Community | Praxis

Whatever Happened to Donald Trump and the Black Vote?

This was supposed to be the post-Barack Obama presidential election when Republicans regained a modest share of the black vote, but Donald Trump has watched support among these voters fade nationwide and in battleground states where minorities could play a decisive role. The Republican presidential nominee is missing a golden opportunity to make inroads to black communities. Worse yet for the New York real estate mogul, he is driving black voters to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton — in one survey he attracted just 1 percent…

Gary Johnson on Race and Poverty: ‘My Head’s Been in the Sand’

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson has been making a heavy play for left-leaning voters in his second run for the White House. On Wednesday, he turned that effort up a notch when asked about racial issues, a subject that has long been a difficult one for libertarians given their tendency to support almost no role for the federal government in ending private racial discrimination. Asked by a questioner during a televised town hall discussion about his thoughts concerning the “Black Lives Matter movement,” the former…

Among Whites, There’s a Strong Correlation Between Racial Antagonism and Trump Support

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign effectively bucked what the political scientists Donald Kinder and Lynn Sanders adroitly termed the Republican Party’s electoral temptation of race — using implicit racial appeals to win over racially conservative voters without appearing overtly racist. Trump’s play instead was to make several explicitly hostile statements about minority groups. Trump has been willing to go where most Republican presidential candidates haven’t. That might have made anti-minority sentiments a more potent force in the 2016 GOP primaries than in primaries past. That’s plausible, because campaign appeals…

The Incredible Value of ‘Oppression’ in Holding Together the Democratic Coalition

To maintain loyalty, the Democratic party incites anxiety about discrimination and exclusion. A form of reverse race-baiting, perhaps best thought of as bigot-baiting, has become crucial for sustaining the Democratic coalition, which is why we hear so much about “hate” these days. At the recent gay pride parade in New York, a few weeks after the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, marchers held aloft an avenue-wide banner that read, “Republican Hate Kills!” It’s important to remember a first law of politics for…

Cleared of Charges, Freddie Gray Officers May Find Returning to Work Difficult

After a Baltimore jury convicted him for shooting a man during a 1996 traffic stop, Sgt. Stephen R. Pagotto said he became a pariah in the community and with top police brass. The Baltimore Police Department fired him, and he became a car salesman in Harford County, where he moved from his Northeast Baltimore home after vandals tagged his van with “killer cop.” When Maryland’s highest court reversed his conviction in 2000, he wanted to get back to policing but said command staff made it…

Study: Unsanitary Conditions in Prisons, Jails Spreading Diseases Into General Populations

The cycling of inmates in and out of prisons and jails around the world contributes significantly to the global epidemics of HIV, viral hepatitis and tuberculosis, according to new research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. […] The authors reached their conclusions by analyzing nearly 300 scientific papers written about prisoners and infectious diseases by scientists around the world during the past 10 years. They also requested research data from United Nations organizations and from prison officials in countries such as China…

After Botched Prosecutions, Marilyn Mosby to Face Officer Lawsuits

Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is going from prosecutor to civil defendant in connection with the case of the death of Freddie Gray. On Wednesday, Mosby announced that charges against three officers still facing trial were being dropped. Mosby gave only a statement, but had to leave without taking questions because five of the officers in the case have filed lawsuits against her. Officers Garrett Miller, Edward Nero and William Porter as well as Sgt. Alicia White and Lt. Brian Rice are suing Mosby and…

Black Americans With College Educations More Likely to Report Discrimination

A majority of black Americans say that at some point in their lives they’ve experienced discrimination or were treated unfairly because of their race or ethnicity, but blacks who have attended college are more likely than those without any college experience to say so, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. About eight-in-ten blacks with at least some college experience (81%) say they’ve faced discrimination or been treated unfairly because of their race or ethnicity, compared with 59% of blacks who have never attended…

Baltimore Attorney Marilyn Mosby Faces Bar Complaint for Freddie Gray Prosecutions

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has been under fire. Now she could potentially face being disbarred, WJZ’s Meghan McCorkell reports. A new complaint filed with the Maryland Bar Counsel calls Mosby “a runaway prosecutor” and alleges she violated ethics rules, claiming she never had probable cause to charge six officers in the death of Freddie Gray. “I think Marilyn Mosby has harmed the city of Baltimore. And if she continues, that harm will get worse,” said law professor John Banzhaf, George Washington University. Banzhaf,…

Hispanics Least Worried About Presidential Election, Black Women Most Worried

Despite Donald Trump’s harsh anti-immigration rhetoric throughout this year’s presidential campaign, Hispanics are less likely than either whites or blacks to “strongly agree” that they are afraid of what will happen if their candidate loses. Hispanics also are less likely to agree that the stakes in this year’s presidential election are higher than usual. Large majorities of all three major U.S. racial and ethnic groups agree the election stakes are higher this year than in prior years, with 66% of blacks, 63% of whites and…

Understanding the present is the key to the future