Yohuru Williams, PhD, distinguished university chair and founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas, recently spoke with Politico to share his insights on the cultural and political issues in the vice presidential debate, including immigration and racial justice.
From the story:
The face-off between Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz could be the final time Americans see anyone from the opposing presidential tickets in the same room before Election Day – given that there’s no other scheduled debate.
That ramps up the pressure for both men to not just land rhetorical jabs and paint each other as “unfit for office,” but also to avoid delivering a subpar performance in the critical closing stretch of the campaign.
There are a number of minefields they’ll need to navigate, from Walz’s military record to Vance’s past dislike for Trump. But The Recast is watching for three particular culture war issues tonight: how Vance navigates his unsubstantiated claims against Haitian migrants, how Walz addresses his handling of the George Floyd protests, and whether “childless cat ladies” comes back up, as the Trump-Vance campaign struggles to win over more women. ...
Yohuru Williams believes Walz exercised appropriate caution, pointing to several deadly clashes in the 1960s, when governors used National Guard troops to break up racial protests.
“Walz was in the National Guard so part of the argument he can make as a former guardsman is … that he understands the awesome power of the guard and what that (represents) in American history,” said Williams, an activist and founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas, which is in Minnesota.
