Why Do Blacks Not Feel The Bern?

1. This left me in tears and can I suggest a different ending to this ? I see myself holding up a cup of cheer with tears rolling down my cheeks in my city of brotherly love because we have a President Sanders that will continue the fight President Obama started and perhaps together they will fulfill the dreams we all dream of dignity and respect #Bernie2016

   1. Amen!

      1. The most important question for me, is what can we do to change this?

         1. Good question.This is precisely the conversation this piece was designed to spark. What do you think?

   2. When did Obama ever start the fight you’re talking about?

      1. He is commuting sentences at the federal level. He sent DoD to investigate Police brutality in localities. He had the F box removed off federal job applications which ask about convictions. These are not going to cure all that ails disenfranchised Black citizens. The Office of the Presidency does not have legislative power. He admits that he should have communicated more, should have fought more by voicing displeasure with the opposition more frequently, and should have realized sooner that the opposition had NO intentions of working with him. Of course he did not do enough, but NO president can ever do enough with a legislative, executive and judicial 3 tonged government. People also have to vote, speak out and not vote as a block. What are we doing to ensure our interests are being addressed?

         1. Thank you for your comment.

2. There are some really smart and articulate black leaders supporting Bernie (for example Ta Nehishi Coates, Nina Turner, Erica Garner, Ben Jealous, Cornell West, Killer Mike, to name a few). Why aren’t these voices making a difference with the African American community?

   1. Walter, you pose a good question. At least one as good as the one I posed in this piece.

3. Thank you for providing this insight. I do support Bernie but as a white guy, I just don’t feel it my place to say what the best interests are for a group of which I am not a part. I appreciate hearing voices like yours because I am happy to think that his message is resonating.

   1. Sanders messaging is moving throughout my community. I am not sure if he has enough time for it to sink in large enough numbers to make a difference.

      This for reading this commentary.

4. When will there be in this country a moment when we are all seen as equal, as children playing together with one another, no matter the color of their skin. When all have the same opportunity, financially, may be a great first step. When we step away and reject the beliefs that have kept us trapped, I imagine, may help. Thank you, Michael,
   this article is just what I needed to read, this afternoon.

   1. welcome, feel the Bern!

5. Thank you for this. As a White Southerner, it has been challenging to have these conversations with my friends of color without sounding like I’m Whitesplaining. I appreciate your insight so much.

   1. Thank you for reading this piece. Never stop talking to your friends of color about this issue and other artificial issues that tend to divide us along color lines.

6. https://www.facebook.com/PeoplesDemocraticWorkersParty/posts/1685614565046402

   1. Thank you.

7. This is an amazing piece. Thank you.

   1. Thank you for reading it and for taking the time to let me know what you thought about it.

8. Bernie needs to stick to his message and not cow tow to the any group. He doesn’t have to spout his past record on civil rights! Just let the chips fall where they may! The worst thing he could do is compromise his message in order to he politically correct. By in large the majority of Americans respect politicians who are honest, forward-looking, and stick to beliefs and values. Once you try and be a man for all seasons then you might as pack your bags and go home! For this and many other reasons I have the upmost respect and strongly support Bernie “tell it like it is” Sanders!

   1. The most remarkable thing about Sanders is that over the course of his lifetime, he has maintain his core philosophy beliefs.

9. I think African Americans are so cynical that many have given up and do not pay attention and just vote based on name recognition. This is understandable because the system has failed them and many promises were broken and the real sad thing is Rep Clyburn is against Bernie’s free public college plan because it would enable many African Americans to have a choice of going to a public college instead of an all black college. Obviously he is in bed with these colleges like Hillary is in bed with so many special interests. Bernie does not have a ton of money and he can’t be bought. please wake up and vote Bernie, a vote for Bernie is a vote for yourself.

   1. I am a product of a Black university. While my university is a private institution, like many of the other ones, that are public, it receives state support. So there is a fallacy that Sanders plan will only benefit public colleges. The more we peel back the onion, the more we know.

10. I’m Bernie supporter, and I found this “explanation”‘to be quite condescending. It took me a minute, after much research, to become a supporter. Before then, I certainly was no “slave who didn’t know she was free”…. I didn’t know Bernie, except for him switching from Independent to Dem, and snippets on CNN here and there, over the years. Early in his campaign, and sometimes still, he seems to push the belief that economic equality will be a catch-all, and lives Black Americans will somehow just fall in order. When I talk to my friends, who are either undecided, or Hilary supporters, they usually say they don’t know enough about him. And the constan comparisons to Donald Trump don’t help.

    It’s not as simplistic as you would have folks believe. And Black people are not as simple-minded as your “explanation” seems to depict.

    Without my own research, I certainly would be supporting the frontrunner. Diatribes like these make it harder for me and other like me to win support for Bernie Sanders.

    1. Thank you for your perspective on what, to me, was a complex commentary to write.

11. You are treating the black community as if it is a monolith of thought…all the same. People are individuals and are driven by a lot of different very valid motivators. You should respect that and not act like because all blacks don’t think as you do that they are not smart enough to know what is best for them.

    1. I regret that you feel this commentary is somehow dismissive of black intellectual thought.

12. Michael, love; read your comments, or opinions. I remember you saying to me that I liked Hillary because she was a woman. I immediately said that wasn’t it……..

    However “I asked you why Sanders?”
    You are as consistent as the sun rising
    in the East with your views my friend.

    You really give me something to think about that evening and shared it with my husband.

    Bernie has some great ideas, but so does
    Trump,the idiot. However Blacks are not running out to vote for him.

    Please, Bernie isn’t being compared to the idiot. Just my left right analogy.

    I agree, Faith can change the world.

    However, I m going with Hillary?

    One of Bernie’s Platform, Tuition.
    The USA is such a “capitalistic county” and ain’t no way in the USA that the rich want continue to be “The Rich.”

    There’s greed in all countries. Nevertheless
    American take the cake.

    I am going with the lesser of the evils. Plus
    Hilliary comes with Bill. The country was in the Black when Bill was president.

    I love ready your articles and have much respect for you views and educational information on serious topics.

    1. I am struck by your “Lesser of two evils” comment. What is evil or sinister about the program that Sanders has outlined for the country?

       You will note this commentary does not suggest that women are voting for Clinton because she is a woman. It does say that Clinton and her supporters are asking people to vote for her because she is a woman.

       Also, your reasoning process that causes you to conclude that you are voting Clinton proves my thesis that Black people are voting for a system they feel more comfortable navigating, because they lack the faith to believe it is possible to get money out of politics.

       As always, thank you for your comment.

13. It is so interesting to see all the different points of view. I am sure there are plenty more. Rather refreshing and educational. Would it not be a blessing to be able to talk about these views without all the hate. Though we are all mad about our own situations and experiences. If we could all find just 1 thing that can be agreed on and work from that point on. But, I am afraid that under the climate that we are all in now, our “leaders” want allow each other to even do that 1 small thing to start a dialog.

    “One small chisel, One small hammer, can tear down a wall”

    1. Having respectful and educational conversations is not up to the leaders, it is up to each of us individually. Yes we can tear down the walls that separate us with dialogue. Any old song we would sing in Vacation Bible School comes to mind: “The more we get together, the happier we’ll be. For your friends are mind friends and my friends are your friends. The more we get together the happier we’ll be.”

14. Are you publishing this article on the various Facebook pages that can reach African-American voters? Many of the Super Tuesday states plus South Carolina this Saturday.

    1. No I am not. However, you are welcome to post this link https://haroldmichaelharvey.com/2016/02/22/why-do-blacks-not-feel-the-bern/ to any readers you believe this information will be helpful in making a decision on their vote this campaign cycle.

15. As a white southern male born in the 50’s who was partially raised my a Blk housekeeper who had to care more about me that her own children, I have a lot of soul searching to do and have been doing for years. First thing I had to do was own it, admit it, apologies made but not looking for apologies excepted. Move forward with my own biases, and not try to “fix” it. Just let my children know the truth and guess what, it worked for them. They don’t see color, sexual orientation. As my daddy used to say, “some folks just have to die”. There is light at the end of the tunnel. But if things don’t change soon. It will be a train.

    1. You, my friend, have done the healthy thing. An internal spiritual cleanse is good for us all. The world is a better place because of your parenting. I always admired your daddy and your uncle Gene. Give my regards to your uncle. Additionally, your closing statement “But if things don’t change soon. It will be a train.” I reach a similar conclusion in my new book Justice in the Round. If you have not read it, I recommend it to you. It is available on Amazon as an eBook download for $2.99 until the end of the month.

16. If things don’t change soon fiscally we are all doomed. Why is there no candidate whobis socially liberal but fiscally responsible. And why do we talk as if it is ok to simply talk avout a “black vote”? We are individuals with individual thoughts and ideas. Why should we all vote the same way? We did it with Obama and our unemployment rate only got higher. It scares me to hear people talk about “the black vote”. If you dobit enough one day there will be a “white vote” and it will be a white vote out for vengeance on all they gave away through the years. When we stop talking about votes as if they come in blocks of racial segregation we may start healing. The longer we focus on race the longer the suffering will continue. Please, as an African American, I ask you to keep me out of “the black vote” conversation. My children have different goals and likes than other children and in the end I vote for what I think will leave my children in a better America for them. Obama would have never been elected without the white vote but we refuse to see these things and only focus on negativity instead of the positive America the MLK visioned where a black man could be elected president.

    1. Kevin, you brought yourself into this conversation. Secondly, there has always been a white block vote, an Irish block vote, etc., and in this presidential election cycle there is an important woman block vote. These are all realities of political life and social life.

17. Very thought provoking and interesting piece. Thank you for writing it. As a white man, obviously I cannot pretend to understand some of the dynamics covered in your article. But I feel like I am better for reading it.

    1. Thank you for reading it. All the world needs is understanding, the rest will follow.

18. I think the answer may be as simple as Bernie’s lack of name recognition in the black community. Hillary is well known and Bernie is not. As the campaign progresses, the black community will learn more about him and he’ll gain more support.

    1. You may very well be right. However, in the age of the internet, there is ample material readily available for anyone to have gotten very familiar with Sanders long before now. I believe the reasons Blacks pretend not to know much about Sanders is a case of selective knowing.

19. Very interesting and informative article,Michael. I became a Sanders supporter early on from various posts about him on Facebook which prompted me to do further research. I often hear other people say that Sanders, because he plans to do so much, and the costs of doing those things will be so great, that he will get nothing done. Then Ms. Clinton proposes to do a lot of the same things, except for maybe not going quite as far, but will be almost as costly. So why do we think that she can get things done that Mr. Sanders can’t. With the present make-up on ‘the hill’ there will be no love lost for HRC. She will every bit as much difficulty getting her policies through as President Obama has, and Bernie Sanders would, should he become president. The key for us is understanding that a president can’t do it alone, no more than Michael Jordan, as good as he was, could win an NBA championship alone. He needed help! A president, no matter who he or she may be, needs help. That is why I stress voting EVERY TIME a U.S. representative or U.S. senator in your state is up for reelection. Some of us tend to lose interest in voting after we vote for president. Bernie Sanders has a lot of good ideas for this nation. We just need to research and learn what they are and how they will benefit us.

    1. Thanks for reading this commentary. I often hear people say there is no enough known about Sanders. However, in the age of the internet, there is a whole lot of information about Sanders and his views. A Sanders presidency will bring with it the hatred that a Clinton or Obama brings to the table. I actually think that Sanders can get a lot done. That being said, you make a good point about the down ballot. The problem is that the DNC spent the last four years trying to clear a non-contested pathway for Clinton that it did not spend sufficient time in candidate recruitment and raising funds for down ballot candidates. Either there needs to be new leadership in that organization or progressives need to organize their own party and began to contest these statewide and national elections.

20. Hurdles:
    Many African Americans like Bill and Hillary is accepted, by proxy.
    Hillary (of the Chicago Rodhams) is seen as more of a southerner, due to Bills Arkansas roots.
    Many women would like to see a female president and break the last , of two glass ceilings.
    Hillary has had a long relationship with the Black community, and time= valued.
    Hillary has an infrastructure and organization , not her first time around.
    Hillary is already known and accepted, as such, given a pass as some in the African American community are not aware, don’t care or even turn a deaf ear, to any derogatory information about her and close ties to the MICC, Wall Street bankers , in particular.
    Bernie is less known.
    He is characterized as too ‘pie in the sky’ or unrealistic.
    He tends to talk in broad generalities about racism , police state, low opportunity.
    Hillary adds racism against African Americans, police abuse of power against African Americans, jobs for Black people
    Bernie does not openly embrace Christianity, and how can that be trusted, right? Even if the message sounds moral….. he may be a closet heathen to the faithful….
    Bernie is a northeasterner, from a ‘white’ state, no less (he doesn’t understand our plight).
    Bernie is painted as someone who can’t get things done, too left of center. Although ANY bill needs a majority..
    The Clinton campaign has been shrewd to embrace Obama-ism, so any disagreement with her is somehow and attack on the work (and disrespect to) President Obama. If Bernie says he wants health care for all people, he didn’t specify his focus on poor black people and she cleverly says, ‘you are trying to dismantle Obamacare, I will not sit by and let you destroy the programs that African Americans need and ruin all the hard work President Obama has put in to improve our system.’ example of twisting his message……

    1. Good analysis. Thanks for responding.

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