Zerlina Maxwell talks new book, race and why she’s encouraged by the Biden-Harris win
The host shared details about her book "The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide," and more in a recent interview..
Political strategist, pundit, TV host and author Zerlina Maxwell sat down with theGrio to discuss politics her new book and more.
After working as a field organizer for President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and as a staffer for Hillary Clinton, Maxwell, 39, continued her career on television. She now hosts an eponymous show on Peacock (streaming weekdays at 6pm ET) where she analyzes and reports on political issues.
In her new book, “The End Of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide” she examines the evolving landscape of the country and how the traditional political scene is changing.
The book is described as “challenging everyone from scrappy, young ‘Bernie Bros’ to seasoned power players in the Billionaire Boys’ Club. No topic is taboo; whether tackling the white privilege that enabled Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s presidential run, the controversial #HashtagActivism of the millennial generation, the massive individual donations that sway politicians toward maintaining the status quo of income inequality, or the lingering racism that debilitated some Democratic presidential contenders and cut their promising campaigns short.”
Maxwell shared with theGrio that when she authored The End Of White Politics, she had no clue how the 2020 presidential election would turn out. In fact, she started the book before the Democratic nomination came down to President-elect Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“I had no idea what was going to happen, nor did I know when I started that Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders would be the last two in the Democratic primary field that started with, like, this array of diversity: gender, and racial diversity,” she said. “I think ‘The End of White Politics,’ is really just noticing that Pew [Research Center] predicts we’re going to be a majority of people of color. White voters will be a minority of the electorate. That’s never happened.”
She is enthused about the result of the election and the incoming president and vice-president based on her past-work with Maya Harris, the vice president-elect’s sister.
“I am hopeful, here’s why. I don’t know Kamala Harris as well as I know Maya Harris, her sister… I don’t have any insight into what role in the administration she will play,” Maxwell remarked. “[But] working alongside her in 2016 for Hillary Clinton, I know what her heart is, I know what her value set is. I know what her core values are.”
“I do think that Kamala will have a very interesting portfolio of things that she will become the point person of. I imagine they’re going to use her in a lot of unique ways. So I cannot imagine a scenario in which they don’t, in every day, thinking about those Black voters and those Black women in particular, who facilitated this win.”
She also believes that Biden’s potential Cabinet picks are an encouraging sign of what his presidency will be like.
“So far, the names that I’ve heard, I mean, put, Rahm Emanuel (former Obama chief of staff and former mayor of Chicago) aside. I think the other names that have been sort of spoken about in terms of Cabinet posts and certainly his transition, the diversity of his transition team already demonstrates that he’s thinking along the lines of lived experiences mattering, in terms of who he wants around him to be able to lead this country, because they’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Watch the full interview below.
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