democracynow--2020-11-24--As Hunger Soars Across Nation, U.S. Trade & Foreign Policy Is Also Causing Hunger Across the Globe

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González , as we look now at the growing number of people in the United States who do not have enough food to eat .
Thousands upon thousands are standing in lines in food pantries and parked in hours-long , miles-long lines of cars at food banks across the country .
A recent poll found four in 10 Americans say they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time during the COVID-19 pandemic .
Here in New York , some food banks had to turn away families amidst unprecedented demand .
This is Harlem resident Ruth Crawford in line at a food bank that handed out 500 turkeys to residents , including herself .
AMY GOODMAN : The hunger relief group Feeding America warns some 54 million U.S. residents currently face food insecurity amidst a massive public health and economic crisis .
Two recent surveys found almost 10 % of parents with children under the age of 5 can not afford @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say they ’ ve struggled even more after the expiration of federal assistance programs in the CARES Act .
And Senate Republicans and the White House have refused to advance multiple relief measures passed by the Democrat-controlled House .
This is Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaking Friday on the House floor after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sent the Senate home for Thanksgiving without finalizing a coronavirus relief bill .
AMY GOODMAN : This comes as the United Nations World Food Programme predicts acute hunger could affect 270 million people worldwide by the end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since the start of the pandemic — amidst the economic fallout from pandemic-related layoffs and less money being sent home by relatives working in wealthier countries , like the United States .
For more , we ’ re joined by Raj Patel , award-winning author , filmmaker , co-host of the food politics podcast The Secret Ingredient .
His books include Stuffed and Starved : The Hidden Battle for the World ’ s Food System .
He teaches at the University of Texas , Austin , is currently completing a documentary project about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s great to have you back again .
I was looking at the food lines across the country , pictures of food lines near — not so far from you .
In Arlington , Texas , there was a car food line that went on for miles .
Four in 10 people in this country who are on these food lines say they ’ ve never been on a food line before .
Talk about what this country is facing , and then talk about the world .
RAJ PATEL : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Juan .
It ’ s great to be back .
I think it ’ s important — as we think about the horror and the indignity that those clips and what we ’ re seeing represent , it ’ s important to remember the context that happened before COVID .
Before COVID , hunger rates , food insecurity rates in the United States — and when we say “ food insecurity , ” what we ’ re talking about is that worry , that experience , that deep concern , the depression , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not going to have enough food to be able to put on the table for everyone , and so maybe you skip a meal .
That food insecurity was bad enough in the United States .
It ’ s been hovering around 13 % of households for the past couple of decades .
During the Great Recession , it surged to 16 % , you know , by 50 million Americans , behind that recession .
And then it gradually sort of fell away to around about 10 % last year ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ food insecurity — which isn ’ t great .
Already , that shows the kinds of systemic betrayal that counts as business as usual in the United States .
But what COVID has done is , effectively , target — and we always talk about COVID as being the great unveiling of the inequalities in America .
But the inequalities really strike deep in the food system because seven out of the 10 worst-paying jobs in America are jobs in the food system .
And when we have the recession accompanying COVID really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ food service jobs , the people in the frontlines , who are described as essential workers , are also the people who are more likely to be exposed to COVID and also more likely to be in precarious and low-wage work .
And so , what we ’ re seeing , certainly here in Texas , where we are seeing these apocalyptic lines , you know , when I volunteer at the food bank , I mean , it ’ s desperation , is what you see .
And the long story here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the American working class .
But when you hear about 40 % of American households experiencing food insecurity of some kind , that ’ s a new record , and it ’ s a very dark one to be breaking .
And as you say , you know , this is particularly targeting — it deeply affects households where there are children , low-income households — 50 % of low-income households with children have experienced some sort of decline in income , and we ’ re seeing particularly low-income households of people of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ JUAN GONZÁLEZ : I wanted to ask you : Why is it , as you mentioned , that so many of our lowest-paying jobs are in the food industry , from those who pick our crops to those who butcher and pack the meats that the public eats , to those who serve the food ?
Why have we gotten to this situation ?
RAJ PATEL : Well , Juan , in a word , the answer is colonialism .
This settler colony that we find ourselves in , the United States , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agricultural colonialism , that involved first the enslavement and occupation and genocide of Indigenous people and then the enslavement of people from Africa .
And the long history of the United States is about a long history of the rebellion of people who have been enslaved and whose lands have been colonized .
But what we see throughout early and more recent U.S. history is that workers in the food system are disenfranchised — you know , prevented from unionizing , for example — in ways that are deep and systemic .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ example , at who the farmers in the United States are , the breakdown is that well over 90 % of the farmers and farm supervisors are white .
And there ’ s a cadence of the way that work in the food system , which was often done by people of color , Black people , enslaved people , and also now is done disproportionately by women — all of those figure in the long history of the way in which the United States has militated against workers in those professions from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And I wanted to ask you — as we ’ re moving from the Trump administration into the incoming Biden administration , there is discussion that one of the leading contenders for the secretary of Department of Agriculture , which executes food and foreign policy in this country , could be Heidi Heitkamp .
I ’ m wondering your concerns about that possible nomination .
RAJ PATEL : Well , as you were saying at the top of the hour , when you were listing Biden ’ s current appointees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible glimmers of hope , if you ’ re feeling particularly optimistic .
But in general , this is a continuation of the neoliberal run of the Obama era .
And of Heidi Heitkamp , I think the most astute analysis comes from my colleague Navina Khanna , who is the co-founder and director of the HEAL Food Alliance .
And Navina says of Heidi Heitkamp , she ’ s so far right , she was on Trump ’ s list .
And , you know , I mean , within the Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a discussion around whether to lean back into the era in which Tom Vilsack was secretary of agriculture , and essentially sort continue the long betrayal of farmers that the Democrats have been involved in really since before NAFTA , or whether to try a different candidate .
And the American Federation of Teachers and the Food and Commercial Workers union , for example , came out recently in support of Marcia Fudge , the congresswoman from Ohio ’ s 11th District , who offers a very different kind of opportunity for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isn ’ t about cleaving to the agribusiness monopolies that have bankrolled and supported the USDA for a while , but rather to understand that we need a transformation both in the way food is grown and to support the eating of food .
I mean , most of the USDA budget goes to things like SNAP , the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program .
So , I think that there is a fight in the Democratic Party at the moment .
Heidi Heitkamp , were she to become secretary of agriculture , would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in which Biden and the Biden administration was really sticking to neoliberal business as usual .
AMY GOODMAN : Raj , one of the issues you ’ ve raised is who gets the vaccine .
We ’ ve been having a lot of these discussions , who gets access to these vaccines that are being developed in the world .
And you ’ ve made the point that essential workers , not just nurses , doctors , hospital staff , but , for example , food workers and pickers in California , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ access .
RAJ PATEL : And I agree with me , absolutely .
The workers on the frontline are precisely the workers who are at the frontlines of the food system .
But I do want to make a point about how this is an international crisis , and one that — where the hunger in the United States is bad , the hunger outside the United States is worse .
And the hunger outside the United States is because of U.S. policy , of U.S. trade policy , of U.S. policy around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the World Trade Organization .
Now , if we are to have anything approaching a just recovery , then let ’ s link these issues and understand that the reason that frontline workers in the United States are often people of color and there ’ s a long history of undocumented workers being part of the U.S. food system is because of U.S. trade policy .
And if we are to move out of the COVID era with anything approaching justice , then not only must frontline workers in the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is safe , but also the U.S. needs to stop making the rest of the world hungry through its food policy .
And that ’ s in addition , of course , to recognizing the U.S. needs to be lifting the kinds of restrictions it fought for at that World Trade Organization around intellectual property rights , so that countries can become powerful enough to be able to not only know the contents of the vaccine , but also the production and processes required to be able to make it effectively and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point here is to recognize that the U.S. is not an island , that the world suffers not alongside the United States , but because of it , and that if we are interested in moving out of the COVID era , then understanding the frontline workers , whether in meatpacking plants in the United States or sending remittances home elsewhere in the Global South to other countries in the Global South , are all affected by U.S. policy , and that policy must change .
AMY GOODMAN : Raj , we want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but we ’ re going to be going back to you soon to have this discussion as this problem only worsens in the United States and around the world .
Raj Patel , award-winning author , co-host of the food politics podcast The Secret Ingredient , among his books , Stuffed and Starved : The Hidden Battle for the World ’ s Food System .
And we ’ re going to stay on the world ’ s food system .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González, as we look now at the growing number of people in the United States who do not have enough food to eat. Thousands upon thousands are standing in lines in food pantries and parked in hours-long, miles-long lines of cars at food banks across the country. A recent poll found four in 10 Americans say they’ve experienced food insecurity for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here in New York, some food banks had to turn away families amidst unprecedented demand. This is Harlem resident Ruth Crawford in line at a food bank that handed out 500 turkeys to residents, including herself.
RUTH CRAWFORD: You have to try to relax and think of the better things, because it wasn’t always like this. But this is getting to people, and it’s just sad. I mean, you work all the time, and then you can’t go to work, or you can’t work from home. So it’s not easy.
AMY GOODMAN: The hunger relief group Feeding America warns some 54 million U.S. residents currently face food insecurity amidst a massive public health and economic crisis. Two recent surveys found almost 10% of parents with children under the age of 5 cannot afford enough food for their kids. Many say they’ve struggled even more after the expiration of federal assistance programs in the CARES Act. And Senate Republicans and the White House have refused to advance multiple relief measures passed by the Democrat-controlled House. This is Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaking Friday on the House floor after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sent the Senate home for Thanksgiving without finalizing a coronavirus relief bill.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: Our country is going hungry on the week before Thanksgiving, and the Senate broke. I don’t care what party you are. It is an abandonment of our responsibilities as elected officials who are charged with acting in the public trust.
AMY GOODMAN: This comes as the United Nations World Food Programme predicts acute hunger could affect 270 million people worldwide by the end of 2020 — an 82% increase since the start of the pandemic — amidst the economic fallout from pandemic-related layoffs and less money being sent home by relatives working in wealthier countries, like the United States.
For more, we’re joined by Raj Patel, award-winning author, filmmaker, co-host of the food politics podcast The Secret Ingredient. His books include Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World’s Food System. He teaches at the University of Texas, Austin, is currently completing a documentary project about the global food system.
Raj, it’s great to have you back again. I was looking at the food lines across the country, pictures of food lines near — not so far from you. In Arlington, Texas, there was a car food line that went on for miles. Four in 10 people in this country who are on these food lines say they’ve never been on a food line before. Talk about what this country is facing, and then talk about the world.
RAJ PATEL: Well, thank you, Amy and Juan. It’s great to be back.
I think it’s important — as we think about the horror and the indignity that those clips and what we’re seeing represent, it’s important to remember the context that happened before COVID. Before COVID, hunger rates, food insecurity rates in the United States — and when we say “food insecurity,” what we’re talking about is that worry, that experience, that deep concern, the depression, that comes with knowing that your household is not going to have enough food to be able to put on the table for everyone, and so maybe you skip a meal. That food insecurity was bad enough in the United States. It’s been hovering around 13% of households for the past couple of decades. During the Great Recession, it surged to 16%, you know, by 50 million Americans, behind that recession. And then it gradually sort of fell away to around about 10% last year; about 35 million Americans were struggling with food insecurity — which isn’t great. Already, that shows the kinds of systemic betrayal that counts as business as usual in the United States.
But what COVID has done is, effectively, target — and we always talk about COVID as being the great unveiling of the inequalities in America. But the inequalities really strike deep in the food system because seven out of the 10 worst-paying jobs in America are jobs in the food system. And when we have the recession accompanying COVID really striking at the food system and the food service jobs, the people in the frontlines, who are described as essential workers, are also the people who are more likely to be exposed to COVID and also more likely to be in precarious and low-wage work.
And so, what we’re seeing, certainly here in Texas, where we are seeing these apocalyptic lines, you know, when I volunteer at the food bank, I mean, it’s desperation, is what you see. And the long story here is the continuing kind of war on the American working class. But when you hear about 40% of American households experiencing food insecurity of some kind, that’s a new record, and it’s a very dark one to be breaking. And as you say, you know, this is particularly targeting — it deeply affects households where there are children, low-income households — 50% of low-income households with children have experienced some sort of decline in income, and we’re seeing particularly low-income households of people of color struggling with hunger. And —
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Raj —
RAJ PATEL: Sorry.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I wanted to ask you: Why is it, as you mentioned, that so many of our lowest-paying jobs are in the food industry, from those who pick our crops to those who butcher and pack the meats that the public eats, to those who serve the food? Why have we gotten to this situation?
RAJ PATEL: Well, Juan, in a word, the answer is colonialism. This settler colony that we find ourselves in, the United States, was founded on a certain kind of agricultural colonialism, that involved first the enslavement and occupation and genocide of Indigenous people and then the enslavement of people from Africa. And the long history of the United States is about a long history of the rebellion of people who have been enslaved and whose lands have been colonized.
But what we see throughout early and more recent U.S. history is that workers in the food system are disenfranchised — you know, prevented from unionizing, for example — in ways that are deep and systemic. And so, if you look, for example, at who the farmers in the United States are, the breakdown is that well over 90% of the farmers and farm supervisors are white. And there’s a cadence of the way that work in the food system, which was often done by people of color, Black people, enslaved people, and also now is done disproportionately by women — all of those figure in the long history of the way in which the United States has militated against workers in those professions from organizing and from asserting their power.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And I wanted to ask you — as we’re moving from the Trump administration into the incoming Biden administration, there is discussion that one of the leading contenders for the secretary of Department of Agriculture, which executes food and foreign policy in this country, could be Heidi Heitkamp. I’m wondering your concerns about that possible nomination.
RAJ PATEL: Well, as you were saying at the top of the hour, when you were listing Biden’s current appointees, there’s a couple of possible glimmers of hope, if you’re feeling particularly optimistic. But in general, this is a continuation of the neoliberal run of the Obama era.
And of Heidi Heitkamp, I think the most astute analysis comes from my colleague Navina Khanna, who is the co-founder and director of the HEAL Food Alliance. And Navina says of Heidi Heitkamp, she’s so far right, she was on Trump’s list.
And, you know, I mean, within the Democratic Party at the moment, there’s a discussion around whether to lean back into the era in which Tom Vilsack was secretary of agriculture, and essentially sort continue the long betrayal of farmers that the Democrats have been involved in really since before NAFTA, or whether to try a different candidate. And the American Federation of Teachers and the Food and Commercial Workers union, for example, came out recently in support of Marcia Fudge, the congresswoman from Ohio’s 11th District, who offers a very different kind of opportunity for the United States Department of Agriculture that isn’t about cleaving to the agribusiness monopolies that have bankrolled and supported the USDA for a while, but rather to understand that we need a transformation both in the way food is grown and to support the eating of food. I mean, most of the USDA budget goes to things like SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
So, I think that there is a fight in the Democratic Party at the moment. Heidi Heitkamp, were she to become secretary of agriculture, would signal, I think, the way in which Biden and the Biden administration was really sticking to neoliberal business as usual.
AMY GOODMAN: Raj, one of the issues you’ve raised is who gets the vaccine. We’ve been having a lot of these discussions, who gets access to these vaccines that are being developed in the world. And you’ve made the point that essential workers, not just nurses, doctors, hospital staff, but, for example, food workers and pickers in California, they, too, should have the first access.
RAJ PATEL: And I agree with me, absolutely. The workers on the frontline are precisely the workers who are at the frontlines of the food system.
But I do want to make a point about how this is an international crisis, and one that — where the hunger in the United States is bad, the hunger outside the United States is worse. And the hunger outside the United States is because of U.S. policy, of U.S. trade policy, of U.S. policy around intellectual property rights, for example, at the World Trade Organization.
Now, if we are to have anything approaching a just recovery, then let’s link these issues and understand that the reason that frontline workers in the United States are often people of color and there’s a long history of undocumented workers being part of the U.S. food system is because of U.S. trade policy. And if we are to move out of the COVID era with anything approaching justice, then not only must frontline workers in the United States be vaccinated, if and only if it is safe, but also the U.S. needs to stop making the rest of the world hungry through its food policy. And that’s in addition, of course, to recognizing the U.S. needs to be lifting the kinds of restrictions it fought for at that World Trade Organization around intellectual property rights, so that countries can become powerful enough to be able to not only know the contents of the vaccine, but also the production and processes required to be able to make it effectively and safely.
But I think the important point here is to recognize that the U.S. is not an island, that the world suffers not alongside the United States, but because of it, and that if we are interested in moving out of the COVID era, then understanding the frontline workers, whether in meatpacking plants in the United States or sending remittances home elsewhere in the Global South to other countries in the Global South, are all affected by U.S. policy, and that policy must change.
AMY GOODMAN: Raj, we want to thank you for being with us, but we’re going to be going back to you soon to have this discussion as this problem only worsens in the United States and around the world. Raj Patel, award-winning author, co-host of the food politics podcast The Secret Ingredient, among his books, Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World’s Food System. And we’re going to stay on the world’s food system.


democracynow--2020-11-24--Juan González Remembers NYC's Only Black Mayor David Dinkins & Vieques Activist Carlos "Taso" Zenón

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : And former New York City Mayor David Dinkins has died at the age of 93 .
Dinkins was elected New York ’ s 106th mayor in 1989 , defeating Republican challenger Rudy Giuliani to become the only African American ever to hold the position .
During his four years in office , Dinkins expanded the size of New York ’ s police force to record levels .
He also backed the movement against apartheid in South Africa , ordering the city to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ business there .
And those are some of the headlines .
This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman in New York , joined by my co-host Juan González in New Brunswick , New Jersey .
In New Jersey , as in so many other places around the country , COVID is exponentially spreading .
Hi , Juan .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Hi , Amy .
And welcome to all of our listeners and viewers across the country and around the world .
AMY @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on with our first story , I just wanted to get comment from you on the last two obits we brought people in the headlines .
I want to start with Mayor David Dinkins , a Howard graduate who became the first and only African American mayor of New York .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Yes , Amy .
Well , as you know , I knew David Dinkins pretty well over the years , covered him during — before his administration and then afterward , as well .
He was — what you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ practiced an old style of politics in New York City , the politics of civility , which is rare in many political leaders .
He was , of course , the first African American mayor , in the ’ 80s , where all the big cities of America suddenly had African American mayors — Tom Bradley in Los Angeles , Harold Washington in Chicago , Wilson Goode in Philadelphia .
And Dinkins was the last of this group to come to office .
He only served one term .
Most people forget that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ socialism was in vogue .
He was a member of Democratic Socialists of America .
And he had a liberal brand of politics .
But what a lot of people don ’ t realize also about David Dinkins is that he was a reluctant mayor .
He never really wanted to be mayor of New York City , but he was thrust into that position by the Rainbow Coalition movement of the day .
Jesse Jackson in 1988 had really won New York City through his Rainbow Coalition in his second quest for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that sort of propelled Dinkins into office .
I ’ ll never forget New Year ’ s Day of 1989 .
I flew to Puerto Rico to cover the inauguration of a new governor in Puerto Rico , and Dinkins and several other politicians were on the plane , the same plane , that day .
He was the Manhattan borough president at the time .
And at one point he comes up to me in the back of the plane — because he was up there in first class , I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sits next to me , and he says , “ Well , you know , they want me to run for mayor , and I ’ m not sure if I ’ d want to do this , because I ’ d have to give up my seat as Manhattan borough president .
And this is the job I always wanted , Manhattan borough president.
” And he says to me , “ What do you think I should do ?
” And I said , “ Well , Mr. Dinkins , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I ’ m not involved in politics .
But one thing I ’ ve learned is , if you ’ re going to accomplish any great thing in life , you have to be willing to sacrifice a lot .
And so , that ’ s the only advice I can give you.
” And about three weeks later , he decided he was going to throw his hat in , and he won .
But he only served one term .
And I think the problem with David Dinkins is — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I think the most — you mentioned the battle against apartheid , but people forget he brought Nelson Mandela to New York City right after Mandela had been freed , gave him a ticker-tape parade and really associated New York with supporting the battle to end minority rule in South Africa .
But he was felled , in large part , by the Crown Heights riot , by the surge in crime and the crack cocaine epidemic , and by the refusal of the police department really to work for him .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And as a result , he only served one term , with Rudy Giuliani coming in as mayor .
And , of course , we all know who Rudy Giuliani is now .
But back then , a lot of people considered Giuliani almost a mythic figure in big-city politics .
And we ’ ve now seen , toward the end of Giuliani ’ s career , what he ’ s really like .
So , David Dinkins is a refreshing — was a refreshing figure in New York City politics .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ against apartheid , he took on the nation ’ s banks in fighting to have the city divest of its like half a billion dollars ’ worth of pension fund stock invested in companies that did business in South Africa , and passed a bill that allowed the city to rate banks on their opposition to apartheid .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Yes , yes .
And New York ’ s decision to divest was a big blow and , really , I think , really propelled the divestment movement and really forced corporate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turn more and more against the South African government .
AMY GOODMAN : And finally , another obit today .
In Puerto Rico , the beloved social leader Carlos “ Taso ” Zenón died at the age of 84 last Friday , the longtime activist , who , among many other actions , fought against the U.S. Navy ’ s occupation and constant bombing of the island of Vieques .
The significance of Zenón , Juan ?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Yes .
Well , Zenón was another major figure , certainly in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Puerto Rico , but in the United States .
I met him for the first time in 1979 in Philadelphia because , it turns out , many of the Viequense fishermen who had been dislocated from their lands ended up migrating to the United States primarily in Philadelphia , so there was a large community of Puerto Ricans from Vieques in the Philadelphia-Camden area .
And Zenón would go back there often to raise funds and support for the efforts of the fishermen to block the Navy blockades .
They actually interrupted over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boats repeatedly from 1978 through 1983 .
And this was way before Vieques was known as an international symbol of a battle against colonialism .
And so , Zenón really was a mythic figure .
And later on , years later , his sons and other members of his family would continue the fight , which eventually ended in forcing the U.S. Navy out of Vieques in the early 2000s .
So , this was a battle that went on for 25 , 30 years , and Zenón was a person who touched @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
AMY GOODMAN : And for people who aren ’ t familiar with what the military did for decades , they bombed Vieques with napalm , with depleted uranium and many other toxic explosives .
Well , Juan , thanks so much for explaining the significance of both losses today , as we remember not only Zenón , but the first African American mayor of New York , David Dinkins .
When we come back , with some 54 million Americans going hungry , the food lines — people in lines , cars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across this country .
Stay with us AMY GOODMAN : “ Can I Kick It ” by A Tribe Called Quest .
The song includes a famous shoutout to vote for David Dinkins , who died last night at his home in New York about a month after his wife , Joyce Dinkins , died .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: And former New York City Mayor David Dinkins has died at the age of 93. Dinkins was elected New York’s 106th mayor in 1989, defeating Republican challenger Rudy Giuliani to become the only African American ever to hold the position. During his four years in office, Dinkins expanded the size of New York’s police force to record levels. He also backed the movement against apartheid in South Africa, ordering the city to divest its pension fund from companies doing business there.
And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman in New York, joined by my co-host Juan González in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In New Jersey, as in so many other places around the country, COVID is exponentially spreading. Hi, Juan.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Hi, Amy. And welcome to all of our listeners and viewers across the country and around the world.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, before we move on with our first story, I just wanted to get comment from you on the last two obits we brought people in the headlines. I want to start with Mayor David Dinkins, a Howard graduate who became the first and only African American mayor of New York.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yes, Amy. Well, as you know, I knew David Dinkins pretty well over the years, covered him during — before his administration and then afterward, as well. He was — what you could say about David Dinkins is he practiced an old style of politics in New York City, the politics of civility, which is rare in many political leaders. He was, of course, the first African American mayor, in the ’80s, where all the big cities of America suddenly had African American mayors — Tom Bradley in Los Angeles, Harold Washington in Chicago, Wilson Goode in Philadelphia. And Dinkins was the last of this group to come to office. He only served one term.
Most people forget that he was a Democratic Socialist before democratic socialism was in vogue. He was a member of Democratic Socialists of America. And he had a liberal brand of politics. But what a lot of people don’t realize also about David Dinkins is that he was a reluctant mayor. He never really wanted to be mayor of New York City, but he was thrust into that position by the Rainbow Coalition movement of the day. Jesse Jackson in 1988 had really won New York City through his Rainbow Coalition in his second quest for president, and it was that coalition that sort of propelled Dinkins into office.
I’ll never forget New Year’s Day of 1989. I flew to Puerto Rico to cover the inauguration of a new governor in Puerto Rico, and Dinkins and several other politicians were on the plane, the same plane, that day. He was the Manhattan borough president at the time. And at one point he comes up to me in the back of the plane — because he was up there in first class, I’m down in coach — and he sits next to me, and he says, “Well, you know, they want me to run for mayor, and I’m not sure if I’d want to do this, because I’d have to give up my seat as Manhattan borough president. And this is the job I always wanted, Manhattan borough president.” And he says to me, “What do you think I should do?” And I said, “Well, Mr. Dinkins, you know, I’m a journalist. I’m not involved in politics. But one thing I’ve learned is, if you’re going to accomplish any great thing in life, you have to be willing to sacrifice a lot. And so, that’s the only advice I can give you.” And about three weeks later, he decided he was going to throw his hat in, and he won.
But he only served one term. And I think the problem with David Dinkins is — he did a lot of good, and I think the most — you mentioned the battle against apartheid, but people forget he brought Nelson Mandela to New York City right after Mandela had been freed, gave him a ticker-tape parade and really associated New York with supporting the battle to end minority rule in South Africa.
But he was felled, in large part, by the Crown Heights riot, by the surge in crime and the crack cocaine epidemic, and by the refusal of the police department really to work for him. They did everything possible to undermine him. And as a result, he only served one term, with Rudy Giuliani coming in as mayor. And, of course, we all know who Rudy Giuliani is now. But back then, a lot of people considered Giuliani almost a mythic figure in big-city politics. And we’ve now seen, toward the end of Giuliani’s career, what he’s really like. So, David Dinkins is a refreshing — was a refreshing figure in New York City politics.
AMY GOODMAN: And in that battle against apartheid, he took on the nation’s banks in fighting to have the city divest of its like half a billion dollars’ worth of pension fund stock invested in companies that did business in South Africa, and passed a bill that allowed the city to rate banks on their opposition to apartheid.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yes, yes. And New York’s decision to divest was a big blow and, really, I think, really propelled the divestment movement and really forced corporate America, in large extent, to turn more and more against the South African government.
AMY GOODMAN: And finally, another obit today. In Puerto Rico, the beloved social leader Carlos “Taso” Zenón died at the age of 84 last Friday, the longtime activist, who, among many other actions, fought against the U.S. Navy’s occupation and constant bombing of the island of Vieques. The significance of Zenón, Juan?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yes. Well, Zenón was another major figure, certainly in the Puerto Rican community, not only in Puerto Rico, but in the United States. I met him for the first time in 1979 in Philadelphia because, it turns out, many of the Viequense fishermen who had been dislocated from their lands ended up migrating to the United States primarily in Philadelphia, so there was a large community of Puerto Ricans from Vieques in the Philadelphia-Camden area. And Zenón would go back there often to raise funds and support for the efforts of the fishermen to block the Navy blockades.
They actually interrupted over 30, 35 naval exercises with their boats repeatedly from 1978 through 1983. And this was way before Vieques was known as an international symbol of a battle against colonialism. And so, Zenón really was a mythic figure. And later on, years later, his sons and other members of his family would continue the fight, which eventually ended in forcing the U.S. Navy out of Vieques in the early 2000s. So, this was a battle that went on for 25, 30 years, and Zenón was a person who touched it off back in the late 1970s.
AMY GOODMAN: And for people who aren’t familiar with what the military did for decades, they bombed Vieques with napalm, with depleted uranium and many other toxic explosives. Well, Juan, thanks so much for explaining the significance of both losses today, as we remember not only Zenón, but the first African American mayor of New York, David Dinkins.
When we come back, with some 54 million Americans going hungry, the food lines — people in lines, cars in lines for miles — are seen across this country. Stay with us
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “Can I Kick It” by A Tribe Called Quest. The song includes a famous shoutout to vote for David Dinkins, who died last night at his home in New York about a month after his wife, Joyce Dinkins, died.


democracynow--2020-11-24--Headlines for November 24, 2020

Headlines for November 24, 2020

President-elect Biden ’ s Cabinet is beginning to take more shape .
Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is expected to be nominated as treasury secretary .
She would become the first woman to hold the post , as will Avril Haines , Biden ’ s pick to be director of national intelligence .
Haines is a former deputy director of the CIA who played a key role in Obama ’ s drone wars .
Haines has also been criticized for her role absolving the CIA officers who hacked into Senate Intelligence Committee computers in an attempt to thwart and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Biden has named Alejandro Mayorkas , a Cuban immigrant , to head the Department of Homeland Security .
He will become the first Latino and first immigrant to hold the post .
While working in the Obama administration , Mayorkas helped develop and implement the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program .
Biden has also named former Secretary of State John Kerry to be his special envoy on climate — a newly formed position .
Kerry , who helped negotiate the Paris climate accord , will sit on the National Security Council @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from progressives not to select former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to a Cabinet post .
On Monday , New York Democratic Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted , “ Rahm Emanuel helped cover up the murder of Laquan McDonald .
Covering up a murder is disqualifying for public leadership .
… It is shameful and concerning that he is even being considered .
”

President-elect Biden’s Cabinet is beginning to take more shape. Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is expected to be nominated as treasury secretary. She would become the first woman to hold the post, as will Avril Haines, Biden’s pick to be director of national intelligence. Haines is a former deputy director of the CIA who played a key role in Obama’s drone wars. Haines has also been criticized for her role absolving the CIA officers who hacked into Senate Intelligence Committee computers in an attempt to thwart and undermine the Senate’s torture probe.
Biden has named Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban immigrant, to head the Department of Homeland Security. He will become the first Latino and first immigrant to hold the post. While working in the Obama administration, Mayorkas helped develop and implement the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Biden has also named former Secretary of State John Kerry to be his special envoy on climate — a newly formed position. Kerry, who helped negotiate the Paris climate accord, will sit on the National Security Council.
Meanwhile, Biden is facing pressure from progressives not to select former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to a Cabinet post. On Monday, New York Democratic Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “Rahm Emanuel helped cover up the murder of Laquan McDonald. Covering up a murder is disqualifying for public leadership. … It is shameful and concerning that he is even being considered.”


democracynow--2020-11-26--Bree Newsome & Prof. Eddie Glaude: The Black Lives Matter Movement Helped the Democrats Defeat Trump

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
We end this holiday special looking at the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris , who will become the first woman vice president , as well as the first African American , Indian American , Caribbean American and Asian American elected to the office .
Two days after the election was called for Biden and Harris , I spoke to two guests : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University ’ s Department of African American Studies and author of Begin Again : James Baldwin ’ s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own , and also , from North Carolina , I talked to Bree Newsome Bass , an artist and antiracist and housing rights activist .
She made national headlines in 2015 when she scaled the 30-foot flagpole at the South carolina state Capitol to remove the Confederate flag shortly after the massacre of eight African American parishioners and their pastor by a white supremacist at the Emanuel AME @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When police ordered her down , she responded by saying : AMY GOODMAN : “ You come against me with hatred and oppression and violence .
I come against you in the name of God .
This flag comes down today !
” she said .
I began by asking Bree Newsome Bass about her reaction to the election results .
You know , of course , we just had the election of the first woman vice president , Black vice president , a woman of South Asian descent , a descendent of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , on one hand , you have what kind of like represents again this concept of multiracial democracy .
On the other hand , you have — or on the other side , you have a blatant white nationalist movement .
And then , somewhere there in the middle is this constant conversation around unifying the nation and trying to , like , heal that divide , which I frankly think is an ideological divide that can not be unified .
I think that part of the reason why this tension is ongoing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things can not coexist .
And so , even while you have , on one side , the extension of the hand and this language around healing the nation and reaching across the aisle and unifying , the other side has still not even conceded the race .
The other side is refusing to acknowledge the election results .
And I think , again , we can not gloss over the racial aspect of this whole situation .
So , we ’ re talking about a situation where the Democratic leadership is making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we need to reach across the aisle , we need to engage in bipartisanship with the party that is not acknowledging the election results ; the party that just tried to prevent us from having a free and fair election ; the party that engaged in rampant voter suppression , disenfranchisement and intimidation , and particularly in communities of color ; the party that , you know , is completely opposed to the idea of our existence ; the party that is essentially advocating a form of genocide through medical neglect , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And so , we can ’ t just gloss over when people are saying that the path forward is to build with Republicans and at the same time to essentially demonize , make a boogeyman of Black activism and Black causes .
It is the organizers , the same exact people who have been organizing Black communities around issues that impact us , that mobilized those voters for the Biden-Harris win .
You know , I ’ ve also seen people making reference to progressives as being the ones who are being divisive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ truce within the Democratic Party .
And it ’ s quite the opposite .
You had a situation where you have a significant segment of people who either traditionally vote Democrat , a lot of people who are completely disengaged from the electoral process completely because they feel that regardless of who is in power , their needs are not met ; regardless of who is in power , the police continue to kill us ; regardless of who is in power , we do not have access to proper healthcare , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So , you had a lot of organizers who had to do a lot of heavy lifting to convince folks that it was worthwhile simply to get Trump out , to mobilize behind Biden and Harris .
And that ’ s why you got Georgia turning out as it did .
That ’ s why you got Arizona turning out as it did .
So , in my view , for anyone to look at the election results and for the takeaway to be we need to figure out how to appeal to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the deeply red districts , as opposed to recognizing that there ’ s an entire electorate that is younger , that represents where the electorate is going — it ’ s younger , it ’ s more diverse , it can win you states in the South — this is the argument that Stacey Abrams has been making for quite some time — instead of looking at things and saying , “ How can we invest more in Black and Indigenous and people of color organizing ?
How can we really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mean , politically , that makes a lot more sense than saying , “ How do we tap into the electorate that lost the presidential election , the electorate that is shrinking , and then , morally , the electorate that opposes democracy ?
” because they are more committed to racism than they are to the idea of a democracy that allows everyone to participate .
So , you know , again , I just think that we can not — we can not gloss over .
Yes , I recognize , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a long-standing politician from South Carolina .
He is Black .
And I don ’ t — you know , I ’ m sure that he recognizes what the political landscape is like in South Carolina .
But if we ’ re looking at the bigger picture , they ’ re going to cost themselves the Senate race in Georgia if the case that they ’ re making is that we ’ re going to try to lean more towards Republican than making it clear to people that unless they turn folks out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re not going to have access to the things that you need , like healthcare and all these other things .
So , if they embrace a more centrist or Republican agenda , then the takeaway from folks is going to be , again , that it doesn ’ t matter whether they turn out to vote or not .
So I think it ’ s just like the complete opposite .
And then what we need to pay attention to , lastly — I ’ ll say this really quickly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who Biden appoints as his secretary of treasury .
If we get another Rubinite , if we see someone in that tradition , we know what we got .
And so , remember , we celebrate yesterday and the day before , but today begins the hard work .
The problems of this nation require us to break from the old frames .
And we will not allow Clyburn , we will not allow Kamala Harris ’ s symbolic and significance , we will not allow the threat of Donald Trump to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issue .
We have to break the political frame that got us in this mess in the first place .
AMY GOODMAN : I wanted to ask you , Professor Glaude , Black male voters , a lot is being made of , came out in higher numbers for Trump this time than last time .
But my colleague , co-host Juan González did a brilliant analysis of the information that ’ s come out on who voted in this unprecedentedly high turnout campaign , the highest in absolute history .
Now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as he was pointing out , white voters did not increase that much .
That meant people of color increased .
Yes , there were more people of color who voted for Trump , but overwhelmingly more who voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris .
Apparently , many people are concerned about — well , I mean , obviously , many people are concerned about how close the election was — Trump winning possibly about , at this point , 57 % of the white vote .
And you , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Alongside the details of policy and the particulars of governing a deeply divided country , [ Biden ] will have to confront what Donald Trump refused to face : that our way of life is broken.
” Can you end with that ?
EDDIE GLAUDE : Sure .
You know , I think we have to deal with the reality of our dead .
Close to 240,000 Americans are dead , and there ’ s no communal , public rituals to acknowledge the collective grief and individual sorrow that we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with loneliness and what does it mean for us to be stuck in our homes and hidden behind our masks , where social interactions are kind of overdetermined by the specter of death and the virus .
And then , of course , the principal issue is selfishness , that you have folk who have simply given up stake in the American life for their own selfish ends .
And so , when we look at those numbers among Black men and Latino men , we can say that , you know , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end at the doorstep of white people .
And so you have people who are concerned about their 401 ( k ) s , concerned about their own individual self-gain , individual self-interest .
And so , these folk have opted out , in some ways , of any robust conception of the public good .
So we ’ re going to have to deal with death , loneliness and selfishness and how it poses , I think , an existential threat to our democratic way of life .
But , you know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When you look at Black folk , when you think about what happened in Atlanta , when you think about what happened in Milwaukee , when you think about what happened in Detroit , when you think about what happened in Philly , you see the path for the Biden-Harris ticket to get to the White House through Black America , Black folk .
Black men voted at 80-plus percent .
They need to start talking about why white women have voted at 56 % for Donald Trump , given what he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who ’ s at the center of the gravity of our politics ?
Who are folks thinking about all the time in a certain sort of way ?
We need to — these numbers will allow us to drill down at some point , but we need to understand the reality for what it is .
That does it for today ’ s show .
Coming up tomorrow , Four Days in Western Sahara : Africa ’ s Last Colony .
Democracy Now !
is produced with Renée Feltz , Mike Burke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nermeen Shaikh , María Taracena , Carla Wills , Tami Woronoff , Charina Nadura , Sam Alcoff , Tey-Marie Astudillo , John Hamilton , Robby Karran , Hany Massoud and Adriano Contreras .
Our general manager is Julie Crosby .
Special thanks to Becca Staley , Miriam Barnard , Paul Powell , Mike Di Filippo , Miguel Nogueira , Hugh Gran , Denis Moynihan , David Prude and Dennis McCormick .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
Thanks so much for joining us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
We end this holiday special looking at the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who will become the first woman vice president, as well as the first African American, Indian American, Caribbean American and Asian American elected to the office. Two days after the election was called for Biden and Harris, I spoke to two guests: professor Eddie Glaude, chair of Princeton University’s Department of African American Studies and author of Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, and also, from North Carolina, I talked to Bree Newsome Bass, an artist and antiracist and housing rights activist. She made national headlines in 2015 when she scaled the 30-foot flagpole at the South carolina state Capitol to remove the Confederate flag shortly after the massacre of eight African American parishioners and their pastor by a white supremacist at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. When police ordered her down, she responded by saying:
BREE NEWSOME BASS: You come against me with hatred and oppression and violence. I come against you in the name of God. This flag comes down today!
AMY GOODMAN: “You come against me with hatred and oppression and violence. I come against you in the name of God. This flag comes down today!” she said. I began by asking Bree Newsome Bass about her reaction to the election results.
BREE NEWSOME BASS: Yes, I mean, it is undoubtedly a historic moment, right? I also see a lot of historical parallels right now. You know, I am repeatedly saying that I think that the central conflict in the United States is and has always been this tension between the ideology of white supremacy and this concept of having a multiracial democracy where everyone is allowed to participate in it. And I think that tension is continuing to play out today.
You know, of course, we just had the election of the first woman vice president, Black vice president, a woman of South Asian descent, a descendent of immigrants, I mean. And so, on one hand, you have what kind of like represents again this concept of multiracial democracy. On the other hand, you have — or on the other side, you have a blatant white nationalist movement. And then, somewhere there in the middle is this constant conversation around unifying the nation and trying to, like, heal that divide, which I frankly think is an ideological divide that cannot be unified. I think that part of the reason why this tension is ongoing and is unresolved is because those two things cannot coexist. And so, even while you have, on one side, the extension of the hand and this language around healing the nation and reaching across the aisle and unifying, the other side has still not even conceded the race. The other side is refusing to acknowledge the election results.
And I think it’s important to recognize, as well, that the entire Trump era was in many ways a backlash — right? — to this very concept of having a multiracial democracy, to the election of Obama and what that represented in terms of the shifting demographics. And I think that this election, again, is kind of like another echo of that, where Biden and Harris, they were elected because of this multiracial coalition, essentially, that formed among the voting base. And that’s why we are where we are. And so, while of course it is a very historic moment and you see people celebrating all across the nation, that central conflict has yet to be resolved, just as this election, really, in many ways, has yet to be resolved.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Professor Eddie Glaude — and feel free to channel James Baldwin, if you’d like, which I think you can’t help but do — if you can talk about what your feelings were on Saturday as you watched Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ascend the stage in Wilmington, Delaware, what this all means?
EDDIE GLAUDE: Well, you know, my initial reaction was, thank God we’re going to see the back of Donald Trump’s head, that the disaster of the last four years, at least embodied in the Trump administration — Stephen Miller, Betsy DeVos, William Barr, the whole gaggle of folk, Giuliani, the children — all of those folk will be behind us soon, and, of course, the symbolic significance of Kamala Harris as the first Black vice president, the first Black [vice] president of South Asian descent and Caribbean descent and the like. I was thinking about the National Council of Negro Women. I was thinking about the Atlanta washerwomen strike of 1881. I was thinking about the Women’s Political Council in Montgomery, who were the backbone of the Montgomery bus boycott. I was thinking about Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer. All of these folk are the wind behind Kamala Harris’s back that make her possible. But she’s a symbolic — also the symbolic importance of her, of course.
But we must understand that yesterday was a day, and the day before was a day, of celebration. Today is the day for the hard work. The country is deeply divided, as Bree said. And we have to get about the work of responding to the problems we face as a nation at scale, and not returning back to some sense of normalcy, which in some ways laid the foundation for the disaster that was and is Trumpism.
AMY GOODMAN: As we continue our conversation with Eddie Glaude and as well as Bree Newsome Bass, we’re going to turn right now to a comment that is brewing part of the debate that’s happening right now about the direction of the Democratic Party. This is House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina, who went on several Sunday talk shows to criticize calls to defund the police, arguing the phrase hurts Democratic congressional candidates. Here he is on NBC’s Meet the Press citing the defeat of Jaime Harrison in South Carolina against incumbent Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. REP. JAMES CLYBURN: Jaime Harrison started to plateau with “defund the police,” showed up with a caption on TV right across his head. That stuff hurt Jaime. And that’s why I spoke out against it a long time ago. I have always said that these headlines can kill a political effort.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Congressmember Clyburn speaking on the Sunday talk shows. Clyburn is credited with really Joe Biden winning the Democratic primaries, having endorsed him right before the South Carolina primary, which then launched him to victory. I wanted to first go to Bree Newsome Bass. You’re in the Carolinas, but you’re in the other one: You’re in North Carolina. Can you talk about this major debate, this debate for the soul of the Democratic Party right now, Bree?
BREE NEWSOME BASS: Yeah, certainly. Well, I mean, first of all, to this argument that is being made so fiercely right now, you know, attacking the “defund the police” effort, I mean, I have yet to see anyone provide any concrete data that supports that claim, other than people making this conjecture. I mean, I live in the Carolinas. I have seen all of the ads that have been running. I mean, they were also running a lot of ads trying to tie Jaime Harrison to Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. So, I mean, unless someone is showing data that can really show that one or the other is what led to Jaime Harrison specifically plateauing in South Carolina, which is a deeply red state, you know, was an uphill battle against Lindsey Graham to begin with, I frankly don’t give that a whole lot of weight.
And I think, again, we cannot gloss over the racial aspect of this whole situation. So, we’re talking about a situation where the Democratic leadership is making the claim — simultaneously making the claim that we need to reach across the aisle, we need to engage in bipartisanship with the party that is not acknowledging the election results; the party that just tried to prevent us from having a free and fair election; the party that engaged in rampant voter suppression, disenfranchisement and intimidation, and particularly in communities of color; the party that, you know, is completely opposed to the idea of our existence; the party that is essentially advocating a form of genocide through medical neglect, that has been ravaging our communities. And so, we can’t just gloss over when people are saying that the path forward is to build with Republicans and at the same time to essentially demonize, make a boogeyman of Black activism and Black causes.
It is the organizers, the same exact people who have been organizing Black communities around issues that impact us, that mobilized those voters for the Biden-Harris win. You know, I’ve also seen people making reference to progressives as being the ones who are being divisive or, you know, ending the truce within the Democratic Party. And it’s quite the opposite. You had a situation where you have a significant segment of people who either traditionally vote Democrat, a lot of people who are completely disengaged from the electoral process completely because they feel that regardless of who is in power, their needs are not met; regardless of who is in power, the police continue to kill us; regardless of who is in power, we do not have access to proper healthcare, we do not have access to housing. So, you had a lot of organizers who had to do a lot of heavy lifting to convince folks that it was worthwhile simply to get Trump out, to mobilize behind Biden and Harris. And that’s why you got Georgia turning out as it did. That’s why you got Arizona turning out as it did.
So, in my view, for anyone to look at the election results and for the takeaway to be we need to figure out how to appeal to the Lindsey Graham voters, you know, and the deeply red districts, as opposed to recognizing that there’s an entire electorate that is younger, that represents where the electorate is going — it’s younger, it’s more diverse, it can win you states in the South — this is the argument that Stacey Abrams has been making for quite some time — instead of looking at things and saying, “How can we invest more in Black and Indigenous and people of color organizing? How can we really look at those issues?” I mean, politically, that makes a lot more sense than saying, “How do we tap into the electorate that lost the presidential election, the electorate that is shrinking, and then, morally, the electorate that opposes democracy?” because they are more committed to racism than they are to the idea of a democracy that allows everyone to participate. So, you know, again, I just think that we cannot — we cannot gloss over.
Yes, I recognize, of course, that James Clyburn is a long-standing politician from South Carolina. He is Black. And I don’t — you know, I’m sure that he recognizes what the political landscape is like in South Carolina. But if we’re looking at the bigger picture, they’re going to cost themselves the Senate race in Georgia if the case that they’re making is that we’re going to try to lean more towards Republican than making it clear to people that unless they turn folks out for those Senate seats in Georgia, you’re not going to have access to the things that you need, like healthcare and all these other things. So, if they embrace a more centrist or Republican agenda, then the takeaway from folks is going to be, again, that it doesn’t matter whether they turn out to vote or not. So I think it’s just like the complete opposite.
And the fact that the focus in the immediate aftermath of the election, when we are still dealing with the situation of a president who does not acknowledge the election results, we’ve got him stoking violence among white supremacists who are threatening violence against sitting governors, who have threatened to blow up ballot-counting centers, that folks would pick defunding the police as the target, as the threat, as the danger, when you’re talking about communities that are still being killed by police and still turning out to support this party in spite of that, complete opposite direction of where they should be going.
AMY GOODMAN: That brings us to professor Eddie Glaude. Professor, you tweeted this quote from James Baldwin: “It has always seemed much easier to murder than to change. And this is really the choice with which we are confronted now.” Explain.
EDDIE GLAUDE: Well, you know, there’s a sense in which the reckoning that we find ourselves involves the question of whether or not we’re going to fundamentally embrace the idea that we are a multiracial democracy. And the history of the country suggests that we constantly, when faced with that question, will double down on violence, that white America will choose violence to defend its way of life, to defend those noxious assumptions, that have, in some ways, led to the organization of our way of life predicated upon this idea that white people ought to be valued more than others, that they will in fact exact a certain kind of violence to defend that view. And so, Baldwin, in this moment, is kind of marking this, right? That America is always talking about it changing, but it never changes, right?
And so, what’s so interesting about the conversation around the Democratic Party is that it’s actually insane — right? — that we would think that the way to respond to the scale of problems that we confront as a nation is to harken back to an older form of politics that is DLC, “Third Way” Democratic-oriented — you know, Democratic politics, that seems to try to triangulate and appeal to this Reagan Democrat that they are so obsessed with as a way of responding to this problem. It makes no sense that we would go back to the politics that actually produced Trumpism in the first place. That’s the first point. The second — or the second point.
The third point is this: We can’t allow these folk to disentangle Trumpism from the Republican Party. I think this is what Bree Newsome Bass is trying to suggest to us. We can’t allow them to disentangle these two things. They are one and the same. So what are you asking for when you talk about reaching across the aisle? What are you asking us to do when you talk about reaching across the aisle in unity? We won’t do that again. That’s not going to happen this time.
And then, lastly, we need to get beyond, I think, these narrow labels. The politics is much more muddled. Right? We need to get beyond these narrow labels. We need to get beyond big government and small government and smart government and get to transformational government. We need to understand what “defund the police” means. Budget your values. Budget your values. That’s what it means at the heart of it, right? Why are you spending 60, 70% of your municipal budgets on policing, when you have education, social services and the like? Stop lying. Stop lying.
And then what we need to pay attention to, lastly — I’ll say this really quickly — we need to pay attention to who Biden appoints as his secretary of treasury. If we get another Rubinite, if we see someone in that tradition, we know what we got. And so, remember, we celebrate yesterday and the day before, but today begins the hard work. The problems of this nation require us to break from the old frames. And we will not allow Clyburn, we will not allow Kamala Harris’s symbolic and significance, we will not allow the threat of Donald Trump to get us from seeing that that is the issue. We have to break the political frame that got us in this mess in the first place.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you, Professor Glaude, Black male voters, a lot is being made of, came out in higher numbers for Trump this time than last time. But my colleague, co-host Juan González did a brilliant analysis of the information that’s come out on who voted in this unprecedentedly high turnout campaign, the highest in absolute history. Now, what it looks like at this point, as he was pointing out, white voters did not increase that much. That meant people of color increased. Yes, there were more people of color who voted for Trump, but overwhelmingly more who voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Apparently, many people are concerned about — well, I mean, obviously, many people are concerned about how close the election was — Trump winning possibly about, at this point, 57% of the white vote. And you, in your piece in Time magazine, said, “Alongside the details of policy and the particulars of governing a deeply divided country, [Biden] will have to confront what Donald Trump refused to face: that our way of life is broken.” Can you end with that?
EDDIE GLAUDE: Sure. You know, I think we have to deal with the reality of our dead. Close to 240,000 Americans are dead, and there’s no communal, public rituals to acknowledge the collective grief and individual sorrow that we’re experiencing. We have to deal with loneliness and what does it mean for us to be stuck in our homes and hidden behind our masks, where social interactions are kind of overdetermined by the specter of death and the virus. And then, of course, the principal issue is selfishness, that you have folk who have simply given up stake in the American life for their own selfish ends. And so, when we look at those numbers among Black men and Latino men, we can say that, you know, the epidemic of selfishness doesn’t end at the doorstep of white people. And so you have people who are concerned about their 401(k)s, concerned about their own individual self-gain, individual self-interest. And so, these folk have opted out, in some ways, of any robust conception of the public good. So we’re going to have to deal with death, loneliness and selfishness and how it poses, I think, an existential threat to our democratic way of life.
But, you know, everybody is bringing up Black men. When you look at Black folk, when you think about what happened in Atlanta, when you think about what happened in Milwaukee, when you think about what happened in Detroit, when you think about what happened in Philly, you see the path for the Biden-Harris ticket to get to the White House through Black America, Black folk. Black men voted at 80-plus percent. They need to start talking about why white women have voted at 56% for Donald Trump, given what he’s done. But, again, who’s at the center of the gravity of our politics? Who are folks thinking about all the time in a certain sort of way? We need to — these numbers will allow us to drill down at some point, but we need to understand the reality for what it is.
AMY GOODMAN: Last 30 seconds, Bree Newsome Bass.
BREE NEWSOME BASS: Yes. I mean, I think that there is this constant abusive relationship between party politics and Black communities, where we are scapegoated when it’s convenient, and then we are thrown under the bus when it’s convenient. And otherwise, it’s, you know, “Show up to the polls to help us stay in power, because we can’t get elected without you.” And that’s a dynamic that has to end. When it’s time to try to scapegoat and talk about, you know, why did Trump do better, then they want to talk about Black men. When it’s time to talk about the issues and why 80% of Black men turned out to vote for Biden, no one wants to talk about defunding the police. That’s the dynamic that has to end.
And I think the last thing I would say is it’s important for everyone to recognize that the Black movement, the Black organizing of our communities, that is independent of the Democratic Party. We are interacting with party politics, but this movement began during the Obama administration, it continued through the Trump administration, and it will continue through the Biden administration.
AMY GOODMAN: Antiracist activist Bree Newsome Bass and Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude.
That does it for today’s show. Coming up tomorrow, Four Days in Western Sahara: Africa’s Last Colony. Democracy Now! is produced with Renée Feltz, Mike Burke, Deena Guzder, Libby Rainey, Nermeen Shaikh, María Taracena, Carla Wills, Tami Woronoff, Charina Nadura, Sam Alcoff, Tey-Marie Astudillo, John Hamilton, Robby Karran, Hany Massoud and Adriano Contreras. Our general manager is Julie Crosby. Special thanks to Becca Staley, Miriam Barnard, Paul Powell, Mike Di Filippo, Miguel Nogueira, Hugh Gran, Denis Moynihan, David Prude and Dennis McCormick. I’m Amy Goodman. Thanks so much for joining us.


democracynow--2020-11-26--Juan González: Mainstream Media Has Missed the Real Story About Latinx Voter Turnout

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
We continue to look at this year ’ s historic election .
We turn now to Democracy Now !
co-host Juan González , professor at Rutgers University .
He looks at how the corporate media missed the real story about Latinx voter turnout in the 2020 election and how Latino and Latina voters helped Joe Biden win the presidency .
Well , I said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeat it again , the key narrative of this election is not whether there was a small shift in the percentage of Latinx voters in some areas of the country turning toward Trump .
The main story is that in an election which saw historic turnout , people of color — and especially Latinos — had an unprecedented increase in voting .
And they , not white voters , represented the bulk of that increase .
Virtually none of the reports have mentioned this , that for the first time in U.S. history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comparable levels to the rates for white and Black Americans .
Twenty-point-six million Latinos went to the polls in this election .
That ’ s 64 % of the 32 million eligible Latinx voters , while in previous election cycles the turnout had been routinely below 50 % .
In raw numbers , 8 million more Latinos voted this year than in 2016 .
That ’ s a 63 % increase over the last presidential elections .
Now , some of these numbers , I should note , are different from what I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s been some little-noticed changes to the Edison national exit poll in the past few days compared to what was released on Election Day by all the networks .
For instance , the original version estimated that whites were 65 % of the electorate , while the latest figures say that they were 67 % .
And the poll also increases turnout for African Americans and Asians .
Well , the Edison poll has always been flawed , and numerous analyses have shown its past samples were skewed to oversampling Cuban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inner-city polling sites , and also undersampling voters whose primary language is not English , all of which means it tends to undercount Latino voters for Democrats .
But the basic contours of the sampling remains the same , and it ’ s inescapable .
After decades of political experts talking about the growing Latino vote , this year it actually happened .
Hispanic voters felt compelled like never before to go to the polls , because COVID-19 fell them more than other groups , because of the constant demonization of Latinos by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family separation policies , or because of the threats to healthcare , even , for some conservative Latinos , because of their hopes of finally turning back Roe v. Wade .
One thing is sure : Neither the Democratic nor Republican parties will underestimate or ignore Latino voters from now on .
This should be cause for widespread celebration as a long-awaited democratization of the vote .
I want to put up , hopefully , a chart here of how Latinos split their vote over the last 30 years in presidential elections .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , from a low of 27 % , when Mitt Romney ran against Barack Obama in 2012 , to a high of 44 % , that George Bush got in his second presidential run in 2004 .
Even John McCain , when he ran against Obama in 2008 , got a similar percentage of the Latino vote as Trump did this year .
And the high point , the Bush victory in 2004 , we should note , is the last time a Republican candidate got a majority of the popular vote .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grande Valley of Texas and South Florida , where Trump made real inroads in largely Latino districts in the actual vote ?
What about those pundits who claim Latinos are so diverse and diffuse as a population that it is erroneous to consider them a single community ?
First , on South [ Florida ] and the Rio Grande Valley , yes , actual vote results show that Trump had significant increases in his support there .
Florida is not surprising , given the influx of conservative refugees from Nicaragua and Venezuela in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Valley is .
In Hidalgo County , along the border , which is 90 % Latino , Trump went from 27 % against Hillary Clinton to 40 % against Joe Biden .
In Maverick County , which is 95 % Latino , he went from 20 % against Clinton to 45 % against Biden .
Those are significant numbers .
The Valley , however , has changed rapidly during the Trump era .
Always a socially conservative rural area , it has seen enormous job growth in recent years as a result of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brought thousands of new jobs to the area for Border Patrol officers , for workers on private construction of the wall with Mexico , for immigration detention centers .
In addition , the Valley has replaced the San Diego sector as the epicenter of undocumented migrant crossings and the failed immigration system of the United States .
All of that , no doubt , helped turn its residents for Trump .
And then there ’ s California and New York .
The Latino share of the vote that went to Biden appears to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % in California , 72 % in New York .
Now , some argue that those are reliable blue states anyway , so those Hispanic voters are not really critical .
Really ?
Aren ’ t those enormous Latino margins year after year what has made those states reliably blue ?
And the same for New Jersey , Connecticut , Massachusetts and , lately , Colorado .
Then there are these nonsensical questions as to whether a Latino community actually exists .
Let ’ s be clear : Latinx identity in the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both by the dominant society , that needed to define and categorize and other — other — and by the marginalized group itself , organically , from the ground , by disparate Latin American migrant groups who were forced to unite in order to survive in a hostile society and whose children gradually intermarried to create a new social construct : the Latino in America .
More than 20 years ago , I said in my book Harvest of Empire that Latinos had become — were becoming a new third force in American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but a significant portion is susceptible to Republican candidates if those political leaders address even a few of their concerns .
Since then , Latin Americans from educated and middle-class backgrounds have migrated to this country in growing numbers , and a good portion have adopted typical American conservative views .
Some of that community , though still a minority , have been drawn to right-wing populism , to national chauvinism , and even to racist views .
All of this fixation on Latinos , however , ignores the fundamental question of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ve seen have dared to tackle : Why the heck did 58 % of white Americans vote for Donald Trump , including 55 % of white women ?
With the United States consolidating itself as the world ’ s most powerful imperialist nation and the economic gap in the country widening , right-wing movements have only grown at home , and the defeat of Trump will not halt their growth .
The key to building a progressive majority is to keep mobilizing more young Latinos to vote , burying the small @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under an avalanche from people of color , organized labor and their allies .
When we come back , we ’ ll hear from Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude and antiracist activist Bree Newsome Bass .
Stay with us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman. We continue to look at this year’s historic election. We turn now to Democracy Now! co-host Juan González, professor at Rutgers University. He looks at how the corporate media missed the real story about Latinx voter turnout in the 2020 election and how Latino and Latina voters helped Joe Biden win the presidency.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Amy, the cascade of stories continues, claiming a surprising turn by Latino voters toward Donald Trump. The New York Times this week, front page, quote, “How Democrats Missed Trump’s Appeal to Latino Voters.” Then, the L.A. Times, “Latino voters tired of being taken for granted by baffled Democrats.” CNN and others claiming there’s no such thing as a Latino bloc. And even The Intercept saying in one of their stories that “Nonwhite Voters Are Not Immune to Right-Wing Populism.”
Well, I said last week, and I’ll repeat it again, the key narrative of this election is not whether there was a small shift in the percentage of Latinx voters in some areas of the country turning toward Trump. The main story is that in an election which saw historic turnout, people of color — and especially Latinos — had an unprecedented increase in voting. And they, not white voters, represented the bulk of that increase. Virtually none of the reports have mentioned this, that for the first time in U.S. history Latinos’ turnout appears to have reached comparable levels to the rates for white and Black Americans. Twenty-point-six million Latinos went to the polls in this election. That’s 64% of the 32 million eligible Latinx voters, while in previous election cycles the turnout had been routinely below 50%. In raw numbers, 8 million more Latinos voted this year than in 2016. That’s a 63% increase over the last presidential elections.
Now, I’ve updated and tweaked the chart from last week, and it shows that the biggest increase in both percentages and actual votes from four years ago came from Latino voters. Their jump in number of ballots cast nearly equaled that among white — the increase among white and Black voters combined. The next biggest jump, in percentage term, came among African American voters, who increased by 20%, Asian Americans by 16%, while white voters increased by just under 6%.
Now, some of these numbers, I should note, are different from what I displayed last week, in part because there’s been some little-noticed changes to the Edison national exit poll in the past few days compared to what was released on Election Day by all the networks. For instance, the original version estimated that whites were 65% of the electorate, while the latest figures say that they were 67%. And the poll also increases turnout for African Americans and Asians. Well, the Edison poll has always been flawed, and numerous analyses have shown its past samples were skewed to oversampling Cuban Americans, undersampling both Black and Latino inner-city polling sites, and also undersampling voters whose primary language is not English, all of which means it tends to undercount Latino voters for Democrats.
But the basic contours of the sampling remains the same, and it’s inescapable. After decades of political experts talking about the growing Latino vote, this year it actually happened. Hispanic voters felt compelled like never before to go to the polls, because COVID-19 fell them more than other groups, because of the constant demonization of Latinos by the president, because of the barbaric family separation policies, or because of the threats to healthcare, even, for some conservative Latinos, because of their hopes of finally turning back Roe v. Wade. One thing is sure: Neither the Democratic nor Republican parties will underestimate or ignore Latino voters from now on. This should be cause for widespread celebration as a long-awaited democratization of the vote.
But what about those who claim that Trump made major, unexpected inroads among Latino voters nationwide, as reflected by 66-to-32% split of the Latino vote between Biden and Trump? Some say that Latinos could be deserting the Democratic Party. Those of us who’ve been around the block a few times have heard this narrative before. In reality, these results are in the general ballpark of previous presidential campaigns.
I want to put up, hopefully, a chart here of how Latinos split their vote over the last 30 years in presidential elections. The Republican share of voters has varied, from a low of 27%, when Mitt Romney ran against Barack Obama in 2012, to a high of 44%, that George Bush got in his second presidential run in 2004. Even John McCain, when he ran against Obama in 2008, got a similar percentage of the Latino vote as Trump did this year. And the high point, the Bush victory in 2004, we should note, is the last time a Republican candidate got a majority of the popular vote.
But the big difference now is that the Latinx vote is so much larger. When you get two-thirds of a vote, that has tripled in size in just a few years, you begin to achieve critical mass. No wonder Lindsey Graham is warning that if these elections aren’t changed somehow, Republicans will never win the White House again.
What about those places like the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and South Florida, where Trump made real inroads in largely Latino districts in the actual vote? What about those pundits who claim Latinos are so diverse and diffuse as a population that it is erroneous to consider them a single community? First, on South [Florida] and the Rio Grande Valley, yes, actual vote results show that Trump had significant increases in his support there. Florida is not surprising, given the influx of conservative refugees from Nicaragua and Venezuela in recent years, but the Rio Grande Valley is.
In Hidalgo County, along the border, which is 90% Latino, Trump went from 27% against Hillary Clinton to 40% against Joe Biden. In Maverick County, which is 95% Latino, he went from 20% against Clinton to 45% against Biden. Those are significant numbers. The Valley, however, has changed rapidly during the Trump era. Always a socially conservative rural area, it has seen enormous job growth in recent years as a result of the militarization of the border, which brought thousands of new jobs to the area for Border Patrol officers, for workers on private construction of the wall with Mexico, for immigration detention centers. In addition, the Valley has replaced the San Diego sector as the epicenter of undocumented migrant crossings and the failed immigration system of the United States. All of that, no doubt, helped turn its residents for Trump.
But in the big cities of Texas, where most Latinos live, there’s another story. San Antonio’s Bexar County, for example, 60% Latino, saw Biden’s margin of votes climb, from 54 to 58%, though we’ll need better figures on how much of that was in the Latino community. It seems clear, however, that Latino turnout in states like Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania helped Biden win those key battleground states.
And then there’s California and New York. The Latino share of the vote that went to Biden appears to be breathtaking in those states: 77% in California, 72% in New York. Now, some argue that those are reliable blue states anyway, so those Hispanic voters are not really critical. Really? Aren’t those enormous Latino margins year after year what has made those states reliably blue? And the same for New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and, lately, Colorado.
Then there are these nonsensical questions as to whether a Latino community actually exists. Let’s be clear: Latinx identity in the United States is a social construct, created both by the dominant society, that needed to define and categorize and other — other — and by the marginalized group itself, organically, from the ground, by disparate Latin American migrant groups who were forced to unite in order to survive in a hostile society and whose children gradually intermarried to create a new social construct: the Latino in America.
More than 20 years ago, I said in my book Harvest of Empire that Latinos had become — were becoming a new third force in American politics. They largely vote Democratic, but a significant portion is susceptible to Republican candidates if those political leaders address even a few of their concerns. Since then, Latin Americans from educated and middle-class backgrounds have migrated to this country in growing numbers, and a good portion have adopted typical American conservative views. Some of that community, though still a minority, have been drawn to right-wing populism, to national chauvinism, and even to racist views.
All of this fixation on Latinos, however, ignores the fundamental question of this election, which very few political observers I’ve seen have dared to tackle: Why the heck did 58% of white Americans vote for Donald Trump, including 55% of white women? With the United States consolidating itself as the world’s most powerful imperialist nation and the economic gap in the country widening, right-wing movements have only grown at home, and the defeat of Trump will not halt their growth. The key to building a progressive majority is to keep mobilizing more young Latinos to vote, burying the small percentage increases in support for right-wing candidates under an avalanche from people of color, organized labor and their allies.
AMY GOODMAN: Democracy Now!'s Juan González. To watch Juan's commentary in Spanish, visit democracynow.org/es.
When we come back, we’ll hear from Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude and antiracist activist Bree Newsome Bass. Stay with us.