I’d put a BREAKING in the title, but you all would throw things at me then, wouldn’t you? But this is pretty time-sensitive.
Quintus Jett, of African Americans for Democracy, (and who Demetrius and I got to meet at DeanFest) is live blogging (meaning RIGHT NOW) at My Vote is My Voice on the topic “Why Must There Be A Contract with Black America?”
Here’s the direct link to that post:
Why Must There Be A Contract with Black America?
One reason is that the (white) progressive agenda is too narrow. It’s pretty clear from general voting patterns that white people on the right will numerically defeat white people on the left, if people of color are not involved.
The nation is too much at risk to wait for a critical mass of white progressives to accept this reality, in order to build the multi-racial coalition that is needed. Therefore, it is up to people of color to spell out in concrete terms what we want, so that the Democratic Party and other white-led progressive advocacy groups can follow.
The ideals and common sense of African-Americans here come into play. Today, 85-90% of African-Americans support the Democratic Party. Despite our ideological differences within, we have maintained this consensus for 10+ years. We have achieved this consensus without a network of town meetings. Without the Internet. With limited political programming and publishing devoted to our interests. What do we understand that others can learn? How do the priorities of Black America reflect where this nation should be headed?