BALTIMORE
— The first “Amen!” rang out after a couple of minutes, as Senator
Elizabeth Warren, speaking to an almost all-black audience at Morgan
State University’s winter commencement, described how America has
“systematically discriminated against black people.”
Heads
nodded as she mentioned “redlining,” the discriminatory practice of
denying mortgages, usually in poor and nonwhite areas. There was
applause when the Massachusetts Democrat declared the country has “two
sets of rules: one for white families and one for everybody else.”
Still,
if her speech at the historically black college in Baltimore was a
preview of a possible presidential campaign, she did better at opening
the door than at closing the sale. “She didn’t sugarcoat anything, but
my question is: Will she keep black issues on the forefront?” asked
Kerrianne Largie, a 39 year old woman who backed Senator Bernie Sanders
of Vermont in the last Democratic primary.
The
first votes of the Democratic presidential primary remain more than a
year away, but black voters are keenly aware of the prominent role they
will play in choosing the next nominee. In 2016, Mr. Sanders’s
“political revolution” flamed out with black voters, and Hillary Clinton
fell short of the robust black turnout she needed to defeat Donald J.
Trump.
This
time around, Democrats are weighing how to reach out to the black
community in the primary without losing the ability to appeal to the
suburban and working class whites who propelled Mr. Trump to victory. As
the party searches for a candidate who can combine those messages —
from a field likely to include several racial minorities — many black
voters want to be engaged in a manner that reflects their electoral
power, and not passed over in favor of a strategy that prioritizes Mr.
Trump’s heavily white coalition.
With
that in mind, potential Democratic candidates interested in the 2020
nomination have begun reaching out to black leaders and are testing
messages for black voter outreach. This courting is particularly
critical for white, liberal Democrats like Ms. Warren, Representative
Beto O’Rourke of Texas, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and lesser-known
figures like Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
Some
of the early black outreach efforts so far have been public, like Ms.
Warren’s three recent speeches at historically black colleges or Mr.
O’Rourke’s appearance on “Pod Save the People,” the podcast led by
racial justice activist DeRay Mckesson.
Other
overtures were made in private. Mr. O’Rourke has held calls with the
Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil rights leader, and made repeated contact
with senior members of the N.A.A.C.P. In recent months, Mr. Merkley and
Texas Democrat Julián Castro have reached out to Rashad Robinson, the
president of Color of Change, the progressive civil rights advocacy
group that has positioned itself as a go-to sounding board for
prospective candidates.
Ms. Warren
has stood out in her aggressive wooing of black leaders, according to
several people who have spoken with members of her team. During a trip
to New York City, she arranged a sit-down meeting with Mr. Robinson to
discuss issues popular with social justice activists, including the
elimination of cash bail and sweeping criminal justice reform.
“The
person that is able to beat Trump won’t be running against Trump per
se, they’ll be running for a vision of America that’s bigger than him.
And that vision of America will have to speak to black voters,
explicitly,” Mr. Mckesson said in a statement. Several prospective
candidates reached out to Mr. Mckesson in order to appear on his
podcast, including Mr. O’Rourke and lesser known presidential candidates
such as Representative John Delaney of Maryland.
Mr.
Robinson, the head of Color of Change, said candidates seeking to run
in 2020 are not asking for endorsements or statements of support at this
time. He said his meeting with Ms. Warren and others was more about
discussing policy issues, rather than campaign strategy. The meetings
come as several possible presidential campaigns, including that of Mr.
Sanders, have made hiring more diverse campaign staffers a top priority.
“I
think some of the candidates don’t get that they’re going to have to
actually come with a bold agenda,” Mr. Robinson said. “If candidates
think that this is just about who can beat Trump, they’re going to have a
rude awakening. People can hate Trump and not love the opposition. It
actually has to be about putting out something that allows people to
feel like they are connected and their community’s issues are being
addressed.”
The behind-the-scenes
activity signals just how different this upcoming primary stands to be
for Democrats. Not only are multiple black candidates expected to run,
including Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of
California, but several white candidates are confident they can
successfully compete for minority votes.
This includes people like Ms. Warren and Mr. Merkley, but also Mitch Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor, who
is also said to be mulling a presidential run. Mr. Landrieu burst onto
the national stage with a well-received speech about institutional
racism and the Confederate monuments in 2017.
Mr.
Brown, the Ohio Democrat also considering a presidential campaign, said
it’s important that Democratic progressives make a distinction between
President Trump’s “phony populism” and a true populist message, which
does not divide on racial or religious lines.
In
an interview, Mr. Brown said those who characterize him as a politician
for the “white working class” are missing the point, because his
message on the “dignity of work” — which is inspired by a speech from
Martin Luther King Jr. — specifically acknowledges the existence of
discrimination and has support throughout Ohio’s minority communities.
“I
never talked about the “white working class” — I talk about workers,”
Mr. Brown said. “If we talk about the minimum wage increase, or if we
fight against tax cuts for the rich or if we passed better trade policy —
that will help black workers every bit as much as it will help white
workers. And in many cases, it will probably help them more.”
“My
message is never to segment white workers and black workers except when
talking about discrimination against black workers,” he said.
The
road forward will not be easy. In 2016, even as Mrs. Clinton enjoyed
widespread support from black political leaders and won an overwhelming
share of black votes in the primary and general elections, she was
plagued by accusations that her political persona was inauthentic.
Images
of Mrs. Clinton performing hip-hop dances like the Whip and the Nae Nae
on national television or talking about her love of hot sauce remain
punch lines for many black voters, some of whom took such instances as
evidence Mrs. Clinton was “pandering” for minority votes. (Mrs. Clinton
does, in fact, love hot sauce).
There
was also a significant generational gap among black voters in the 2016
Democratic primary, with younger black voters significantly more likely
to be open to the populist message of Mr. Sanders than older
generations, who overwhelmingly backed Mrs. Clinton.
In
2020, progressives need to do a better job of tailoring their message
to older black voters, said Yvette Simpson, incoming head of Democracy
For America, the progressive political group that backed Mr. Sanders in
2016. These are the voters — particularly in the South and the urban
Midwest — who dictate the party’s future agenda and candidate, she said.
“Black
and brown voters are done with you showing up at my church right before
the elections,” Ms. Simpson said. The candidates who will be successful
with black voters, she said, are the “ones who have strong local
presences, who are setting up offices and hiring local people in those
offices. It will be the ones constantly asking, ‘What can we do?’ and
showing a commitment to come back and do that work over and over again.”
Ms. Simpson said she has not heard from any prospective candidates, and fears too many are taking advice from the wrong voices.
“You can’t just have the one or two black or brown validators as your only connection to the community.”
In Baltimore, many of those interviewed expressed excitement about the broad range of potential Democratic candidates.
Les
Levi, a commodities trader and Morgan State alumnus who attended the
graduation, said he was looking for someone with “mass appeal,” because
the country is currently so divided. Esther Sakyi, a 23 year old
graduate, said she wants someone who will inspire the next generation.
Sherry
Clemons, 60, said she appreciated when Ms. Warren said “I am not a
person of color,” in her Morgan State speech, because it made clear she
was operating from different life experiences.
“She
made clear she recognized what’s going on, but also she made clear that
she’s white, and she doesn’t understand everything,” Ms. Clemons said.
But
they were also clear that special attention would be given to black
candidates like Ms. Harris and Mr. Booker — if they became viable.
“I
liked Hillary. I like Warren,’’ Mr. Levi said. “But if there’s a black
person, I’m voting black 100 percent,” he said. “Because that’s how the
white people do us.”
A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: For 2020 Nominee, Black Voters Demand More. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
