BLACK AMERICA GOES INDEPENDENT

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ARTICLES
Why I Believe Black America Should Embrace Political Independence – Jarell Corley
More and more, the Black community has become collateral damage in today’s politics. As much as we’ve gained from our close association to the Democratic Party, I fear we’ve lost even more. The moment Black America became a guaranteed block of voters for Democrats, was the moment our “special” relationship became one defined by broken promises and lopsided compromises that leave us patiently waiting for reforms that never come. If we are to truly empower our community, we must form new coalitions, separate from the two-party system, and join hands in an independent movement for electoral reform.
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Americans mourn while politicians remain paralyzed – David Cherry
America’s politicians operate in a broken political system that rewards partisanship and punishes collaboration. Republicans running for office in closed Republican primaries can’t be “shamed” into changing their positions on gun safety legislation. In fact, supporting this type of legislation guarantees they will be defeated in a primary challenge.
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For the people, not for the parties: Open primaries empower African-Americans – Dr. Jessie Fields
The black community is being told, in many different ways, that its interests are synonymous with protecting the two-party system in general, and the Democratic Party in particular. Is that consistent with empowering African-Americans in today’s world? With 42 percent of Americans now identifying as independent, many people, myself included, feel that blind loyalty to the Democratic Party is not an option.
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The 2-Party System Keeps Racism In Place – Dr. Jessie Fields
Democratic and Republican leaders have routinely let down black Americans. It’s time to march toward independence...Political independence is the best choice for the black community to break from party control and gain greater political mobility.
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Democrats’ reforms don’t go far enough for African Americans – Dr. Jessie Fields
H.R. 1 is incomplete because it fails to recognize important changes within the broader electorate and ignores structural changes such as open primaries that would empower millions of African-Americans, and many millions more Americans, to fully participate.
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The democracy reform and Black political agendas must become aligned – Dr. Jessie Fields, Darryl Gray
While Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden is, of course, the main event in American democracy this week, there are new conversations taking place in Black politics looking beyond this year toward important changes in the relationship between Black empowerment, electoral reform and the Democratic Party.
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How Open Primaries Empower Communities of Color – Dr. Jessie Fields
Amendment 3, which is on the Florida ballot this November, will establish an open, primary for state offices, ending the exclusion of 3.5 million independent voters — including hundreds of thousands of people of color — from voting in primaries. This system is not new. It is currently used throughout Florida for municipal and many county elections.
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A Black, Latinx, and Independent alliance
(Picture by Victoria Pickering)“African Americans, Latinx, and Independents were the critical margin of victory for President-elect Joseph Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris when the state of Pennsylvania called the contest in their favor just before noon on Saturday, November 7, securing enough Electoral College votes to win the presidential election.”
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The democracy reform and Black political agendas must become aligned – The Fulcrum
In an op-ed published by The Fulcrum on November 2nd, Rev. Darryl Gray and Dr. Jessie Fields discuss the emerging debate within the Black community about how to actualize the demand for change. Is it within the Democratic Party or is there a new path to be forged?
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Open Primaries Will Benefit Minority Voters – South Florida Sun Sentinel
In an op-ed published in the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Dr. Jessie Fields expresses her support for Amendment 3, an initiative on the ballot in Florida this November that would establish top-two open primaries in the state, and explains that while opponents of the amendment attempt to spread misinformation about the harm open primaries does to candidates of color, the opposite is actually true - open primaries have proven to create more opportunities for candidates of color and new pathways for empowerment.
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How Can We Move Forward in Anger and Determination? An Independents’ Dialogue on Current Events, Protest and Political Power
On Wednesday, June 3, Independent Voting President Jackie Salit hosted a Zoom event titled "How Can We Move Forward in Anger and Determination? An Independents’ Dialogue on Current Events, Protest and Political Power." The event took place in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers and the public outcry for justice that resulted. Salit was joined by three distinguished guests: Michael Hardy, Executive Director and General Counsel of the National Action Network and Rev. Al Sharpton; David Cherry, leader of the All Stars Project in Chicago and President of the Leaders Network; and Dr. Jessie Fields, physician, front-line activist for democracy reform and Independent Voting board member. 
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David Cherry Endorses STL Approves
"The Black community has always been in the forefront of the fight for democracy."
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Both Parties Have Exploited Racism for Political Gain – Jessie Fields
“True political empowerment requires that the black community move beyond being the loyal constituency of any political party. Dismantling structural racism demands political independence.”
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Time for Florida Dems to embrace open primaries – Aaron McKinney
“The numbers of independent (NPA) voters are exploding and are growing faster than either major political party. 27 percent of registered voters - 3.6 million Floridians — are now independents. And they are shut out of voting in Florida’s closed primary elections.”
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For the People not the Parties: Open Primaries Empower African Americans – Jessie Fields
“Our task is not to fix the system so that it works better for the parties. It’s time to make the system work better for the people, for all the people, to aim everlastingly forward on the long road of social transformation.”
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Oprah Winfrey – Why I’m an Independent Voter
"I don't want any party," said Winfrey at a campaign event for Stacey Abrams, Democratic Party candidate for Governor of Georgia, "and I don’t want any kind of partisan influence telling me what decisions I get to make for myself.
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A Voice in the Wilderness: Micah White
"Everyone should be talking to Dr. Lenora Fulani. Who is Dr. Lenora Fulani? I just discovered her myself. In 1988, Dr. Lenora Fulani ran for president. She’s an African-American woman and she ran for president in 1988. She was on every state ballot, 50 state ballots. The Green Party in 2016 did not get on every state ballot. What I’m saying is that she knows it’s possible. Why do I have to wait until 2017 to learn about someone who did this in 1988? Everyone’s telling me it’s impossible but here’s a black woman in 1988 who did this. We all pretend like Hillary Clinton was the first, but here’s a black woman who did this. She’s still alive, people. She should be in every single interview right now. I think what I’m saying, is, there are people out there who we can learn from, but again, notice she didn’t just stay on the left. She worked with Left and Right, and Lefts hated her for that. Again, there’re these people who’ve been ostracized, but who they hold wisdom, and we need to start tapping into it."
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Nonpartisan Elections Crucial to Increase Voter Turnout
If we want to bring people together and increase voter participation, we must dismantle the structures that keep them apart.
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Testimony to the Democratic National Committee
We will never break the partisan gridlock in Congress, until and unless every voter has a meaningful vote in the presidential election process
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The Last Time Trump Wrecked a Party
“I was interested in gaining access to his blue collar white voters because I’ve always been concerned with that split between the interest of people of color and the white working class.”
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Democracy? So Why Can’t We Vote for Bernie Sanders?
We want to vote for Senator Bernie Sanders in the presidential primary taking place in New York on April 19, 2016. But we cannot.
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MEET OUR NETWORK
  • Juliana Francisco

    Juliana Francisco lives in Brooklyn and is an activist with IndependentVoting.org and the New York City Independence Clubs.  She is on the phones daily with independents around the country as part of a phone outreach team

  • Randy Miller

    Randy Miller, UT, leader of Utah League of Independent Voters, Miller has been out in front in organizing meetings of independents, and campaigns for other Utah activists to participate in shining a light on the issues of independents. Miller collected 100 post cards from independents who signed to Open Our Democracy

  • Gwen Samuel

    Gwen Samuel, Meriden CT., founder of several parents groups and champion of several educational reform bill, Samuel left the Democratic Party last year to become an independent and form Independent Voters of Connecticut.

  • Tiani Coleman

    Tiani Coleman, Amherst, NH is an attorney, mother and founder of New Hampshire Independent Voters, Tiani is the former Salt Lake County chair of the Republican Party in Utah

  • Rick Robol

    Rick Robol is Chair of Independent Ohio and leader of Independent Voting’s National Election Reform Committee.  An attorney and member of Veterans for Bernie Sanders