Black Voters Say, 'You're Welcome, America'

Despite Joe Biden’s record-setting win, the story of the 2020 presidential election wasn’t the suburban-powered blue wave or white rejection of Donald Trump that many Democratic Party officials and political pundits anticipated. It was Black voters, and other voters of color, who pushed Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris over the top to become the most-voted-for ticket in American history. Black women in particular played a key role, not just with their votes, but by organizing communities in battleground states.

To understand what was at stake for Black voters in this election, what motivated them to the polls, and what their communities expect from the Biden administration and Democratic Party moving forward, Capital & Main spoke to progressive scholar and activist Dorian Warren.

Warren, who has written for decades about racial and economic justice, is currently the president of the political organizing group Community Change and the co-host of System Check, a podcast from the Nation.

Capital & Main: Black voters overwhelmingly supported Biden. Why?

Dorian Warren: There’s no question that Black Americans are the most cohesive voting bloc for the Democratic Party. Black voter turnout in cities like Milwaukee, Detroit and Philadelphia helped flip states that Hillary Clinton lost in 2016: Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. And of course, Black voters were necessary to the political earthquake that turned Georgia blue.

Read more: https://prospect.org/civil-rights/black-voters-say-youre-welcome-america/
(American Prospect)