2020 Democrats pressed for detailed policies and priorities by women of color

HOUSTON – Elizabeth Odunsi worries about her brothers and other black male family and friends. She fears that a chance encounter with police will end in tragedy.

The 34-year-old Houston resident, whose mother is from Nigeria, also worries about cousins who are Dreamers, young immigrants protected from deportation under the policy of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

For her, immigration and criminal justice, along with health care. are issues that strike on a personal level – and she wants to see a presidential contender who will go beyond lip service and buzz words.

Showing up is not enough. She wants action.

That's why she came to Texas Southern University on Wednesday for an event billed as the first presidential candidate forum targeting issues that matter to women of color. The three-hour forum, which featured eight declared Democratic candidates, was sponsored by She the People and drew about 2,000 attendees from 28 states.

More: Black students say they want 2020 candidates' issues, not pandering, ahead of She the People forum

More: Who is running for president in 2020? An interactive guide

Presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro spoke to the crowd about housing and health care, criminal justice, voting rights, gentrification and climate change.

Members of the lively crowd in return called out answers that fell short and candidates who swerved around questions.

There were few surprises: Sanders touted his long record of advocating against income inequality and mentioned marching with Martin Luther King Jr. (a response that elicited groans from the audience).

Booker, who served as mayor of Newark, New Jersey, spoke of how climate change impacts communities of color. O'Rourke noted that his hometown of El Paso, Texas, is one of the safest cities in the country as he voiced support for immigrants and immigration.

Warren garnered standing ovations for her proposal to tackle the crisis of maternal mortality among African American women (by giving hospitals a bonus for reducing rates and fining them if they fail to do so) and for her standard response to almost every question: "I have a plan."

Several of the candidates took swipes at the current White House resident. Booker said President Donald Trump's rhetoric has helped incite right-wing extremism, and Sanders condemned the president's "racism, sexism and homophobia."

The questions came from moderators and audience members who reflected the diversity among women of color: a caregiver from Miami, a restaurant worker from New Orleans, a Native American activist and several undocumented immigrants.

The forum signaled a rising awareness of the critical role women of color – especially black women – have long played in elections and the clout they expect to wield in the 2020 presidential race.

They helped lead voter turnout efforts last year, including in governor's races in Georgia and Florida, where Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum edged close to victory. They helped Democrat Doug Jones clinch the 2017 Senate race in Alabama. They helped make this Congress the most diverse in history by supporting women candidates of color.

Wendy Smooth, associate professor in the Department of Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies at Ohio State University, called the forum an important event for Democrats to be "a lot more serious about their engagement with women of color and particularly black women.”

It’s up to the candidates “to make a true connection with women of color, which means more than saying, ‘I see women of color, I know women of color.' … We’ve seen that before," Smooth said. It’s important “that we see candidates who are actually engaging with issues that women of color are concerned about."

The location of the forum drove home that message, with multiple layers of history and relevance. It took place in Texas, long a solidly red state but a potential pivotal battleground after O’Rourke ran a competitive Senate campaign against Republican Ted Cruz.

Houston is in Harris County, the third-largest and one of the most racially and ethnically diverse metro areas in the country, where 17 African American women judges – running under the slogan “Black Girl Magic” – were elected to the bench in the midterms in November.

And Texas Southern University is one of the country’s 101 historically black universities, institutions created before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to serve African-Americans.

It's a “welcoming place to have a discussion about what Democratic candidates are thinking,” said Rickey Hill, retired chair of the political science department at Jackson State University. “One would think that there is a base out there that they can tap into.’’

Michelle Tremillo, executive director and co-founder of the Texas Organizing Project, a grassroots organization that helped turn out 465,000 voters – including 270,000 new midterm voters – last November, came to the forum with two questions:

Who could not only help defeat Trump but would also usher in policies that would change life for the better in communities of color? Who understands and prioritizes criminal justice, immigration, economic justice and the right to a living wage?

Brianna Brown, deputy director of the Texas Organizing Project, said the forum was an opportunity for candidates to put forth bold policy agendas that center on black women.

"We need people speaking directly to us," Brown said, "and doing so unapologetically."

After the forum, Odunsi, who supported O'Rourke during his Senate run, described Warren as the standout of the event because of her well-laid-out plans. She was also impressed by Sanders, who vowed that his cabinet would reflect the diversity of the country, and by Harris, who noted the irony that many young black men served time for marijuana offenses yet are blocked from participating in the growing and lucrative legal marijuana industry.

"The candidates made me feel like there is hope for real change," she said. "We aren't lost yet."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2020 Democrats pressed for detailed policies and priorities by women of color