12BB
AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MIA MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TO THE SUN SENTINEL
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020
THE BAUGHTOM LINE
2020 Election Year May Be Most Important in Over a Century
BY GERMAINE SMITH-BAUGH
COVID-19 has eclipsed our thoughts over the past several months. Our hearts and minds are on the health and financial well-being of our families and friends. But we mustn’t forget the most important role that we will have this year to change our circumstances — our role as an active and informed voter.
As we wage an unpredictable war against an invisible enemy, we continue a battle against voter apathy and fear. Both are reasons people stay home, but this year fear or apathy could lead to low voter turnout on an unprecedented scale. Those who do not care and those who fear for their health and safety will not visit the polls, which could suppress the will and voice of the American people. This is the moment we are called to fight against those emotions. The 2020 election year may be the most important in over a century. I do not say this lightly. As part of our civic engagement efforts, the Urban League’s staff, volunteers, and Young Professionals Network have participated in events and conversations with local, state, and national partners around increasing voter engagement and turnout. Our work is centered around the knowledge that Black
people are a powerful voting bloc. Our communities can change the outcomes of any election when we participate. Black Americans played a pivotal role in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, yet Black voter turnout declined in the 2016 elections. Black voter turnout was not only lower in key swing states like Florida, but at 59.6 percent, the 2016 elections marked the lowest Black voter turnout rate since 2000. Like any election year, 2020 is our opportunity to impact our community. We will vote on local, state and national representation, including the president of the United States. While we are not in every single decision room, we must ensure that we elect officials who care about minority small businesses, the education of our children, the resiliency of our economy, criminal justice reform, affordable housing options, and access
to affordable healthcare. COVID-19 has shown us that all these issues are intertwined and impactful strategies are required. Your next opportunities to make your voice heard are the primary election on August 18, 2020 and the general election on November 3, 2020. Here’s what you can do now: Check your voter status, update your registration, request a vote-by mail ballot, and learn about the candidates and the issues that will be on the ballot. If you are not yet registered, need to update your registration, or request a vote-by-mail-ballot, it is easy to do so online. With social distancing rapidly becoming the new normal, mail-in ballots may be the best way to protect our health and safety while also protecting our Democracy. n
POLITICS
Biden Should Choose Rep. Demings as Vice Presidential Candidate
BY CHRISTOPHER M. NORWOOD, J.D.
“Enter the Dragon” is the greatest martial arts film ever made and the first film to combine martial arts action (Bruce Lee) with the emerging “so-called” Blaxploitation genre (Jim Kelly). That’s the genius of its success, the coalition of culture. The same holds true in American politics.
Today, we are at a critical juncture in presidential electoral politics. Presidential nominees’ first real decision in the spotlight is the selection of a running mate. But in my opinion, one stands out from the rest and. Valdez Venita Demings of Florida. She has everything former Vice President Joe Biden needs in a running mate and can help get him elected in ways that others simply can’t. Every four years potential Democratic presidential candidates make their proverbial visits to the Hamburg Inn No. 2 (restaurant) in Iowa City, Iowa and Red Arrow Diner in Manchester, New Hampshire to grab some fried French toast and pie shakes. All the while, I’m thinking why is the success of campaigns determined by their performance in these early states where demographically they look nothing like the rest of America or the Democratic Party? Not to mention, why would you eat fried French toast
or pie shakes. So, when Biden lost in these states, I didn’t think much of it. South Carolina was the “safety valve” where the “other America” would emerge/ AfricanAmerican voters comprise up to 60 percent of South Carolina’s Democratic electorate. Biden made his move. He declared he would name an AfricanAmerican woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. It didn’t resonate with most of America, but I saw clearly his political skill resurfacing from his old Senate days. It was a landslide for him in South Carolina and Super Tuesday. Biden re-affirmed his declaration to appoint an African-American woman to the U.S. Supreme Court on March 15 at the CNN debate, but audiences understandably seized on his new declaration to choose a woman as his vice president. So back to Demings. Three states matter in 2020 that Trump barely won in 2016: Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, totaling 55 electoral
votes. Trump won Florida by 1.2 percent, where African-Americans make up 13 percent of the vote. Trump won Michigan by 0.3 percent in a state where 13 percent of the voters are AfricanAmerican. Pennsylvania by 0.7 percent, where 11 percent of the voters are African American. African-Americans tip the scale in all of these races for Democrats, especially when nine out of 10 vote Democrat. Biden’s vice presidential selection is easy to me. All roads lead to Congresswoman Val Demings of Central Florida — the swing region of a swing state, the former police chief of Orlando who is married to the mayor of Orange County. She has the authority to arrest any Black man seen not voting on election day (I wish). But seriously, her credentials as an impeachment manager in President Trump’s impeachment trial just seals it for me. n
