South Carolina’s long been called “the Black primary,” but HuffPost spoke to residents of Columbia who are approaching the election with views and values as diverse as America itself.
— On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a majority of the Democratic presidential candidates were on the steps of the Statehouse awkwardly stumbling through the words of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black national anthem. Sen. Elizabeth Warren Sen. Amy Klobuchar , Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick sang the words they knew. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen.
On Feb. 29, South Carolina voters head to the polls to vote in the state’s primary election. In presidential races, candidates often look to the Palmetto State as an indicator of how strong their support among Black voters ranks nationally. It’s an important demographic in a key state. But often, Black voters are clumped into one monolithic group by candidates and the media without an accurate representation of the many perspectives within the community.
Bobby Donaldson, a professor of African American history and the director for the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at the University of South Carolina Donning a polo shirt and jeans in a sea of hundreds of folks in suits and ties who he described as “people with money,” he knew he stood out. He also knew that it was important that he was present at this moment, especially after the backlash Benedict had gotten for hosting the president. As Trump spoke, King watched in a “weird” awe.
“I can kind of see how some people feel as if our votes don’t count, but it’s still important that we do vote,” he said. “I understand that my vote is important and that if I don’t vote, I can’t really complain when things aren’t the way that I like it.”Kenneth Stevenson has no doubts that he will be voting for Biden in the primary.
Climate change and health care are his top priorities in this election. A few years ago, Stevenson started Genesis Energy Development, which provides solar energy alternatives for electronic devices. He hopes to work with historically Black colleges across the country to install his charging stations.
Stevenson’s office is located on the campus of Benedict College, and he said he is constantly making sure students are registered to vote. He graduated from South Carolina State University, a historically Black college in Orangeburg, and learned the importance of political activism through an African politics class he took in the 1970s. He is looking forward to hearing about how the candidates plan to support historically Black colleges and universities with more funding.
A Feb. 21 NBC poll found that Sanders now has similar levels of support among Black voters nationally as Biden does.Faith Dupree may only be 22, but she stands firm in her political identity. “I was able to vote because I had my military ID. My voter registration ID did not come until after the election,” she said. It’s a big reason why she leads voter registration drives and town halls on candidates and issues to help students stay politically engaged on campus.
“I believe that I had gotten a second chance in life to actually get right, to be better than when I went in,” Shealy told HuffPost at an interview at Benedict College. “And, while there, I was doing a lot of reading, meditating, self-preservation, all the good things to get me at this point where I’m at now.”
He wanted to vote for Steyer, believing that the California billionaire was the best choice since all of the candidates of color have dropped out. But he still has his reservations about the philanthropist. The statue of George Washington on the steps of the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina. only person in South Carolina who has been paying attention to Steyer. Bryant Carlos has seen him and his campaign“Tom Steyer, I’ve seen him a lot,” the 24-year-old barber said while cutting a customer’s hair inside Stroy’s Barber & Styling Shop in Columbia. “Every time I get on the computer, Tom Steyer. Every time I go to a commercial, Tom Steyer. Like he’s putting himself out there.
“Sometimes Black voters often have to say, who else is everyone else going to vote for?” Todd Shaw, professor of political science and African American studies at University of South Carolina, said of Harris and Booker’s campaigns. “And I think each of those persons, though strong candidates in their own right, weren’t able to get past that bar.”Darrell Goodwin wants you to know that socialism isn’t scary.
The shop was a part of the city’s “Black Wall Street,” a designation for once-thriving Black communities across the country during the early 20th century. Columbia’s Black Wall Street was “right here on Washington Street, where we had just a lot of Black businesses, movie theaters and stuff,” he explained. “So we just kind of kept it going after all the years.
“Just to see him and his partner go throughout the United States together, hand in hand, spreading the same message of basically love and peace and unity and honestly that right there puts him at the forefront for me.”And yet, Buttigieg has Jones’ support in the primary. And it’s not simply because the Columbia native worked for Buttigieg’s campaign as an HBCU campus organizer. It’s because of what the former mayor represents.
Despite the challenges queer folks face in the South, Jones believes voting is the instrument that can help uplift his community. He attributes his passion for voting to his 98-year-old grandmother. “Environmental issues are very important to me because I will still be around when the earth is at its worst and my children will be around as well,” Harrington said. “Issues, definitely pertaining to civil rights, discrimination, things like that are very important to me as well.”
“What I really appreciate is when candidates actually canvass, like go door to door to those communities and actually talk to people,” she added. “Just remind them of dates when they need to vote, remind them and actually have voter registrations.” Alicia Garza, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter, echoes this sentiment. She is using her new nonprofit to cultivate a discussion around who’s left out of national conversations about Black voters.
Since 1981, he’s owned a photography company, which also helps schools and daycares raise money for resources they need. He plans on voting for Steyer in the Democratic primaries. He thinks he has some good ideas about how to help grow the economy, a big priority for him going into the election. But the military veteran believes the billionaire candidate is “too green oriented.”
Young kids of color march to the South Carolina Statehouse from Zion Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina.like him may not agree with addressing the student loan debt crisis with tax dollars, but that isn’t stopping candidates from including it in their platforms. Last year, Warren announced that she would take steps to broadly cancel student loan debt on her first day in office if elected. Sanders’ plan is to cancel all $1.6 trillion of the country’s student loan debt.
“As a college student about to graduate with student loans on the horizon for me, student debt is 100% a major concern.”“I really like her policy regarding student debt,” she said. “Her background as a school teacher is very relevant, and she understands the problems that our education system is facing.”
She was devastated when Harris dropped out of the race. She hadn’t made up her mind yet on who she’d be voting for, but it hurt to see the California senator drop out before Iowa. She had also paid close attention to Booker’s campaign. “It is so critical for Black voters to realize, first of all, their history,” she said. “We are Black every day, we don’t have to wait till February to know our history.”Donna Thompson hasn’t decided who she’s voting for yet, but “it won’t be Trump.”
As for Warren, Thompson appreciates the Massachusetts senator’s willingness to oppose the status quo in Washington. “It seems like she wants to go against the grain of what’s always been in Washington.”
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