Democrats and Republicans hold Black History Month celebrations, eyeing November elections

Washington: Black History Month, typically a day to recognize the contributions of African Americans in U.S. history, is being celebrated this week in the nation’s capital with a focus on current divisions and November’s elections, when black turnout will Be an integral part of the election outcome.

The Biden administration hosted the families of more than two dozen civil rights icons and major historical figures at the White House on Tuesday for an event celebrating Black history. Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance, praising the families and speaking of the administration’s commitment to the black community.

Hours later, Republicans held a reception near Washington’s U Street, an important part of the city’s black history, to celebrate former Republican officials and activists who have reached out to black voters.

The White House used Black History Month as an opportunity to highlight the administration’s efforts on priorities such as education, voting rights and jobs. Republicans see an opportunity to win more votes from core Democratic constituencies, noting President Joe Biden’s low popularity among black adults and his criticism of inflation and the handling of the border.

A January poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed Biden’s approval rating among black adults at 42%, a sharp drop from his first year as president.

Democrats focused on Biden’s support for civil rights stalwarts and lambasted Republicans for enacting policies that restrict educators from discussing race and history in the classroom.

“We know that those who do not remember their history are doomed to repeat it,” Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell told family members gathered at the White House. Sewell represented Selma, Alabama, where white police officers beat black civil rights marchers in 1965, a day known today as “Bloody Sunday.”

“When extremists seek to erase our history and roll back our progress, we should learn from our ancestors,” she said.

Later that night, Republicans held their own Black History Month celebration, attended by about 100 people.

“My mission as RNC chair is to reach communities and voters that we as a party have neglected,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said at Tuesday night’s event. “Black voters will make history this November because they will vote Republican at the highest level we have ever seen,” McDaniel predicted, to applause from the audience.

The Republican National Committee plans to expand the number of community outreach centers in black communities after the Republican primary. Since Republicans made small gains in the 2022 midterm elections, the party has been optimistic about its chances of improving its slim advantage with Black voters.

But the party’s current focus on issues like race and history teaching could risk mobilizing black voters against the Republican Party. Republican officials in at least a dozen states have enacted policies regulating how educators discuss topics such as race, history and gender in the classroom.

“This moment proves that our history is unforbidden, that teaching history is at the heart of our progress, and that Black history is American history,” Rep. Steve Horsford, R-Nev., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, told the White House crowd.

The Biden campaign has argued that Republican outreach to black voters is disingenuous, noting that former President Donald Trump, the current front-runner for the Republican nomination, campaigned in 2022 with Holocaust denier white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Have dinner.

“In Donald Trump’s Republican Party, celebrating Black History Month means telling children that slavery benefited black people, covering up that slavery was the cause of the Civil War, and sharing ketchup-slathered meals with white supremacists at Mar-a-Lago Well-done steak,” said Michael Taylor, Biden campaign communications director. “I’m sure they’ll be offering a lot of the same things at their little events.”

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

On Tuesday, the Biden campaign launched a new ad targeting Black voters, highlighting the government’s investments in historically Black colleges and universities and the number of Black public officials Biden has appointed, including Harris, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the Supreme Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. The Democratic National Committee on Wednesday released digital ads targeting HBCUs in battleground states touting Biden’s record on student debt.

Democrats point to record low black unemployment, policies to limit the cost of insulin and Biden’s cancellation of about $137 billion in student loan debt as policies they hope will boost support among black voters. Party officials and strategists stressed its focus on black voters extends beyond the month-long campaign.

Biden also broke with precedent by placing South Carolina and its large black population at the top of the party’s primary ballot, bolstering black political power. South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, a veteran of the civil rights movement and a close ally of Biden, is co-chairman of the president’s reelection campaign.

Some Republican activists gathered Tuesday night, many of them Black, said the party simply lacked the sustained effort needed to attract more Black voters. Quenton Jordan, a Republican activist who was honored at the event, said the party is now “trying to capture the black vote, which in previous years, that wasn’t the case.”

“I remember we had a bigger talent pool,” said Ken Blackwell, the former Ohio Republican secretary of state who accepted the award at the reception. “That’s why this is important. To re-engage, provide our narrative and give them a choice. But first, we have to show up.”

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Matt Brown is a member of The Associated Press’s Race and Ethnicity team. Follow him on social media.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from Yonhap News Agency-The Associated Press)