Progressives will fail if they sideline black voters

When Jesse Jackson ran for president during the 1980s, as when I ran in 2004, there were progressives in America. Those progressives were well-meaning individuals and politicians who believed in what we believed in.

Despite this progressive political presence, our presidential campaigns were necessary because the voices of black, brown and poorer white voters were not heard by the elites in politics and government. There was a great deal of talk back then, but no real action. That same dynamic holds true today.

It’s a supposed fact that the “Democratic base” is riled up and activated by the state of play in America. This assessment ignores the most important segment of that base: the African-American voter. We are not motivated by anyone right now.

While Sen. Bernie Sanders, IVt., did a remarkable job in the

2016 primaries and went further than anyone thought possible, he did so without the African-American vote, losing among blacks by more than 50 percentage points.

While that progressive coalition purported to speak for the African-American voter, it did not talk to African Americans. The “Hillary Clinton base,” while crushing Sanders, attracted fewer black voters to turn out than in recent primaries. And in the general election, with Clinton running against a novice, the black voter turnout rate declined for the first time in 20 years in a presidential election, falling

7 percentage points compared with 2012.

Arguably, that disinterested black vote cost Clinton the presidency.

It would be unfair to claim that leaders like Clinton and Sanders do not care about issues important to people of color. They do. However, it is equally inaccurate to claim that the progressive movement is fueling AfricanAmerican participation or interest in our political process. It is not.

Blacks largely sit on the sidelines while the game of politics is being played around us. In the post- Obama era, there is the sense Democrats feel that people of color — African Americans in particular — have had their chance, and that we should now take a back seat to new leadership. Such sentiment is foolhardy and wrong.

The 21st century version of the rainbow coalition lacks vision and color. Remarkably, blacks still need to fight for a seat at the table and are too often simply stage props for allied elected leaders to make their points.

Consider this: In 2016, when Sanders ran as a Democrat, there was one black chief of staff in the Senate working for a Republican, and none for Sanders or the Democrats.

Perhaps it is time for another African-American presidential campaign to fuel black voter interest. Perhaps it’s time to remind people that progressive politics cannot be advanced without results and a fully vibrant rainbow of colors working to make that difference.

Two things are certain: African Americans will not be taken for granted again, and progressives invite failure yet again if they try.

The Rev. Al Sharpton is president of National Action Network.