Author: Rashawn Ray
Affiliation: Brookings
Organization/Publisher: Brookings
Date/Place: February 25, 2020/ U.S.
Type of Literature: Article
Word Count: 1673
Keywords: 2020 elections, Black voter, Greenwood Initiative, voter turnout
Brief:
Although the voter turnout among Blacks was lower in 2016, they still tend to have higher rates compared to Latino and Asian men. Nonetheless, as the author states in this article, Black men still feel left out of the 2020 elections and do not feel as visible as they felt during the Obama administration, where the Black community felt seen in politics for the first time in the history of American elections. He emphasizes that candidates must put huge efforts to address the needs of Black communities, such as criminal justice reform, access to social services, job trainings, and economic growth. As a result of historical legacy, policies of redlining, and racism, Black men are underrepresented in the top 15 occupations, and overrepresented in the bottom 15 occupations for men. In terms of supporting the presidential candidates, Black Americans were more in favor of Michael Bloomberg, due to his Greenwood Initiative (a multibillion-Dollar plan to empower Black economy) and who proposed plans regarding improvement in jobs and infrastructure in Black communities. Still, the challenge lies in how to increase the voter turnout among Blacks who are kept out of the labor market, who again feel left out since the Trump presidency, and continue their fight against prejudices concerning Black men in every single dimension of life.
By: Dilek Yücel-Kamadan, CIGA Research Associate
