With the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement in conjunction with the upcoming presidential election, more and more people seem to be paying attention to what candidates are saying about the issues disproportionality affecting Black communities—police brutality, mass incarceration, unemployment, environmental racism, and more. It should be noted that all issues present in the election are intersecting. They impact the lives of all marginalized peoples.

We’ve seen Black Lives Matter activists across the country challenging politicians, leaders, and presidential candidates on the national stage, urging them to address issues of police brutality and systemic racism. We’ve seen candidates like Bernie Sanders proclaim that Black Lives Matter and other candidates ignore the issue completely, more specifically the GOP in their first debate. Because of the rhetoric espoused by many Republican candidates around reproductive rights, the economy, and war, I’m choosing not to spend this piece talking about them because most of their ideology and ideas would have an adverse effect on my ability to live a full, free, affirming life as a Black working-class woman. For this piece I will focus on the two major topics that I’m personally paying attention to as they pertain to deciding who will get my vote in 2016. Those two subjects are police brutality/policing reform and education/access to higher education.
Read More “Bulaong’s List of Important Issues to Think About for the 2016 Elections” >