Dems taking Black voters for granted
A recent report revealed that Black Californians are still encountering substantial economic and housing disparities.
The Black Policy Project, an initiative of the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, released a report showing that Black homeownership from 2000 to 2020 in the state decreased by nearly 6% while other racial and ethnic groups did not have the same decrease over that period. The median income for Black households remained mostly the same, though other groups had increased earnings of over $10,000.
While it’s clear the state needs to be doing more to address these inequities, Democrats nationally should be paying attention, too.
As Politico recently reported, Black Californians play an outsized role in which party will control the House after November. Six competitive districts in the state are key to determining that outcome, and while Democratic strategists aren’t worried that Black voters in those districts will vote Republican, they are worried those voters may not turn out at all. It’s a reasonable concern: A December 2022 poll found that Black voters in California are cooling to the Democratic Party.
This all begs the question: Are state Democrats taking their Black voters for granted?
One might argue that one report doesn’t prove Black financial disparities, but that’s the thing: many other receipts show how the state has not done enough to help Black residents. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, for every $1 that white California families earn, Black families earn 58 cents. Meanwhile, the California Budget and Policy Center found that more than half of Black Californians have reported facing difficulty paying for essentials like food and housing. And, as with many Californians, African Americans are experiencing a high cost of living and choosing to leave the state.
There are other factors negatively impacting Black Californians as well. A 2023 report from the California Health Care Foundation found that more than half of Black Californians said there was a time in the past few years that they felt they would have received better health care if they had been another race. Hate crimes targeting Black people in California also remain the most widespread and have increased, according to 2023 state Department of Justice data.
Then, there’s the whole reparations debacle. The California Legislative Black Caucus rolled out 14 reparations bills in January. State Sen. Steven Bradford, a member of the state reparations task force, proposed his own set of more aggressive bills, and the majority of them are not listed by the caucus as part of their priority reparations package. No matter what happens, these bills (none of which currently include direct payments) will undoubtedly face an uphill battle.
There’s a lot for a Black Californian to be disappointed by. This has happened while Democrats have held a majority in the state Legislature for most of the past five decades.
A similar disillusionment with the Democratic party is playing out nationally. A New York Times–Siena poll this month revealed that a staggering 23% of Black voters nationally would support Donald Trump for president. For comparison, Trump received 8% of the Black vote in 2016.
Black Americans are unlikely to fare better under a second Trump term.
After all, this man was sued by the Department of Justice for allegedly refusing to rent apartments to Black tenants. In more recent times, he’s leaned on stereotypes; he’s suggested that his mugshot and accusations of criminality have won him Black support. He’s also compared the systemic racism Black people have faced to the legal troubles he’s encountered for trying to game the system.
Yet, I can understand the frustration of Black people voting for change and seeing things stay the same. And it’s a shame, considering how much work Black organizers have done to help Democrats win elections.
Democrats need to continue to look for ways to improve the lives of Black people across the country. In California, one potential win for Democrats would be repealing Article 34 in the state’s Constitution. Often referred to as a racist relic of the state’s past, the rule requires cities to obtain voter approval before building “low-rent housing” financed with public dollars. According to the California Constitution Center at the UC Berkeley School of Law, no other state constitution requires similar voter approval for public housing. It will be on the ballot in November, but Democrats will have to raise millions to fund a campaign for its passage.
Having identified the shortcomings of Democrats in the state, it is important to remember that polls still show that Black support for Trump remains relatively low. The Black electorate is not a monolith and, generally, people vote based on complex factors like culture, values, experiences and individual perspectives. Additionally, Democrats have made so much more effort than Republicans to address issues that impact Black people such as inequality, systemic racism and social justice.
Nevertheless, it may be wise for Democrats to consider what message they are sending by allowing the California Black community to experience different outcomes than other groups.