Podcast: Race, gender and politics – the ’90s all over again?

Last week, Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders in the New York Democratic primary, winning 75 percent of black voters. She scored highest with black women, 79 percent of whom voted for Clinton, compared with 67 percent of Latinas and 56 percent of white women.

Although we often read about the “black vote” as a monolith, I wanted to discuss the context and meaning of a crucial demographic for Democrats and understand it within this particular election cycle. What explains Clinton’s advantage? And why can’t Bernie get any traction?

Enter Fordham University Professor Christina Greer, a political scientist and the author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream.” Professor Greer provides some valuable context on the schism in black support between Clinton and Sanders and why the 1994 crime bill is – fairly or unfairly – only a small part of the Clinton legacy in the eyes of black voters. Professor Greer also explains why Bill Clinton might end up being an albatross around his wife’s neck as she heads toward the general election in a likely matchup against the presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump.

“To me, it’s always been my critique of the Clintons – that they reek of the ’90s,” Greer said. “Her husband, unfortunately, is stuck in Groundhog’s Day. When he was on top of the world, when he was president, he left with great approval ratings, even after all of the scandals – plural. He’s stuck in his happy place.”

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