The 2018 U.S. Census American Community Survey found that the unemployment rate for black Philadelphians was 13.8% that year, with 29% of black Philadelphians living in poverty, according to last year’s Health of the City report. There are differences between now and when Obama was on the ballot. “Another four years of Trump will set us so far back,” she said. I don’t care how many people of color they have on staff. Turnout for Black voters in Pennsylvania overall fell only slightly, from 65.4% in 2012 to 65.1% in 2016, an analysis by the liberal Center for American Progress found. The bigger difference was that the Republican vote total grew by about 12,000 in Philadelphia, while third-party votes almost tripled, to almost 15,000. Demby described Biden’s selection of Harris as running mate as a “ploy to get Black votes.”. “I tell him, ‘Your vote does count. No matter what our wealth, age, religion, and/or sexual orientation, the need for a fine hair cut is the factor that unites us all. “My skinfolk ain’t all kinfolk,” the late, great black writer Zora Neale Hurston once said. Black leaders in Philadelphia meet with Donald Trump in September. She’s 18 and we just got her registered.”, -Staff writer Sean Walsh and staff photographer Tyger Williams contributed to this article, © 2020 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC Terms of Use/Privacy Policy. There are brothers and sisters in my community who have a seat at the table, but most do not feel politically connected. “You’ve been in office for decades and decades," she said of Biden. “I know he wrote the bill. 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Black voters are political power. Despite her skepticism, she’s committed enough to defeating Trump that she’s making sure she turns out her household. “Children are as important as Wall Street.”. Such was the case last week with Tariq El-Shabazz, the only black candidate running for district attorney. In the upcoming D.A. “They don’t need to be sold on Trump being a horrible president or a threat to democracy," Smith said, "but what they need to be convinced of and to buy into is [Biden’s] platform.”. Earlier this month, it was the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania versus the mayor and district attorney. “[Trump] wants to continue to be president. I must also add that the fall of the city’s first black top prosecutor, Seth Williams, made this an even easier decision. “[Biden] better win. My community faces issues that go much deeper, are far more systemic, and won’t be resolved by elected officials who debate over who loves us the most. Carol Cooper, 73, of West Oak Lane, worries about Trump cutting Social Security and doesn’t like how his policies have treated immigrant children and families. “It’s been horrible.”, She was sitting on a park bench in Lanier Playground around 6 p.m. earlier this month. The United States Senate has had ten African-American elected or appointed office holders. He pointed to members of the city’s building trades — his fellow union members — previously a heavily Democratic group. So they will continue to fight for the Heroes Act. 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Tom Wolf of denying a black Philadelphia girl a scholarship. Before that, it was President Donald Trump accusing Gov. Democrats are hoping to grow their Black support beyond middle-aged and older voters — long the party’s most reliable voting bloc and one that powered Biden’s comeback in the Democratic primary — to help offset Trump’s resilient strength with white voters in rural areas, and in small towns across Northeastern and Southwestern Pennsylvania. coalition including and highlighting African Americans and Latinos, President Donald Trump accusing Gov. “Joe Biden, I don’t know too much about him,” said Demby, a retired state worker who was watching her two dogs at a park. Last week, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Black Thought of The Roots, and 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons headlined a turnout event hosted by the Pennsylvania Democrats. So, after last year’s utter disappointment with the black Democratic political machine in the city, I’ve decided to go rogue. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s 2019 Health of the City report reveals that only 60.6% of all black Philadelphia high school students will graduate on time. By viewing our video content, you are accepting the terms of our. And while his son is eager to vote, McCall is worried other people Rey’s age won’t. He served as Mayor until his death in 1987, A freedman his entire life, Hiram Rhodes Revels was the first African American to serve in the U.S. Congress. While Hillary Clinton’s share of the Black vote fell compared to Obama’s to disastrous effect in big cities like Detroit and Milwaukee, that wasn’t the case in Philadelphia. Tom Wolf. He could be on the cane. The barbershop has even become an obligatory stop for politicians to stump for undecided votes — during any election season, one can expect buttons and placards to be left on seats. A few miles away in the Overbrook Park neighborhood of West Philadelphia, Kim Young was picking up some groceries. “My son’s friends, they’ll tell him, ‘Your vote doesn’t matter,’ ” McCall said earlier this month. The following is a list of African-American Republicans, past and present. Those who are still running need to connect with my community and neighborhoods that are struggling. But she said Trump did a “really bad job” responding to the coronavirus, leaving her uncertain who she’ll back. “Black men are a little more dissatisfied and disinterested in the political process just because of years of systemic discrimination and racism,” said Terrell Smith, the group’s Pennsylvania organizing director. In office from January 7th 2008 - January 4th 2016. Via @shawn_bullard on Instagram. In Philadelphia, home to the largest number of Black voters by far, Clinton’s citywide vote total dropped by less than 4,800 votes, or only 0.8%. She thinks Biden has a better chance at reforming the criminal justice system, and is willing to look past the fact that he wrote a 1994 crime bill that contributed to the growing incarceration of Black men.