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Systemic Racism: A Clear and Unsatisfying Choice, But One That Must Be Made By Skye Miechkota Edited by Manisha Kumar Growing outcries against police brutality, white supremacist violence, and persistent socioeconomic and health inequalities highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic have brought systemic racism into the focus of the presidential debate. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has brought increasing pressure to address structures and institutions that discriminate on the basis of race and result in violence and vast inequalities. It was a key issue discussed in both of the presidential debates, and public opinion on the need for government action has polarized significantly along party lines. 78 The Republicans If you text “woke” to the Trump 5-digit number, you can be connected to “Black Voices for Trump,” a Trump-created group that promises economic opportunities for minority entrepreneurs and workers. 79 Trump’s current campaign has featured ads in Black newspapers and radio stations in order to gain the support of racialized voters 80 — however, underneath this strategy and rhetoric lies a plan that targets and criminalizes racialized Americans. The bullet-point campaign “agenda” published on the Donald Trump website, the nearest thing to a 2020 platform released by the Republican party, makes no mention of systemic racism 81. Nor does the 69-page 2016 platform that they recycled for this year. 82 Increased Policing & Incarceration Trump’s campaigning and presidency have been fueled with narratives of “law and order”. 83 In his agenda, he calls for increased funding for law enforcement as well as harsher penalties for assaults on police officers. 84 Blatantly targeting people of colour, the agenda specifies plans to deport all non-citizen “gang members” and schedule drive-by shootings as acts of domestic terrorism. 85 This, while the Trump government has ignored and repeatedly defended violent white supremacist organizations declared in October by the Department of Homeland Security as the largest domestic terror threat in the country. 86
Pew Research Center, “Voters attitudes about race and gender are even more divided than in 2016,” October 6, 2020. 78
“Black Voices for Trump,” Donald J. Trump for President, accessed October 11, 2020.. John Blake, “Trump Called Him 'My African American.' His Life Hasn't been the Same since,” CNN Wire Service, Sep 12. 81 “Trump campaign announces president’s 2nd term agenda: fighting for you,” Donald J. Trump for President, last modified August 23, 2020. 82 “Republican Platform 2016,” Republican National Committee, accessed October 13, 2020. 83 Kevin Drakulich et al., “Race and Policing in the 2016 Presidential Election: Black Lives Matter, the Police, and Dog Whistle Politics,” 84 “Trump campaign announces president’s 2nd term agenda: fighting for you.” 85 See note 7. 86 Department of Homeland Security, “Homeland Threat Assessment 2020,” October 6, 2020: 18, 79 80
