Del. Charniele Herring makes history as first African-American chair of VA Democratic Party

On Saturady, Del. Charniele (shar-nell) Herring became the first ‘African-American’ to lead the Virginia Democratic Party. She was unanimously elected in Williamsburg by the Virginia Democratic Party’s central committee.[1]

The delegate from Alexandria will be succeeding the outgoing chair of the VA Democratic Party, Brian Moran. Moran chose to end his time as chair of the party on a high note after the Democratic Party retained the White House and picked up a number of seats in the U.S. Congress.[2]

The historic election of Herring not only reflects the inclusive values of the Virginia Democratic Party, it also puts pressure of the state Republican Party, and the Republican Party in general, to diversify its stock of white guys to better represent the growing diversity of America.

Instead of attempting the latter, however, the Republican Party has opted to put a few minority and female faces into the media’s spotlights to make it appear that the Republican Party is more diverse than it really is.

In Virginia, there aren’t many “others” in the Republican Party to speak of. In fact, no one comes readily to mind at all.

The Republican Party will have to face the fact, sooner or later, that America’s “face” is changing. And while some Republicans acknowledged this change after the November elections, their anxieties about the shift in America’s demographics appears to be pushing them towards an even more entrenched position inside their own narrow party walls.[3]

Full disclosure, I am a white male. But for me, the change in demographics is a natural process in an open and thriving society such as ours. Thus, the demographic ‘shift’ is a symptom of positive socioeconomic changes, the same kinds of changes that allowed my ancestors to assimilate into the American way of life and thrive.

It probably won’t be until the GOP takes another hit in the next election cycle or two before its leadership finally decides to make serious efforts at diversifying. And while I don’t mind the GOP losing, I do mind the American people losing out by a dated worldview that poses race relations as a zero-sum game.

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[1] http://www.nbc12.com/story/20295154/va-dems-pick-first-african-american-as-chair

[2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-democrats-make-history-elect-first-african-american-as-party-chair/2012/12/08/2ee00d72-416a-11e2-8a5c-473797be602c_story.html

[3] http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/republicans-must-adjust-to-changing-demographics/article_746cb7ed-cefd-59fd-af6f-4eee92df082c.html