by Fred Logan
This year, U.S. Congresswoman Summer Lee is running for reelection in the U.S. House of Representative Pennsylvania District 12. The district covers all of Pittsburgh, much of Allegheny County, and parts of Westmoreland County. Summer Lee is faced with a hard-fought campaign. The Allegheny County African American vote is a critical factor in the race.
In 2022, the 12th District population was 758, 799 people, 72 percent White, 15.1 percent Black, 4.5 percent Asian, 2.8 percent Hispanic…
Pennsylvania is touted to be a key battle ground state in this year’s presidential race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Millions and millions of dollars will be spent. The 12 District congressional race is a key battle ground.
The strategy of Summer Lee’s opponents is to outflank her from the right, to turn out the MAGA Republicans, Blue Dog Democrats and those “Independent” White folks who still claim, at this late very date, they can’t make up their minds on Trump. There are plenty of them in the 12th District.
Remember the political axiom that Pennsylvania has Pittsburgh on one end Philadelphia on the other end with “Mississippi in between”— Hell No! with apartheid South Africa in between.
Summer Lee’s platform agenda should sound very familiar to the Black community. It echoes many of the priorities of the 1972 National Black Political Agenda and countless Black Agendas since then.
Matter of fact, many of the domestic and foreign policies now being championed by the rising “Progressive” wing of the national Democratic Party, and which are cheered on in some quarters of mainstream White America, often sound like Black Agenda plagiarism.
Summer Lee is the first African American and the first woman to hold this congressional seat. That, we assume, should encourage local Black voter turnout for Summer Lee. But, the at best, run-of the-mill, Joe Biden is the Democratic presidential candidate. In 2020 the police-state assassination of George Floyd in Minneapolis enflamed the National Black Community. And the Democratic Party establishment spent millions and millions of dollars fanning the Black outrage to turn out the national Black vote. That was a major factor in Biden’s victory over Donald Trump.
Now, go online to Summer Lee’s 2024 endorsements and take notice, three dozen organizations representing a variety of interest groups have officially endorsed her. Take notice, not one of the three dozen is a self-reliant African American political institution that can carry out the essential tasks of US politics.
The diverse interest groups endorsing Congresswoman Lee are in her campaign to defend and promote their diverse interests. That’s realpolitik, power politics.
The 12 District Black community must do the same for its interests. This must be a priority in 2024 along with supporting Congresswoman Lee.
The 12th District African American community still has not created the political base necessary for the Black community to join, as an equal partner, in coalition-politics with other local interest groups that share similar political goals.
Black politics is power politics grounded in the moral and ethical politics of Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, and the centuries-old ethical politics of the National Black Community.
Congresswoman Lee has only been in office for just a year and some months. New congressional members are besieged with awesome politics tasks in Washington and in their home districts. Summer Lee is confronted with that.
Congresswoman Summer Lee is in the “Progressive,” “Rainbow” wing of the Democratic Party. That’s very good, but we must keep in mind that power politics goes on every day in “Progressive,” “Rainbow” Democratic Party politics.
Not very long ago, a self-proclaimed Pittsburgh “Rainbow candidate” ran twice for city council. But he never received the official endorsement of the Chicago-based National Rainbow Coalition. NRC leader, the Reverend Jesse Jackson did support GOP politician Richard “Dick” Thornburg, and he also supported Philadelphia politician Congressman William “Bill” Green. Neither claimed any “Rainbow” credentials.
Just recently, the veteran and impeccable “Progressive” US African American Congresswoman Barbara Lee lost a US Senate race in California, the most “Progressive-Rainbow” state in the United States of America. She lost to a run-of-the-mill White mainstream moderate. The difference, big money! And “Green,” money, is a very, very important color in the Rainbow. And who has control of the most money, White folks do that’s who.
The local Black community must use the rising momentum of the Black Reparations Movement to build that Black political infrastructure that most of us know we desperately need in 2024 and beyond.
Some Progressive and Rainbow White folks argue Black Reparations “divides the working class vote.” More accurately and honestly, Black Reparations “unites” a mixed-bag of assorted White progressives with the White right against Black Reparations. In fact, Black Reparations is a historic struggle to attack the vile, criminal US wealth gap irrespective of race. Progressive and Rainbow White folks claim to oppose this vile, criminal wealth gap.
As of April 5 with less than three weeks before the primaries there has been very little evidence of the Summer Lee campaign via window signs, yard posters, motorcades, and campaign rallies in the Hill District, Homewood, Larimer, East Hills, or other majority-African American Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
In the few remaining days of the Democratic primaries, the Black community must get on the case and saturate these neighborhoods with Summer Lee rallies, motorcades, window signs, and yard posters.
This is a major challenge for the Summer Lee campaign and for her supporters in these neighborhoods.
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