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Room for Debate

February 29, 2016

Making Black Voices Matter

Introduction

young African-American votersDanny Glover, Bernie Sanders’s director of outreach to historically black colleges, addresses a crowd at South Carolina State University in January. Logan R. Cyrus for The New York Times

The generational divide among African-Americans in Hillary Clinton’s resounding South Carolina primary victory on Saturday was not as sharp as has been seen among white Democratic voters elsewhere, but it was striking. Younger people were more supportive of Bernie Sanders’s populist message. Some of the division is a matter of loyalties and personal appeal, but much of it involves disagreement over the direction that black activism should take, with millennials demanding tougher action and more immediate results on racial issues and inequality.

Do black political activists need to make a radical break from the conventional politics of the past, or do mainstream politicians offer the best hope for racial advancement?

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Debaters

  • Leah Wright Rigueur

    Young Black People Are Radically Reimagining Activism

    Leah Wright Rigueur, author, "The Loneliness of the Black Republican"

    Pressure from a new generation has moved things forward, even if there's no agreement on the best vehicle for bringing about change.

  • Alicia Garza

    Neither Party Has Earned Black People’s Trust

    Alicia Garza, co-founder, #BlackLivesMatter

    There is such a gap between those elected to represent us and those who actually do, that this generation is organizing direct action to address racial justice.

  • Hakeem Jeffries

    Mainstream Politics Achieves More Than Heated Rhetoric

    Hakeem Jeffries, member, U.S. House of Representatives

    While unbridled activism is needed to win justice, we still need a president with a record of progressive accomplishment who can turn rhetoric into reality.

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