• Headlines
  • World News
  • Commercial Law
  • Famous Cases
  • Interviews
  • Photo News
  • Property Law
  • Lifestyle
Monday, January 25, 2021
  • Login
Gavel International
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
The Gavel
No Result
View All Result
Home World News

‘A door has opened:’ Black candidates in U.S. see campaign boost amid historic protests

by
June 28, 2020
Reading Time: 3 min
0
‘A door has opened:’ Black candidates in U.S. see campaign boost amid historic protests
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT


It was a scene Jeannine Lee Lake never would have imagined when she first ran against Greg Pence, Vice-President Mike Pence’s brother, for a rural Indiana congressional seat two years ago: an almost entirely white crowd of more than 100 people marching silently in the Pences’ hometown this month, offering prayers for Black people killed by police and an end to systemic racism.

RelatedPosts

Spain to legalize euthanasia and aided suicide

Facebook faces antitrust lawsuits for Privacy invasion of Instagram users and Illegal Monopolization from the FTC

#ENDSARS: President Buhari officially addresses protesting youths, assures extensive Police Reforms

Leading them was Lake, who is in a rematch against Pence. She is the only Black woman running for federal office in Indiana this fall.

The Democrat, who lost badly in 2018 and again faces long odds in the deeply conservative district, has spent much of the past few weeks at events such as the one in Columbus on Juneteenth. In communities across a district that is 93 per cent white, Lake has talked about seeing her children pulled over by police and “harassed for no reason.” She has spoken the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black people killed by police, telling crowds “we’re here to call for change.”

“In no way, shape or form is 2018 the same as the 2020 race in regard to the grassroots effort and the galvanization of the movement that is now Black Lives Matter,” said Lake, 50. “It’s just a total shift.”

The reenergized movement against racial inequality has amplified the voices of Black candidates, in some cases pushing the political debate over race into Republican-leaning areas. Democrats say they’ve seen a significant boost in fundraising and other engagement for candidates running on racial justice issues, and believe it could help the party flip some Republican-held districts in November.

You should also READ  Muslim nations reject Trump’s Middle East peace plan as ‘biased’ in Saudi meeting

Polls show unusually broad bipartisan support for some change to the nation’s criminal justice system. But lawmakers in Washington are at an impasse after far-reaching federal legislation passed the Democrat-led House on Thursday over objections from Republicans. Pence voted no, saying he opposes changes to the qualified immunity system that shields officers from liability.

In Arkansas, Democratic state Sen. Joyce Elliott says she’s seeing new momentum in her bid to unseat GOP Rep. French Hill and become the state’s first Black woman elected to Congress. She began running digital ads shortly after Floyd’s death last month. In them, she spoke about her experience integrating a school in the 1960s where she and other Black students weren’t wanted.

It was the kind of fundraising appeal that typically would bring in about $1.50 for every $1 a congressional campaign spent on the ad buy. This ad cost Elliott’s campaign about $2,500 and raised $24,000 within one week, said Julia Ager, president of Sapphire Strategies, the digital firm for Elliott’s campaign. Other Black candidates are seeing a similar trend, she said.

“The environment is different, and that environment has created a boon of support,” Ager said. For people who are tired of inaction and want to see more Black people in Congress, “it seems like a clear place to direct money.”

Elliott, 69, has also been travelling to Black Lives Matter protests around the district, which includes Little Rock and its suburbs and has been represented by a Republican for more than a decade. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the kidney donor speaks to crowds from the back of a pickup truck, often to predominantly white audiences. She tells her story of overcoming adversity, mentioning the people in school who didn’t want her or other Black students there. At one recent event, the crowd gathered in the shadow of a Confederate statue, where the discussion turned to trying to have it removed.

You should also READ  70th anniversary of Korean War marked with subdued ceremony amid COVID-19

After a lifetime of feeling like she had to “push, push, push,” Elliott said, “now it feels like this is a big warm embrace.”

Her campaign has been backed by EMILY’s List, which supports women in politics, and the Congressional Black Caucus PAC. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., who is in the running to be the Democratic nominee for vice-president, endorsed Elliott’s campaign on Saturday.


Source link

Like this:

Like Loading...
Tags: anti-racism protests USBarack ObamaBlack candidate support USBlack political candidates USJeannine Lee LakeMitch McConnellPat Timmons-GoodsonPoliticsUS PoliticsWorld

Next Post
For 3rd day in a row, U.S. coronavirus cases surge by more than 40,000

For 3rd day in a row, U.S. coronavirus cases surge by more than 40,000

Discussion about this post

Trending News

  • Access bank approaches Supreme Court over Seplat N38.5bn debt January 23, 2021
  • “Why i want killer Fulani herdsmen out of Yorubaland”- Sunday Igboho January 23, 2021
  • Fulani Herdsmen Killings Reprisal: Police order arrest of Sunday Igboho January 23, 2021
  • $85.8m debt: Appeal Court Unfreezes Seplat’s Accounts, Suspends Mareva Injunction January 22, 2021
  • Court rules on Lagos East Senatorial Bye-Election tussle, March 1 January 22, 2021
The Gavel

© 2020 Gavel International - Powered by Realdata.

Navigate Site

  • Headlines
  • World News
  • Commercial Law
  • Famous Cases
  • Interviews
  • Photo News
  • Property Law
  • Lifestyle

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Newsletter
  • Welcome to The Gavel

© 2020 Gavel International - Powered by Realdata.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add The Gavel to your Homescreen!

Add
%d bloggers like this: