare system). Yesterday I text her again and asked if she was feeling the bern yet. She said she hoped he would win. I asked both if they thought he could win the primary and they said yes. Today I asked my other friend and he said he was feelin the bern and that USC campus apparently was to (still a student there). He told me he was shocked that they were but was happy they were.
This is simply anecdotal but all three are under 30 years old. All three Black Americans. Two are Females and one is a Gay Black Male. They each live in a different part of the state. One lives in Rock Hill, one in Columbia and one outside of Charleston.
I remember talking to both the black females a couple of times about race and black leaders. Both stated to me that Reverend Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson does not speak for them and they don’t like to be told that they believe the same things (of course neither have endorsed a candidate yet but are portrayed by the media as the leaders of the black vote). Of course as a Bernie fan we welcome everyone to #feelthebern.
Maybe Bernie can shock the political world again but I believe he has to win Nevada to continue the momentum.
Maybe they will vote maybe not but don’t give up the fight for South Carolina because the Black youth vote could propel Bernie closer than anyone ever thought possible.