As part of our election coverage this year, KALW is listening to what members of our community want to hear and amplifying the efforts of other local news organizations. KALW Election Production Manager Johanna Miyaki participated in an event co-hosted by Oaklandside and CAPITAL B, a Black-led national nonprofit news organization. It was part of Capital B’s Black Political Power Tour. She spoke about the event with Crosscurrents host Hana Baba.
flower: Hi Johanna!
Johanna: Hey Hana!
flower: So what is the “Black Political Power Tour”?
Johanna: That is, capital B. Visit seven U.S. cities to discuss the issues that matter most to black voters and their beliefs and attitudes about elections. Explore where black political power is declining and where black leadership is on the rise.
flower: What was going on at this event in Oakland?
Johanna: So, About 150 people gathered at Oak Stop in downtown Oakland to participate in a panel discussion with community leaders and experts, giving people the opportunity to network with each other and local civic organizations.
flower: What did organizers say about the general trends among black voters today?
Johanna: For the answer, I’d like to turn to one of the panelists at the event, Tracey Ross of Frontline Solutions, who was born and raised in Oakland and spoke about the political heat among Black voters.
“About one-third Black VotersThese are the so-called “righteous cynics.” They’re the ones who say, “I voted for Obama. I voted when Obama was president. I voted when Trump was president. Biden was president. Nothing has changed in my neighborhood. I don’t think any of the options are good for anybody.” About 20% of the “next-generation optimists” are the ones who say, “I, I think the system works for us. I want to work within the system, but sometimes I vote, sometimes I don’t.” And that’s over 50% of black people, and they might get the right to vote. They might not. The other 50% are the more loyal people, the older black people, who tend to say, “I’m very realistic. I, I, I support Biden because he’s my guy. And I’ve seen how this country works.”
– Tracey Ross
Johanna: This last group, she said, believes they can’t have political influence unless they support candidates who can win.
flower: We hear a lot about voter apathy, but what you’ve told us is that it’s more complicated than that.
Johanna: That’s Right, Hana. It’s interesting, because it’s often assumed that older black voters are going to the polls and voting Democrat, and that younger generations are just apathetic. But Tracey Ross said there’s good reason for voter pessimism.
“You can’t shame people into voting if you feel like a change in president isn’t going to dramatically change your life, and you can’t say that the other candidate is going to be the bad guy again. I think being an apathetic voter is actually a logical stance. I think it’s hard to be optimistic in this day and age, and I think it’s hard to have hope when promises are broken, if you’re dealing with communities that are not safe. Why have hope if there’s no hope? So I don’t think it’s possible for me to suddenly care about black people in an election season.” – Tracey Ross
Johanna: and, She said the key to engaging black voters is to engage with people on the ground. everytimeNot just during elections.
“And I think if political campaign platforms are smart, they’re going to connect with people who are working hard. Because if you’re really interested in making a difference in your community, the hero of the election cycle can’t be the politician.” – Tracey Ross
Johanna: She says the people must be the protagonists in the election cycle.
flower: What other election-related topics were discussed at the event?
Johanna: They are, Voter apathy and Voter AttitudesApathy is voter fatigue or disinterest. Attitudes are why people vote the way they do. Omar Wasow is an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. He warned against people voting for political celebrities or people they would like to have a beer with.
“I would say don’t get hung up on like this person or dislike that person or whatever personality traits you have. Think about the debate at the heart of it: Are we going to be a multiracial democracy? Or are we going to fight for a kind of ethno-nationalist state that rejects the idea of a multiracial democracy? There’s a lot of political science that says voting is not rational, right? You’re going to spend all this time and it’s going to have no impact, so why would you do that? Right. So in some sense apathy is the most rational thing. But I think too many people are apathetic because they feel like, I don’t want to have a beer with that person, that’s not the game we’re playing.”
-Professor Omar Wassou
Photo by Harry Haryanto
flower: This is a complete picture of black political power. They started this tour in Oakland. Let’s focus on Oakland for a second.
Johanna: Yes. When people think of black political power in Oakland, they often think of the Black Panther Party. The Black Panther Party was formed in Oakland in 1966. The power of the party at the time was that the Panthers operated outside of white organizations. Ten years later, in 1977, Oakland’s first black mayor, Lionel J. Wilson, was elected, paving the way for black politicians in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area.
David Peters, founder of the West Oakland Cultural Action Network and Black Liberation Walking Tours, reflected on Black power in Oakland.
“It was a very optimistic time for Oakland, after a generation of white exodus leading up to ’76 and Oakland becoming much more black. So for the first time, it was the best time to be black in Oakland. Everywhere I went, people were talking about black pride, black is beautiful, being black. The culture was blossoming. So as important as black political power is, I’d say black power is more important, more enduring, more ubiquitous.”
-David Peters
Johanna : One way that black power has changed is through population: In 1980, Oakland’s black population was about 50 percent; today it’s about 20 percent.
flower: So what do activists say is most important in Oakland today?
Johanna: What’s interesting to me is that the young Black community activists on the panel clearly hold many of the same values as previous generations. They’re looking at how coalition building must evolve to meet the challenges Black communities face today. Sanika Bryant, political education coordinator for the Black Organizing Project;
“I think for us to have coalitional power, we need to have political power. Then I think we’ll be in a better position to act within the coalition. When we have a level of unity, especially class unity, right? I think class struggle is one of the key areas where we need to focus on building actual organizational power. Right now, most of our people are in the east hinterlands of Oakland. Dispossessed, organically organized, different organizations are afraid to talk to people. And I think we should focus on bringing them in, inviting them in, rather than abandoning people. And I think rebuilding our social relationships with each other is really important to be able to effectively fight these powerful forces that we’re fighting today.”
-Sanika Bryant
flower: There were lots of ideas and thoughts, but did anyone suggest any concrete actions?
Johanna: Several panelists focused on Oakland’s black youth and the need to directly engage them in political action. MYA WHITAKER, executive director of the Bay Area Urban Debate League;
“So I think there’s a real disconnect when people talk to young people, that there’s an expectation of how they should be and they’re not. So we meet them where they are, crying. So that’s another thing we turn to our community leaders for. We want a savior and you guys, no one’s coming to our schools. So here are your kids and they need to learn how to get involved in politics.” – Maia Whitaker
Johanna: She was a big advocate for people to talk openly with their children about money.
“I don’t know why we’re so shy about talking about money. But you know we have to make $136,000 to stay here? So why are we acting like that? Oh, I don’t want to talk about money, I want to talk about our kids. That’s why we’re getting kicked out. They don’t even know what they’re going through. So when it comes to using political power to organize for us, my take on it, especially the youngest ones, is, stop talking about how you used to do it. They don’t have what you used to have. I’ve never moved to a place where rent starts at $2,400. Never have. You have no idea what they’re going through.
– Maia Whitaker
Harry Haryanto
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Cityside journalism
flower: Johanna, that’s a very powerful statement and thank you for sharing what you learned at this event.
Johanna: Thank you for coming today, Hana.
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