Democrats, Black female voters and political rewards

By Barrington M. Salmon -Contributing Writer- | Last updated: Dec 19, 2017 - 11:30:15 AM

Head of class or still at the back of the bus?

Voters in line to cast ballots. Photo: MGN Online

WASHINGTON—Few if any Black women were surprised when early December election results showed that Black women led the charge that led to Democrat Doug Moore winning a coveted U.S. Senate seat.

According to exit polls, 98 percent of Black women in spite of dogged voter suppression efforts voted for Mr. Jones, while 63 percent of White women supported combative Republican nominee and religious fundamentalist Judge Roy Moore.

The turnout and the result left almost rapturous television anchors, commentators and pundits expressing amazement as Black voters punched the ticket for a longshot Democrat to represent one of the reddest states in the country for the first time in 25 years.

Avis Jones-DeWeever

Avis Jones-DeWeever said Mr. Moore’s defeat Dec. 8 illustrates the potency of the Black female vote, and is a harbinger of things to come.

“I was not surprised. We’re very pragmatic voters,” said Ms. Jones-DeWeever, a Washington, D.C.-based women’s empowerment expert, diversity consultant and career reinvention strategist. “The counter-narrative is that Black women are saving America. That may be true but they were voting for a better future and standing by their moral principles.”

“The largest voter turnout comes during presidential elections and the numbers go down during off-year elections and are even smaller during special elections,” Ms. Jones-DeWeever explained. “But Black voters came out in historically high numbers for this special election and over-performed in terms of their proportion to the electorate. Black people voted with clarity. They knew what needed to be done.”

Nominee Moore became a legal pariah after he was twice-removed as chief judge of the Alabama Supreme Court for refusing to obey laws he felt infringed on his religious beliefs. He is accused of sexually molesting a 14 year old and eight other women and sexually harassing eight teenaged girls and young women. He denied the allegations, saying that liberals and the Washington Post were seeking to derail his run for office.

Mr. Jones ran what political experts describe as a masterful campaign. He was helped by a formidable ground game, robocalls by former President Barack Obama, hard work by Congresswoman Terri Sewell and visits by politicos like New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.

In both 2008 and 2012, Black women voted at a higher rate than any gender or racial group, gifting President Obama 96 percent of their vote. And in 2016, 94 percent of Black women voted for Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, while 53 percent of White women voted for Donald Trump.

Fannie Lou Hamer

Retired journalist and editor Marlene Johnson said Black women have been a force to be reckoned with since Mississippi activist Fannie Lou Hamer shook up the Democratic Party establishment in 1964.

Traditionally, she said, Black women often are without allies in political and other realms.

“They’re not doing anything for Black women who’ve supported Democrats like forever,” said Ms. Johnson, who worked at Associated Press and The Washington Times. “They put us in certain positions and we think we have power but we don’t.”

“Where are White women? They’re silent. Black women are not supported. It’s fakery. They’re never going to allow you to have real power. Historically we never had a voice. Black women were lashed and harassed, getting raped and killed by White men. And White women just stood and watched. Look at the silence of White women. You know where they stand.”

Black women have long complained they’ve been taken for granted by the Democratic Party. So it’s not surprising that in the aftermath of this election, there have been strident calls for the party to do more than offer Black women lip service.

Kimberlè Crenshaw, co-founder of the African American Policy Forumn

“Black women showed up and showed out,” said Kimberlè Crenshaw, co-founder of the African American Policy Forum in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “In any other context, people who get it 98 percent right, they’d be at the head of the class. It’s time for Black women to be at the head of the political class.”

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Tom Perez tweeted: “Let me be clear: We won in Alabama and Virginia because #BlackWomen led us to victory. Black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party, and we can’t take that for granted.”

Ms. DeWeever and Ms. Crenshaw said Democratic officials must no longer be patronizing and dismissive of Black women. Democrats must facilitate access to positions of power in the DNC and Democratic Party at all levels, local, state and national; listen to their concerns and help implement projects, policies and programs to address issues including mass incarceration, health care, education; and work to eliminate the state-sanctioned murders of Blacks, they said.

NAACP-DC second vice president Rev. Dr. Charlette Stokes-Manning, who is 66, said she’s a registered voter who has voted in every election since age 18. One reason for her dedication to this cause is because, she remembers as a child and young woman in Virginia, her parents not being allowed their right to vote. Voting, she said, is a potent weapon that Blacks are wielding with relentless purpose.

“We always had the potential for this,” she said about the Virginia and Alabama elections. “Were they surprised? Yes. Was I surprised? No. You think you’ve seen activism? Wait until 2018. I think for the first time since the ‘60s, we have a cause, we’re awakening. This is critical because we’re still at the bottom rung.”

Adrienne Washington, a veteran journalist and a Metropolitan D.C. political and public affairs columnist at the Washington Times for 15 years, said the Democratic Party wouldn’t be where it is “without the constant support of women at all levels.”

“The reason why Black women came out in droves is because it was a survivalist move,” she said. “It’s because it’s seen as choosing the lesser of two evils, dancing with the devil you know. They know that if the other people win, they will make our lives much harder. Look at the tax cuts. Black women—single mothers, those in minimum-wage earning jobs—will be deeply affected.”

“We don’t have the money to make a difference in politics but we have the numbers. Our big weapon is the vote. The question is how do we capitalize on the power we have? The Democrats owe us a big, big, big reward. The way they could do that is really push things to help the working class.”

The Final Call