US black women rally voters to demand ‘seat at the table’

WASHINGTON. — Democrats face a tough fight to win back the White House next month, and with anti-racism protests raging nationwide, the coronavirus pandemic threatens the voting rights and turnout of their most powerful voting block: Black Americans.

While they are 14 percent of the population, African Americans make up a third of all Covid-19 cases.

In Florida, a recent rise threatens turnout as black people make up 13 percent of eligible voters. The state already ranks second in the nation in income inequality.

But the pandemic, and recession that followed, worsened existing economic and healthcare disparities between white Americans, and Black communities.

With one in 1 000 black Americans having died of the virus, progressives such as Angie Nixon are rallying voters ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Running uncontested, she’s the next state representative for Florida’s 14th congressional district representing Jacksonville and its outer suburbs.

“I think it’s really important that we work on legislation that addresses systemic racism and that is not just BandAids,” she said. “I’m pregnant. Yes, I have a degree. I have a good-paying job and I have healthcare, but I’m still concerned that if I go into the hospital, will I be listened to?”

As cases surged in Jacksonville, Nixon’s canvassing evolved into community wellness checks. Shortly after, she contracted the virus while pregnant before transmitting it to her mother. She said her “most mentally taxing experience” is a wake-up call for Democrats to get aggressive in facing the issues affecting their most loyal voting bloc.

“I don’t want (my daughters) to continue to fight for the same things that my mom and my grandmother had to fight for,” she said. “We’ve been the ones that have been turning out for the longest and we are going to lead this movement,” she said. — The Guardian.