Super Tuesday brought a dramatic sea change in the 2020 Democratic primary with Joe Biden overtaking former front runner Bernie Sanders.
In the aftermath of Biden’s unexpected wave of victories, Michael Bloomberg has dropped out of the race and Elizabeth Warren is “assessing” her campaign’s future.
One of the major reasons why Joe Biden swept the south is because of the overwhelming support of black voters.
Biden’s strong performance with black voters wasn’t a surprise to Joy Reid of MSNBC. She predicted the Biden wave after seeing how he was received in a historic black church.
Biden and several other Democratic candidates commemorated the 55th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” a brutal attack on civil rights marchers in 1965, at Brown Chapel AME in Selma, Alabama on Sunday.
During MSNBC’s Super Tuesday coverage, Reid shared how Joe Biden’s reception at the sacred black church foretold Biden’s performance on Super Tuesday.
According to Reid, Biden’s treatment at the church was a moment forged in both the legacy of the civil rights movement and the Obama presidency.
“Biden has a known brand, particularly to the voters who handed it to him tonight, which is black voters,” Reid said. “They know who he is. He’s Barack Obama’s V.P.”
“There was a scene inside Brown Chapel AME that told me Biden’s going to sweep the south,” she continued.
“Biden is inside Brown AME, Brown Chapel AME which is this revered church. You don’t get on the pulpit,” Reid said. “You don’t get on the dais in a church like that.”
“Slow down, tell the story with as much detail as possible,” an engrossed Rachel Maddow chimed in.
“Brown Chapel is where the march that went across the Edmund Pettus bridge started. That’s where they organized,” Reid explained. “In the civil rights era, black voters organized in churches. That’s why churches got firebombed.”
“The way black churches work, you have to be invited to sit on a dais,” Reid said. “Family sits on the dais. The pastor sits on the dais. Pastor’s family. People that the pastor says can be up there. Biden was up there. Bloomberg was sitting in the audience.”
“Terri Sewell, who’s the Alabama congresswoman, that’s her home church. She gets up and says basically ‘This is Biden country,’” Reid continued. “‘This is Biden’s home.’ Biden gets to speak from the pulpit.”
Reid compared Biden’s acceptance into the church with Michael Bloomberg, whom several congregants turned their back to when he spoke.
“When Biden gets up, nothing but love. He gets up and speaks, he turns to Reverend Sharpton saying, ‘Remember this and that, Rev? Pastor, you know that we go back.’ He’s got relationships. Bloomberg just had money.”
“That told me Biden’s gonna win the whole south,” Reid said.
The black community’s embrace of Joe Biden in a sacred space shows that in the cynical world of politics there can still be and authentic bond between politicians and those they represent.
It also shows the beauty and power of loyalty.
Joe Biden was an unwavering supporter of Barack Obama throughout his presidency. Spending eight-plus years in full-stop support of a political ally is no easy task given the day-to-day turmoil that comes with being in the White House.
Joe Biden was unquestionably loyal to the first black family to live in the White House and he earned the loyalty of the black community in return.
