The news media on Wednesday hyped the decision of a black journalist to vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders as though it were a sign of a shift in racial politics, even though black voters continue to support Hillary Clinton by a massive margin.
Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, regarded in the political-media world as an authority on racism and as an advocate for reparations, said in an interview Wednesday on Democracy Now that he would be voting for Sanders.
In the interview, Coates criticized Sanders for failing to support reparations but still said he is “the best option we have in the race.”
Subsequently on Twitter and in an article for the Atlantic, Coates said he rejected the idea that he had endorsed Sanders and said, “Too often individuals are appointed to speak for black people. I don’t want any part of it.”
Even so, his non-endorsement was interpreted as an erosion of black voter support for Clinton.
“Ta-Nehisi Coates is voting Sanders. How big of a problem is this for Clinton?” asked a blog post at the Washington Post.
Lending the subject some weight, Politico described the non-endorsement as: “Influential African-American author Ta-Nehisi Coates says he’s voting for Bernie Sanders.”
CNN described Coates as “among the country’s most influential African-American social and political commentators.”
Sanders has some momentum in the 2016 presidential race among Democrats, thanks to his win in the New Hampshire primary this week and Clinton’s near-loss in Iowa the week before. Now, however, both candidates are heading into states more favorable to Clinton because of their higher population of black voters, which are supporting Clinton in large majorities.
In South Carolina, where black voters make up most Democratic voters, Clinton’s is receiving 80 percent of black voters’ support, while Sanders is getting 8 percent, according to a poll conducted in late 2015 by Winthrop University.
Nationally, a February survey by the Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling found that Clinton’s support among black voters is at 80 percent, and that Sanders was again at 8 percent.
Also, on Thursday, the Congressional Black Caucus political action committee, which “works to increase the number of African Americans in the U.S. Congress,” endorsed Clinton.
Even so, the liberal news website Salon said that Sanders received a “crucial nod” from Coates as Sanders “shifts to face black voters.”
The liberal Mother Jones said Coates’ support for Sanders “are a sign that the degree of support Clinton is counting on from the black community might be slipping away.”
Alternet, another liberal news site, said “The tide appears to be turning against the Clintons’ long and close relationship with many African-American voters.”
On Twitter, Coates seemed aware of the impact of his non-endorsement of Sanders. He retweeted one person Wednesday who said, “Who the f— is Ta-Nehisi Coates?”
