Because of the advocacy of the Black Lives Matter movement, the role of the Black voter will play a critical part during the presidential election campaign. The Black vote has been considered to be a strong Democratic party block that led to the election of President Barak Obama. So far, the Black Lives Matter movement has refused to endorse any candidate, democrat or republican. At a recent Black women’s roundtable, forum co-founder Alicia Garza stated, “Black Lives Matter as a network will not, does not, has not, ain’t going to endorse any candidates. Now if there are activists within the movement that want to do that independently, they should feel free and if that’s what makes sense for their local conditions, that’s fantastic. But as a network, that’s not work we’re engaged in yet.“ Instead, the group intends to focus on its political activism and continue to confront candidates about the treatment of Blacks. Currently leading in the polls among Black voters is Hillary Clinton.
But now a new factor is causing concern for the Clinton camp. The talk is now solidifying that US Vice President Joe Biden may enter the race for president. Biden has repeatedly stated since the death of his son Beau Biden that the stress of a presidential run may be too much, citing his need to be close to his family and not wanting to put stress on his wife. But a portion of this changed this past weekend when his wife Dr. Jill Biden stated she was not an obstacle to a 2016 presidential bid. Vice president Biden is well known for his bluntness and straightforward talk about issues both publicly and behind closed doors with President Obama.
Both candidates will have to heavily court the Black voter electorate and confront serious social and economic conditions confronting the Black community. This has already come into play with the Black Lives Matter movement for Clinton. Clinton was interrupted by the activists during a campaign stop but later spoke to them privately. Her demeanor was paternalistic and arrogant as she stated Black Lives Matter would only get “lip service from as many white people as you can pack into Yankee Stadium and a million more like it.”
Clinton went on to state, “Look, I don’t believe you change hearts…I believe you change laws, you change allocation of resources, you change the way systems operate. You’re not going to change every heart. You’re not. But at the end of the day, we could do a whole lot to change some hearts and change some systems and create more opportunities for people who deserve to have them, to live up to their own God-given potential.”
However, Biden has not had to deal with a personal confrontation of Black Lives Matter activists. Instead, he seems to be ahead of the curve in confronting the issues facing the Black community. At a January 2015 event honoring the King holiday, he clearly stated his opinion on the violence confronting not only Black communities but all communities and the fear of a parent. Biden stated, “When your child walks out that door, you have enough to fear, you have enough to contend with…The possibility they might be in an accident. They might fall victim to an act of crime or hit with a stray bullet of a drive-by shooting of some gangbanger. In too many neighborhoods in this country, that fear is compounded by the fear that your child may be presumed to be a gang member.”
But Biden must also be called to account his voting for the infamous 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill that led to the mass incarceration of Black men. Even former President Bill Clinton has called the bill a mistake and has taken personal blame for the pain it inflicted.
