Amid George Floyd Protests, Pandemic: Where Election 2020 Stands

Racism and police brutality on the ballot. What messages are black Americans sending to politicians about what they want in November?

Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, a racial justice organization. Host of the "Voting While Black" podcast. He writes a monthly column about race, politics and corporate accountability for The Guardian. (@rashadrobinson)

Cleve Wootson, national political reporter for the Washington Post. (@CleveWootson)

Anthony Brooks, On Point's 2020 correspondent. WBUR senior political reporter. (@anthonygbrooks)

Washington Post: "Protests pose a challenge for Biden: Appealing to older and younger black voters" — "Former vice president Joe Biden views himself as so connected to the African American experience that on a debate stage in Atlanta six months ago, he declared: 'I come out of the black community.'”

Associated Press: "Iowa voters oust Rep. King, shunned for insensitive remarks" — "Republicans in northwest Iowa ousted Rep. Steve King in Tuesday’s primary, deciding they’ve had enough of the conservative lightning rod known for making incendiary comments about immigrants and white supremacy throughout his nearly two decades in Congress."

The Guardian: "The racism that's pervaded the US health system for years is even deadlier now" — "Deborah Gatewood was a black nurse who worked for 31 years in a Detroit hospital. Last weekend, she died from Covid-19 after being denied treatment by hospital doctors – four times."

New York Times: "Black Americans Have a Message for Democrats: Not Being Trump Is Not Enough" — " In an on-camera address after a week of destructive protests, former vice president Joseph R. Biden Jr. pleaded with his audience to imagine life for black people in America. Imagine, he said, 'if every time your husband or son, wife or daughter left the house, you feared for their safety.' Imagine the police called on you for sitting in Starbucks."

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Ella Jones becomes the first African American and first woman elected mayor of Ferguson" — "Councilwoman Ella Jones was elected mayor of Ferguson on Tuesday, becoming the first African American to lead the St. Louis suburb that became nationally known after a police officer killed a black teen."

Los Angeles Times: "Older black voters have a 2020 dream: Huge turnout, new president" — "When Alester Pryor thinks about what’s at stake in the 2020 presidential election, her mind drifts to the March on Washington in 1963 and the sight of her mother wiping away tears of pride and pain as they waited for Martin Luther King Jr. to give his 'I Have a Dream' speech."

Medium: "How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change" — "As millions of people across the country take to the streets and raise their voices in response to the killing of George Floyd and the ongoing problem of unequal justice, many people have reached out asking how we can sustain momentum to bring about real change."

The Guardian: "‘It could have a chilling effect’: why Trump is ramping up attacks on mail-in voting" — "Donald Trump is escalating baseless attacks on mail-in voting in what appears to be an obvious effort to sow doubt about the fairness of the 2020 election."

New York Magazine: "Will Today’s Riots Spur Electoral Backlash Like 1967’s?" — "Protests against racial injustices with a tinge (or more than a tinge) of violence haven’t matched the long history of white-mob outrages against African-Americans, but they are better known, augmenting old stereotypes of 'roving bands of youths' burning buildings and police cars after initially peaceful protests were mishandled by authorities and spun out of control."

New York Times: "Can Biden Emerge From the Basement and Meet the Moment?" — "Under normal circumstances, Joseph R. Biden Jr. might have delivered a speech on race in America on Sunday, covered by a press corps following him around the country. He might have visited Minneapolis or another city torn by violence. He might have summoned reporters to the front of his plane to critique President Trump’s leadership of a nation in crisis."

Politico: "The most volatile swing state of all" — "Minnesota, the longtime Democratic presidential stronghold that Donald Trump nearly won in 2016, has suddenly become ground zero in a campaign that already promised to inflame racial and cultural divides."

New York Times: "Black Workers, Already Lagging, Face Big Economic Risks" — "The coronavirus recession has hit black Americans particularly hard, amplifying racial inequalities that may worsen as the economy begins what is expected to be a slow climb back to where it was before the crisis."