The Democratic platform is 57 pages long but short on substance for Black Americans. There are four references to African-Americans, including a mention of Black Lives Matter, Rosa Parks and Dr. King; a section on historically Black colleges and universities; and a section devoted to the problems of systemic racism.
For this reason and others, the platform stands in stark contrast to the Republican platform. Even so, for the most part, it reflects what Black America has heard repeatedly, including during eight years of the Obama administration—this is about America, not Black America.
Closing the racial wealth gap and ending systemic racism are the centerpieces for Black Americans interested in the promises of the Democratic Party and its presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. In fact, many of these ideas have been part and parcel of her campaign speeches.
How many times have you heard Clinton say, “Everyone deserves the chance to live up to his or her God-given potential?” The platform states, “Democrats will fight to end institutional and systemic racism in our society. We will challenge and dismantle the structures that define lasting racial, economic, political and social inequity.”
Removal of the Confederate battle flag from public properties was also an issue on the agenda. When the platform stressed that it will “push for societal transformation to make it clear that Black lives matter and that there is no place for racism in our country,” it echoed some of the stipulations often demanded by Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The presence of his surrogates on the platform committee was also felt to some extent in the statement about the disparities in wealth and income. “The racial wealth and income gaps are the result of policies that discriminate against people of color and constrain their ability to earn income and build assets to the same extent as other Americans,” the platform said. “It has accumulated over time and is made worse by ongoing policies and practices.”
The platform continued, “For example, African-Americans and Latinos lost more than half of their net worth as a result of the housing crisis and the Great Recession, because they lost jobs at a much faster rate than white workers and because they were disproportionately targeted for subprime, predatory and fraudulent mortgages during the run-up to the housing crisis.”
Although there are elements of Sanders’ proposals, particularly in citing that 1 percent of the population accrues more wealth and power and that many people feel the political system is rigged, the narrative was modified and there was clearly no mention of Sanders’ “political revolution.”
President Obama was cited several times, mainly in connection with the various accomplishments made during his two terms in office. Neither Clinton nor Sanders was mentioned.
Sanders, during his opening remarks at the convention, said the platform was one of the boldest, most progressive in the party’s history, but much more needs to be said about the criminal justice system, and something more than building better relations between the police and the community. In this regard, police misconduct and brutality, its militarized forces and stop and frisk didn’t make the cut.
There was a paragraph on Africa, but of paramount importance is the possibility of economic exchanges, rather than what can be done to eradicate the health issues that threaten the continent. Fortunately, there is a passing nod to terrorism and the menace of Boko Haram.
The best hope for Black Americans is that they are included in the boast that American businesses have added 14.8 million jobs to the private sector and that they are among the 20 million people who have gained health insurance coverage.
Certainly, the platform is by no means perfect, but in the realm of “real politics,” it will have to do until the real thing comes along.