Populism Without The Race Factor Is A Mistake

On Saturday, we concluded our four-day National Action Network (NAN) annual convention in New York City. It was our largest turnout with over 7,000 delegates from all across the country and from diverse backgrounds. It featured such notables as former Attorney General Eric Holder, Spike Lee, Harry Belafonte, Van Jones, Gov. Cuomo and others, as well as video appearances by Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders addressing the delegates. The overriding concern from those gathered at NAN’s conference was that this whole cry that progressives and the left go for economic popular issues in order to get the Trump voter and leave alone identity politics means that blacks and latinos will be taken for granted. It means that politicos will be going for voters that may not support ending racial disparities, or supporting criminal justice reform and police reform. We must fight for economic equality, but let’s be clear: we must also understand that while there are those that have been exploited on Main St. by Wall St., there are also those that have been discriminated on Martin Luther King Blvd. ― sometimes by people in both categories.

Article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/populism-without-the-race-factor-is-a-mistake_us_590769ebe4b03b105b44bab8?section=us_new-york