Black people love Hillary Clinton. Despite the Whitewater, Benghazi and Server-Gate scandals, they remain ride or die. Beyond these controversies she has been a lawyer, author and Secretary of State, yet captures the biggest win with black voters as wifey to Americas "first black president." Many narratives paint Bill Clinton as a, poor southern boy, who loved soul food and the ladies. To a degree his flaws and upbringing made him relatable, and his appeal to blacks unmeasured by any president possibly since JFK. Not to mention after a near decade of Reaganomics the unemployment rate for blacks was lower than it had been in years, under Bill Clinton's administration.
Today, when one looks at the Clinton dynasty, it is not necessary to rely on the biased information mainstream media provides. Technology can give us access to alternative news perspectives in seconds. This has become important for many, who may doubt the political process, due to corporate controlled media bias. With other candidates being given less exposure, many black voters have early on deemed this election as Hillary vs the right wing, Republicans. Her closest rival is Bernie Sanders, who trails by nearly 25 points and was virtually unknown until just this year. With colossal advantages, it becomes a matter of Clinton not necessarily earning the black Democratic vote, but rather ensuring she doesn't lose it. In the key primary state South Carolina, an astounding 80% of black voters are leaning towards Hillary, according to the November Winthrop Poll . With such a faithful allegiance of black voters - particularly black women, we've got to ask: Does Hillary deserve these black votes she has inherited? Here are just a few reasons why she does not:
Hillary is the establishments nominee. “Hillary Rodham Clinton raised $29.9 million for her campaign in the third quarter, just ahead of Bernie Sanders, who raised $26.2 million.” Sanders, her closest rival, amassed an astounding $800,000 + in individual contributions, averaging 30 dollars a piece. Hillary's largest support comes from corporations. Private prison organizations such as GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America have given $133,246 to the Ready for Hillary PAC, according to Vice. Clinton needs the black voters trust, but are they ready to believe she can serve two masters? Somehow ending the mass incarceration of blacks while accepting campaign money from prisons who profit from their incarceration?
Clinton's criminal justice reforms are weak. Clinton has opted to not decriminalize marijuana, with a rather conservative approach, she proposes reducing it from a schedule 1 substance to schedule 2. Clinton's rival Sanders has stated “When we talk about criminal justice reform, we also need to understand that millions of people have been arrested for using marijuana. We must recognize that blacks are four times more likely than whites to get arrested for marijuana possession, even though the same proportion of blacks and whites use marijuana. Any serious criminal justice reform must include removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act.” As it stands now a conviction for marijuana possession can result in a felony charge, incarceration and a criminal record. Once paroled, many find employers won't hire them and are refused tenancy by landlords. Furthermore, ex-felons are ineligible for college financial aid and in many states cannot vote. This creates a barrier for those trying to acclimate productively in society, which can lead to recidivism.
BET's Criminal Justice Forum held on November 21, 2015 provided candidates a platform to specifically address issues facing the black community. Clinton was the only no-show of the Democratic party. However a few weeks prior, Clinton did garner publicity during a “private” meeting with the mothers of Tamir Rice, Jordan Davis and Micheal Brown. Considering many blacks greatest fear is the police and not ISIS, she could have used the recent BET platform as an ideal opportunity to discuss and outline her reforms.
Clinton has shady Wall Street ties. Hillary Clinton's biggest campaign finance comes from the Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup Inc. and JP Morgan Chase, to name a few. Clinton does not support reinstating The Glass–Steagall Act, which restricts activities commercial and investment banks (or other securities firms) could do. Essentially preventing the two businesses from mixing, in order to protect consumer money from speculative use. Sen. Elizabeth Warren states, "That high wall between high-risk trading and boring banking was punched full of holes until in the late 1990’s, it was knocked down when Glass-Steagall was eventually repealed." "Not long after that, the worst crash since the 1930’s hit the American economy." Warren is referring back to 1999, when then, President Bill Clinton repealed Glass-Steagall. Blacks and latinos were disproportionately effected after the 2008 economic crisis. “They were more likely to be given sub-prime loans compared with similarly situated whites,” according to a study. 7-8 years later, black families are still feeling the repercussions. During the last debate, Clinton gave the least compelling arguments regarding Wall Street regulation. If elected, is it feasible for Clinton to fight for the working poor without a conflict of interest?
Hillary Clinton has the black vote due to a combination of deep loyalty, suppression of the truth and, bias in the press. 50 years after the civil rights act, blacks are still plagued with the aftermath of institutional racism, the systemic problems are evident. As we look at the failures of urban K-12 schools, higher incarceration rates for black males, rising unemployment of black teens and the disproportionate amount of unarmed blacks killed by police. Every other week footage surfaces of an Eric Garner, Walter Scott or Sam Dubose being murdered by law enforcement. It is unknown whether the emerging movement of black voters, seeking authenticity, not poll tested responses to these long stemming racial and economic disparities will derail Clinton's campaign. What we do know, is during this increasing political revolution, now more than ever, black votes do matter.