If Democrats Want to Win in 2020, We Need a Black Woman on the Ticket

If Democrats Want to Win in 2020, We Need a Black Woman on the Ticket

To land in the run-off of Chicago's recent mayoral election, two African-American women jumped ahead of a field of 14 candidates that included a member of the powerful Daley family. This initial outcome, and then the triumph of a gay woman pushing ahead to burst through the ribbon at the finish, should serve as a playbook for 2020.

And while 20 black women were elected to Congress in the midterms, I consider Chicago to be a tougher road because of our record of housing discrimination, segregation, and racial injustice.  So if Lori Lightfoot can win the top spot in this challenging city, her achievement could illuminate the presidential election path.

Fortunately, Kamala Harris has already thrown her hat in the ring, and I'll bet that Stacey Abrams will be pitching hers in, too. And if Oprah, or any other qualified African-American woman who has toppled white male patriarchy and decades of unacknowledged racial history to become a powerhouse, I welcome her.

I have a few reasons why I believe a black woman must be on the 2020 ticket to beat the bully that is our current president:

- In a November 9, 2017, Washington Post column, Eugene Scott noted, "According to exit polls, more than 90 percent of black women voted for Clinton. It continues the trend that few demographic groups are as faithful to the Democratic Party as African American women.... With the support of black women being a key piece of the Democratic Party's Election Day successes, the question now is: Will the Democratic Party show its support for them?"  What better way to return the favor of this allegiance than for the Democratic Party to assure a black woman is on the ticket?

-Sales for Michelle Obama’s “Becoming” make it the highest in memoir purchases. On its first day, it sold 725,000 and within 15 days, 2 million in North America. And stops on her book tour were sold out by the end of announcement day. I don't know the number, but I'm certain that a hefty percentage of those sales and ticket buyers were white women. I'm not suggesting that Mrs. Obama join the Democratic contest; her family has been through enough. But, I do believe the success of her memoir demonstrates openness to African-American women.

-Watch the third episode of “Finding Justice” on the BET network and you'll be enraged by voter suppression in Atlanta, GA and moved by the efforts of those fighting it.  Roadblocks were on every path, but the good people of Georgia never tossed in the towel. Instead, disgusted by the tricks and crimes perpetrated by the followers of the incumbent governor, the activists and voters refused to be discouraged. It's that stamina and passion that we need to rouse the populace who put Barack Obama in office for two terms.

-Because the last presidential race was corrupted by Russian interference, and other

criminal tactics, the vote demands protection. To triumph in 2020, we need the experience of the African-American community in Georgia; their tenacity to get voter rolls corrected, transport people to the polls, demand repairs of equipment, and beat other challenges, plus the investment of all other voters who fight for social justice and against the sickness of Trump and the Republicans,.

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