Connect with us

U.S. News

African-American leaders call for black woman VP for Biden following black men killings [Video]

Published

on

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:


  • Community leaders urge Biden to choose a black VP as a running mate this coming presidential election.
  • The pressure to Biden has intensified following the recent killing incidents involving unarmed black men.
  • While the black community-recommended two potential black VP nominees, Warren remained a top choice because of the work she did for African-Americans.

The controversial killings of black men in past weeks have escalated the pressure on presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to choose a black woman as his vice-presidential candidate in the upcoming elections.

Senator Kamala Harris and former Georgia governor candidate Stacey Abrams are among the choices often mentioned.

The rising highlight on the VP choice was following the recent incidences involving black Americans, including the deaths of George Floyd in Minnesota and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

Floyd passed away last Monday after his neck was kneeled upon for eight minutes by police officers.  Arbery died from gunshot wounds in February after two white men mistook him for a robber, and were only arrested after video footage surfaced months after the incident.

Black communities and leaders also do not discount Senator Elizabeth Warren as a potential running mate even though she is white. In the past, Warren has addressed several concerns about the black community, and she also employed women in color in her campaign.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President, Derrick Johnson, told Newsweek that having the trait of a running mate could help Joe Biden in his overall campaign.

Johnson added that the present political culture must change for the persistence of democracy and the protection of citizens, including the African-American community.

Some black community leaders are also worried about the COVID-19 outbreak, which has infected and killed more African-Americans in addition to the recent killing incidents of involving defenseless black men.

While Biden had a significant lead because of votes by black in the primary, leaders noted the former VP should work harder to address the heightened racial cases in the U.S.

Leaders believe that Biden can still boost his campaign in the black community by not committing the same mistake by Hilary Clinton of choosing a white candidate as running mate.

In a recent opinion and editorial section of the Washington Post, Congressional Black Caucus’ ex-executive director, Angela Rye,  and Black Lives Matter movement’s co-founder, Alicia Garza,  urged Biden to have a black woman as vice president as the community saved his campaign in the primaries.

Meanwhile, a Morning Consult poll on Wednesday said Warren would be an ideal running mate for Biden for both black and Latino voters. Harris came in second at the survey with 19 percent, and Abrams was next at 17 percent.

Advertisement

The poll also echoed the opinion of former Michigan candidate for governor, Abdul El-Sayed. In a Newsweek editorial called “Warren as a Running Mate Would Make Biden Unstoppable in the Midwest,” he wrote that while Warren is the strongest running mate Biden can have, both Abrams and Harris and are also exceptional choices.

Source: Newsweek

Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *