I didn't vote in 2016, because I was unsatisfied with the presidential candidates from the two major parties, and I didn't follow the third-party candidates well enough to make a decision to vote for one of them. I did not regret that decision, but I decided that I needed to link up with like-minded individuals in the electoral arena next time. When I identified the party that spoke to me and my political values, I thought I'd make it official: In 2017, I registered with a political party for the first time ever and joined the Green Party. I first got interested in them after Cynthia McKinney ran for president in 2008. Back then, I was unable to vote because I was living in a temporary location.
​
I do plan to vote in November. I just feel like I have another option now. In the general national election, I plan to vote for Howie Hawkins. He is the co-founder of the Green Party, so he embodies the values and the platform. He was the first candidate to run on a Green New Deal, in 2010, and I'm really excited about that as an economic and ecological program. That's critical in this time, I think, because the U.S. withdrew from the Paris agreement under Trump. My polling place is just around the corner, and I have the graveyard shift, so I'm confident that I'll be able to cast my ballot.​

Related: Black Voters (2020)
Related: Electoral Politics (2019)
Related: "The Case for an Independent Left Party" (2020)
Related: Presidential Election (2020)
Related: Internat'l mission to U.S. elections (2022)
​Related: Local Candidate Forum (2022)

In April I reviewed Toxic Inequality by Thomas M. Shapiro, which he published post-Obama. The book was a follow-up to The Hidden Cost of Being African-American, which he published pre-Obama. The racial wealth gap didn't close under Barack Obama, even though he overcame the Great Recession. I'm not confident that the racial wealth gap will close under Biden either (or Donald Trump, for that matter).

Joe Biden (the presumptive president-elect) will inherit both a pandemic on the home front, the latest recession, and the greatest debt ceiling in human history. I think the overarching appeal to Black voters for middle-class status won't withstand the pledge without a Green New Deal component. That is to say a 2030 timeline for net-zero emissions in the short term.​

A post on "EXCLUSIVE OP-ED: My Plan to Lift Every Voice in Black America" (Joe Biden)

Jubalyn ExWilliams lives in Pennsylvania (United States). During the COVID shutdown, she petitioned on-foot to help third-party candidates Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker get on the state ballot. Her writings and commentaries, including one on "EXCLUSIVE OP-ED: My Plan to Lift Every Voice in Black America" by Joe Biden, at landturn.com/blog.

Related: Black Voters (Q1)
Related: Global Recession (Q2)
Related: Unemployment Rate (Q3)
Related: Why this winter is deadlier for the homeless (Q4)
Related: Internat'l mission to U.S. elections: correspondence (2022)
Related: Green candidate for senate on special prosecutors, student loan debt (2022)
Related: As American as Student Loan Debt (2020)
Related: Americans also have medical debt (2020)
Related: Public Intellectuals in Pennsylvania, II (2022)

Please join the #CheyneyChallenge, a monthly donation campaign for America's first HBCU. I made my most recent donation of $18.37 today.

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
cheyney.edu
Est. 1837
​
The Cheyney Challenge is an initiative of alumnus Mr. Bright. I committed to it in 2015, and began donating the following year.

Related: September Cheyney Challenge (2020)
Related: October Cheyney Challenge (2021)
Related: October Cheyney Challenge (2022)