Are black women essential to victory?

The upcoming 2020 election is stirring up a lot of buzz and has everyone wondering whats next. In an article by Donna Edwards, she explains how black women have become the key to many statewide races for democrats. She acknowledges how the election came together for her during her time in the hair salon. Edwards states “My salon, and thousands like it across the country, is where the 2020 election will be decided”. Edwards expands on the idea that the votes casted by black women will be crucial to the 2020 election for democrats. Black women have also become increasingly more important in politics especially due to the amount of diverse women who are now in congress. Black women have always gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to issues like wage gap, health care, and economic prospects, which the article talks about. Edwards also mentions “democratic candidates entering the presidential race have acknowledged the importance of women, women of color, black women in their pathways to victory”. One might ask the question of why black women have become essential to victory? While black women are still oppressed there is power is numbers. Black women are creating the right channels through which they can effect some type of change in todays day and age. When reading this article I thought about the documentary we watched in class about Shirley Chisholm. She was a very strong candidate when she ran for president and spoke for the many voices that were silenced by her white opponents. This article speaks to the fact that black women are playing with identity politics and gaining political power, which is really important when it comes to speaking for voters who are in the minority. I also thought about Tiffany Gill’s Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women’s Activism in the Beauty Industry which we read in class. This article helps to validate beauty shop politics and how often times black beauty shops are a hub for social change. 

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