Booker seeks dialogue about race as he kicks off 2020 campaign
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has put the topics of race and reconciliation front and center in his nascent presidential campaign.
Since announcing his 2020 bid earlier this month, the New Jersey senator has talked in personal terms about racism — his parents’ struggle with housing discrimination in the 1960s, for example — and the need to have “honest conversations” about race.
"It is an issue he can own like few others," a former aide to President Obama said. "It is something he has talked about and has focused on since he was mayor and it might be the issue he is most authentic about when listening to him.”
The early campaign themes are emblematic of growing calls among Democrats and progressives to address issues of discrimination and racial inequality at a time when support from minority voters is seen as crucial to the party’s electoral success.
"It is a major issue right now which white progressives, especially younger progressives, are increasingly seeking to understand better: how they can be a part of the healing,” the former Obama aide said.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/430289-booker-seeks-dialogue-about-race-as-he-kicks-off-2020-campaign?userid=229233
