On Tuesday, Mississippi voters will go to the polls and choose between Michael Espy, a black man, and Cindy Hyde-Smith, a white woman who said she would welcome an invitation to “a public hanging.”
More African Americans were lynched in Mississippi than in any other state.
Hyde-Smith’s decision to joke about “hanging,” in a state known for its violent and terroristic history toward African Americans is sick. To envision this brutal and degenerate type of frame during a time when Black people, Jewish People, and immigrants are still being targeted for violence by White nationalists and racists is hateful and hurtful. Any politician seeking to serve as the national voice of the people of Mississippi should know better. Her choice of words serves as an indictment of not only her lack of judgment, but her lack of empathy, and most of all lack of character.
When the votes are counted, the joke may be on the Confederate cap-wearing segregationist.
Black women have had enough of President Trump’s racist attacks on Congresswoman Maxine Waters and veiled threat.
They’re also dismayed that Democratic leaders failed to publicly defend Waters. On July 3, black women leaders and allies from across the country sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (full disclosure: I am a signatory to this letter):
Further, we write to share our profound indignation and deep disappointment over your recent failure to protect Congresswoman Waters from unwarranted attacks from the Trump Administration and others in the GOP. That failure was further compounded by your decision to unfairly deride her as being “uncivil” and “un-American.” In doing so, we believe this mischaracterizes her call to action for peaceful democratic assembly and the exercise of her constitutional rights to free speech in support of defenseless immigrant children and their families.
As one of the longest serving African American women, and the longest tenured woman of color, in Congress, Representative Waters has dedicated nearly 30 years of her life to federal public service. Prior to that, she was a member of the California State Assembly for 14 years, and has made it her life’s work to stand as a fearless advocate for women and unwavering champion for children, people of color and the poor.
Black women told the congressional leadership that if they don’t respect us, don’t expect us:
Much hangs in the balance this fall, with all 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats up for grabs. Disparaging or failing to support Congresswoman Waters is an affront to her and Black women across the country and telegraphs a message that the Democratic Party can ill afford: that it does not respect Black women’s leadership and political power and discounts the impact of Black women and millennial voters.
Meanwhile, Judicial Watch, a conservative watch attack dog group, has filed an ethics complaint. President Tom Fitton said Waters should be “disavowed.”
Republican Congressman Andy Biggs (Arizona) has introduced a resolution to “censure and condemn” Waters. The House could consider the measure this week.
If you are outraged by this blatant attempt to silence a black woman whose back does not bend, call (202) 224-3121 and tell your representative: I stand with Maxine.
White women came out in droves. But when push comes to shove, race trumps gender. It's worth remembering that 52 percent of white women voted for Trump.
In the Alabama senate election, 57 percent of white women voted for alleged sexual predator Roy Moore. By contrast, black women overwhelmingly supported Doug Jones.
African Americans in Alabama voted to save themselves. In so doing, they powered the Democratic candidate to victory in the heart of Dixie. Black women are flexing their power and organizing Power Rising Summit:
Black women of all backgrounds, experience, and expression will gather for Power Rising: Building an Agenda for Black Women, an historic summit that will build an actionable agenda that leverages our individual and collective power and influence for the advancement of ourselves, our families, our communities and our future.
The Summit will be organized around five key pillars of activism and engagement: Business & Economic Empowerment; Culture, Community, and Society; Education, Technology, and Innovation; Health & Wellness; and Political Empowerment. Not since the Combahee River Collective statement was written some 40 years ago have Black women gathered to create an agenda that explicitly addresses the unique intersectionality of Black women.
Power Rising 2018 will be held February 23-25 in Atlanta, Ga. For information on how to register to attend the summit, visit www.powerrising.org.
Last week, Congressional Democrats unveiled a new economic agenda, “A Better Deal: Better Jobs, Better Wages, Better Future,” that they hope will help them win back the House in 2018.
The three-point plan includes:
Raise the wages and incomes of American workers and create millions of good-paying jobs.
Lower the cost of living for families.
Build an economy that gives working Americans the tools to succeed in the 21st Century.
In a New York Times op-ed, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote:
Democrats have too often hesitated from taking on those misguided policies directly and unflinchingly — so much so that many Americans don’t know what we stand for. Not after today. Democrats will show the country that we’re the party on the side of working people — and that we stand for three simple things.
First, we’re going to increase people’s pay. Second, we’re going to reduce their everyday expenses. And third, we’re going to provide workers with the tools they need for the 21st-century economy.
While Schumer said Democrats are not targeting blue-collar Americans in rural areas (read: white voters), this image seems to be sending a subliminal message.
