Black Voters
By: Brianna, Calliope, Samarra, and Tae
The new Black Lives Matter Movement, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, have highlighted the reality of racism for Black people in America. Systemic racism is far from new to American culture, but in a time of political, social, and economic turmoil, raising awareness about it has taken center stage. Having read media coverage of African American voters and Black Lives Matter protests, we came to the conclusion that neither party, nor the media that reflects them, has done a sufficient job of addressing the BLM movement or their African American constituents.
Racial justice is an extremely polarizing topic in the media, so much so that when liberal and conservative news sources report on the same event, they seem to be telling two different stories.
In light of the upcoming 2020 election, both parties have used the issue of racial injustice to their advantage, even if this means leaving out parts of the narrative that could be crucial to Americans finding a solution. Well-intentioned liberal media sources tiptoe around the public safety threat that the riots have caused while conservative outlets do the exact opposite by putting emphasis on the violence of the movement, failing to acknowledge that a systemic issue even exists. The candidates see the movement not as an issue to be addressed but as a piece of political capital. Trump uses it to alarm and pander to his base (largely middle-class suburban and rural American voters) and paint it as a threat to their traditional way of life, portraying protesters as violent radicals. He demonizes leftist groups like antifa as anarchists in a way that is reminiscent of the initial Civil Rights Movement and how many white Americans viewed Malcom X. Biden, taking note of how the left has rebuked Donald Trump’s reaction, decided to use the movement to promote himself through performative activism as his campaign ads show him acknowledging but not addressing major issues.
Parts of the movement are being over-covered and some are under-covered.
An example of this reality is the ongoing debate over whether or not the protests are peaceful. Conservative sources highlight the small minority of protests that result in property damage, despite the fact that over 90% of protests are peaceful. Liberal outlets dilute the severity for fear of being perceived as radical, severely understating the levels of police brutality that protesters are experiencing to make it seem minor, when in fact large numbers of people are being severely injured or going missing. In terms of the election, rather than making final projections at this stage like most have done in the past, the day to day events have a huge impact on the final outcome. Though these are unprecedented times, whether this is the candidates being cautious or evasive is up for debate.
In order to understand the coverage of African American voters, we need to understand the politics it reflects.
During the RNC, Kim Klacik said that “Democrats still assume that Black people will vote for them, no matter how much they let us down and take us for granted.” While this statement may not be entirely wrong, Klacik’s argument is meaningless because the current president of the United States, who she supports, has overlooked the needs of the Black community. Joe Biden also has not excited many African American voters. In an NPR interview, Carl Day said the Biden-Harris ticket felt like “let's do the polar opposite of Donald Trump, but still let's pander to the Black community.”