On top of the coronavirus, America has been facing a second flare up, racism. While racism was always alive and well in America, the past several months have brought the issues of race into the minds of just about every American, no matter their skin color.
The issue of racial justice and police brutality exploded into America's conscience this May when George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer Dereck Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, ending his life. After that, protests erupted across America, not just in Black communities but in white communities outraged by an injustice that has always existed.
Unlike previous bouts of anger around police shootings, this one hasn't faded yet. As the deaths of Black people at the hands of police continue to pile up, and the list of names we must demand justice for grows, so does anger and calls for systemic change.
Joe Biden polls relatively well among Black voters. In fact, some argue his nomination was secured by the large Black turnout in South Carolina. In pledging to choose a woman for vice president, which already would have been historic, Biden chose a woman of color, Kamala Harris of California. However, this does not mean he has enough Black support to confirm a victory. In fact, a recent study from American University's Black Swing Voter Project shows that young Black voters lack enthusiasm for Biden and that could affect their decision to turn out to vote.
In the study, only 29% of Black people aged 18-29 said they would "definitely" turn out to vote. So while only 8% of the age group said they support President Trump, the dislike of the president won't amount to anything if they don't actually turn out.
So what can Biden do to get this group to turn out to vote and also to help them once he is elected?
In order to get young black people to vote he first needs to consider black voters not just as a homogenous group that all feels the same way. Young black voters vote differently than their parents who vote differently than their parents.
And like many young people, Black voters seem to be dissatisfied with the moderate stance that the Democratic Party has taken in attempt to not be labeled as socialist, like Trump loves to do.
While tip-toeing around embracing the "Radical Left" Biden is actually isolating an important progressive wing of the party and dampening their excitement about coming out to vote. This is true of both young black voters and young white voters. Considering a poll of black and white voters, only 49% said they would definitely vote compared with 80% of people aged 40-49 in a CNN poll.
When it comes to racial justice, young people are having a harder time seeing clear differences between the Republicans and the Democrats. It has been largely young people protesting in the streets the past several months and movements to improve racial climates are taking college campuses by storm. Calls to defund not only the police but campus police forces like Yale PD have exploded on social media.
According to polls from Gallup, it is overwhelmingly young, black Democrats who are calling for "major changes" to policing in the U.S. I believe in order to get young voters, especially young Black voters on board, Biden needs to go further in his platforms about police reform and stop fearing the "socialist" kickback. He is being called a socialist now despite opposing the idea of "Defunding" the police.
In 2002, Biden wrote an op-ed noting an increase in crime across the U.S. and calling on more police as the answer. When pressed more recently, the campaign declined to say whether or not this was still their position. Biden's current criminal justice plan calls for $300 million to establish a community policing program. He also has been quoted saying he does not support defunding the police, a popular cry among young people.
What defunding the police actually means, is a debate among factions of the party. Biden may have rejected saying it because he was concerned the Republicans would pounce on it as a sign of his socialist identity.
I think that for Biden to address this crisis on the campaign trail and in office, he needs to consider the root of policing in America and why it exists in the first place. He needs to think back to Amy Cooper in Central Park calling the cops about an "African American man" telling her to put her dog on a leash. For now, the police are a weapon that white people can wield against black people.
Biden needs to do more than put money into community policing. He needs to immediately legalize marijuana which is leading to large numbers of Black Americans being incarcerated. He needs to end all policies that give military weapons to cops. He needs to say that he will "defund" the police and then define what he means — significantly slashing budgets and redirecting that money toward not only social services but resources to hire Black cops. He needs to commit to making police training more than a six month process — it should be at least a year to ensure that the police officers out on the streets aren't looking for a job that pays them to kill black people.
The current police training is only about 22 weeks. This means that in this short period of time, the police officers have to gain enough knowledge of all of the technical and legal aspects of the job, as well as how to be racially sensitive. It also means that they are in no way prepared for all situations. It also means there is also very little time for supervisors to pick up on how anti-racist or not the cops are. I think the cops should be required to take specific anti-racism classes and learn more about the history of policing. I also think that there should be several instructors of color.
How do we find instructors of color? None of this will happen overnight. It starts with electing a president who reframes the discussion around policing as a community presence, rather than the white guy who shows up with a gun after a crime was committed. This discussion must be paired with investments in resources in recruiting Black police officers who can then become leaders in the police force.
These policies won't lose him Republican support. The members of the GOP that switched over to Biden are a small, yet outspoken group. But the young people, especially the young black people that are considering not voting because of Biden's stance on issues are a large, silent group. It's time for him to represent the Black people that have helped him get this far.
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