2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: I'm Black. Old Blacks have failed us. It's time for Young Blacks to make our stand on Super Tuesday [View all]BernieforPres2016
(3,017 posts)I think the picture should be removed. Whether John Lewis knew Bernie during the Civil Rights movement is irrelevant. Otherwise I agree with your post.
Here is an article related to your post that I think you would be interested in, with an excerpt below the link.
http://www.vox.com/2016/2/27/11125726/black-democrats-sanders-cornel-west
"Some blacks have gotten a seat at some table," Whitt told his audience in Nevada. "It's probably the kiddie table. But they feel good because they got a seat at a table" and therefore, he doesn't need to say out loud, sold the rest of the community out. He points out that when members of the Congressional Black Caucus endorsed Clinton, they didn't do it as the CBC, but rather as "the Congressional Black Caucus PAC" implying they weren't really representing the community, but rather the moneyed political interests that Sanders is fighting.
At its heart, though, the black radical critique of the political establishment isn't as simple as some individuals selling out.
"This has been a critique of a lot of the major black organizations," says Eric McDaniel of the University of Texas-Austin. From the NAACP to the black church, "the main patrons of these institutions are the black middle class, and they respond more to the needs of their patrons than, basically, the broader needs."
This is also true of black churches, which McDaniel studies. They're a civic establishment that isn't interested in pursuing a political agenda: "Because the institution is so stable," says McDaniel, "it's very slow to move." It's an institution more interested in civic engagement getting members out to vote than in pushing a particular ideological agenda, much less a progressive or radical one.