Is This The Beginning Of The End For Blacks And Dems?
Keli Goff, Nov. 3, 2014, The Daily Beast
Clearly there were black voters before Barack Obama, but to put in context the difference between black voter turnout in the Obama era and black voter turnout before, consider this. In 2008 two million more black voters showed up at the polls than had four years before. Among young black voters ages 18 to 24, there was an 8 percent increase in turnout from 2004 to 2008, the highest increase among any demographic, across racial, gender and generational lines.
In a phone interview, Andra Gillespie, a Political Scientist based at Emory University said, “People historically thought black voters participated in the political process and voted because they had confidence in their own ability to effect change in the political system, irrespective of whether they believed politicians cared about what they thought. But there was some work that came out about 25 years ago that suggests that’s not true and that in fact that blacks feel empowered when they see blacks in positions of power.” Gillespie explained that this research did find a connection between the number of likely black voters and black elected leaders.
Clearly there were black voters before Barack Obama, but to put in context the difference between black voter turnout in the Obama era and black voter turnout before, consider this. In 2008 two million more black voters showed up at the polls than had four years before. Among young black voters ages 18 to 24, there was an 8 percent increase in turnout from 2004 to 2008, the highest increase among any demographic, across racial, gender and generational lines.
In a phone interview, Andra Gillespie, a Political Scientist based at Emory University said, “People historically thought black voters participated in the political process and voted because they had confidence in their own ability to effect change in the political system, irrespective of whether they believed politicians cared about what they thought. But there was some work that came out about 25 years ago that suggests that’s not true and that in fact that blacks feel empowered when they see blacks in positions of power.” Gillespie explained that this research did find a connection between the number of likely black voters and black elected leaders.
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