Author: Juwan Shabazz

According to several political strategists and activists, women of color are poised to be a particularly powerful voting group in the 2020 Democratic primary. Women of this group have proven to be loyal Democratic voters and have helped deliver key wins in elections within states such as Virginia and Alabama. It is highly expected for issues grounded in race and identity to play a significant role in the primary. Thus, the support from women of color, particularly black women, could be the difference between winning and losing for any of the Democratic candidates who are currently running for the presidential nomination.

However, many candidates appear as if they do not have a specific agenda for winning over these diverse groups, which includes black, Latina, and Native American women. According to the article, this was most recently on display at the “she the People Presidential Forum”, an April 2019 event billed as the first presidential candidate forum to focus exclusively on women of color. While Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris were able to bring policy specifics and proposals to the table on issues like black maternal mortality and criminal justice reform, other candidates faltered when asked to discuss how their plans would benefit women of color in particular.

In my opinion, this would suggest that in the coming months, 2020 candidates will need to work harder to find ways to connect with black and brown women.

Article link: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/2/18525536/women-of-color-voters-2020-outreach-policy-democrats

Recently I read an article from The American Prospect titled “The Road to Ending Mass Incarceration Goes Through the DA’s Office.” Within the piece, the author discusses the current state of America’s prison system and how it disproportionately affects black people as a whole. What stood out to me about this article was how the author described the roles that prosecutors play in contributing to mass incarceration. In particular, the author states that “prosecutors bring charges, propose bail, shape plea deals, and specify penalties with little effective resistance from defense attorneys, grand juries, or judges. The district attorney’s office has become the nerve center of the penal state, the place where the ideals of American justice are translated into the realpolitik of penal control.” This stark realization makes it painfully obvious that the current prison system is initially set up for those to fail, rather than to have a chance to succeed.

In my opinion, Mass incarceration came into existence when America abandoned the War on Poverty and chose to treat social problems and wayward lives as problems for police, prosecutors, and prisons. Unless a radical change can be triggered that would bring about a transformation within America’s urban policy, then I find it very difficult to believe that these rising trends of imprisonment will cease.

Article Link: https://prospect.org/article/road-ending-mass-incarceration-goes-through-das-office

 

Recently I read an article from the Root titled “To be a Black American Muslim Woman Is to be Both an Insider and an Outsider”. In the piece, the author mainly discusses what it is like living as both a black woman and a Muslim in the United states. What stood out to me the most about this article is the idea of never being American enough. In my opinion, America proliferates this notion of superiority when it comes to anything that doesn’t revolve around themselves. This can be seen in religion when someone professes to be anything other than Christian, or even in socio economic cases where minorities are historically disadvantaged.

Given my own personal experiences, and the long-term distain of Islam that America has projected for years, I felt a strong connection to some of the emotions that the author described. One of the strongest feelings I related too was the feeling of tiredness, which was clearly expressed by the author when she said “in short y’all, I can’t win. I can’t break even, and I can’t get outta the game.” I personally feel that the amount of time and energy that is spent rejecting other religions, races, or ways of life are wasted efforts that are entirely due to a lack of knowledge. If more people spent time studying those who they see as “different,” I truly believe that equality could be reached. However, I know that this solution is a long shot and most likely would not happen during my lifetime. Nevertheless, I found the piece to be very interesting, and it can be found through the following link:

https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/to-be-a-black-american-muslim-woman-is-to-be-both-an-in-1832462118