Kamala Harris & The Political Power of Black Women
Tearsheet by Casey Claros.
On August 11, 2020, Joe Biden selected Senator Kamala Harris to be his Vice-Presidential running mate for the Democratic Party. This announcement was hailed as historic nature: Harris is the first Black and Asian American woman to be part of a major party’s ticket. She has called Biden “audacious” for being the first to choose a Black woman as his running mate. The only other Black person to appear on a major party’s ticket was Barack Obama, and he selected Biden as his running mate. To many, especially those of us on the progressive left, the selection of Harris brings great comfort as we prepare to elect them to the highest offices in the nation. So, how “audacious” of a pick was Kamala Harris for Joe Biden?
On May 14, 2020 in a Washington Post opinion piece written by high profile Black women in media such as political analyst and author Tiffany D. Cross, activist, writer, and educator Brittany Packnett Cunningham, co-founder of Black Voters Matter LaTosha Brown; host of the podcast “Lady Don't Take No” Alicia Garza; host of “On One with Angela Rye” and political commentator Angela Rye; author and creator of “Smart, Funny & Black” Amanda Seales; and co-host of ABC’s The View, lawyer, author, and sorority sister of Harris, Sunny Hostin. They called on Biden to choose a Black woman as his running mate.
Many of us remember the Biden campaign in the early days of the primary election season. His campaign was in trouble; it wasn’t doing well. It came in fifth in New Hampshire and did not make the top three in the Iowa caucus. Nor did it do well in Nevada. The Biden campaign’s turnaround came in South Carolina, where he was handed an overwhelming victory. In South Carolina, the backbone of the democratic base is predominately Black voters, mobilized mostly by Black women.
Biden credits his support from Black Americans as a source of long-time pride. Black women made it clear to him that it was more like a debt he needed to repay. The political power of Black women is not to be overlooked or underestimated. We all know what happened in Alabama when former Republican Chief Justice Roy Moore narrowly lost to Democrat Doug Jones in the 2017 Senate race. The turnout for the Black female vote in that election was 98%. Jones won but only by 2%. Without all of those Black women behind who knows what the outcome might have been? When Black women get involved, we bring along entire communities: our families, sororities, social networks, book clubs, moms’ groups, and college group-chats.
Tearsheet by Casey Claros.
Biden and the Democratic party recognize that Black women are the backbone of the party, and in this time of a racial reckoning the likes we haven’t seen since the 1960s, Biden couldn't afford to fumble when it came to securing a running mate who was not only going to excite his base. He needed to thank the very demographic that put him in the lead in 2020 and interjected his campaign with enthusiasm at a time when Black women are claiming and occupying space in historic, new ways across all industries and especially in mainstream media.
Black women dominate the charts in music with Beyonce’s multi-million dollar visual album deal with Disney+ titled Black is King and Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion’s WAP breaking a record with 93 million streams in its first week and the song debuted at Billboard’s number 1 spot. Teen Vogue’s editor-in-chief, Lindsay Peoples Wagner, and public relations executive Sandrine Charles founded the Black In Fashion Council to represent Black people in fashion. Black news anchor and political commentator Joy Reid took over Chris Matthew’s 7:00 pm time slot on MSNBC with her own show, and ABC’s The Bachelorette introduced its second Black female lead, Tayshia Adams, after naming the first Black man as the show's lead for The Bachelor.
Tearsheet by Casey Claros.
So where is this “audacity” in choosing a candidate who is not only highly qualified and competent but also is a Black woman. This choice was made during a time of national racial reckoning. To me, Harris was the safest pick Biden could choose to help secure a victory in November, and the audacity is in him having multiple highly qualified Black women to choose from in nominating a running mate and waiting until just 85 days before voting day to announce he has made the right choice.
Article by Contributing Editor, Grace O’Connell-Joshua
"Society,” which shows the driving forces behind the artists such as agents, producers who handle the grueling logistics to make things happen, and managers. “Society” puts a face to a name. And, “Society” keeps us informed of today’s news.
