It will be tempting for some to see Senator Kamala Harris of California’s place on the Democratic presidential ticket as a result of her race and gender, and to characterize it as an affirmative action selection. Others may see this moment as an isolated event rather than the result of the hard work of Black female candidates, political strategists and voters who have participated in the building of the Democratic Party.
Both would be a mistake.
Ms. Harris is the embodiment of the growing political power of Black women to make demands within the Democratic Party — and the political sophistication to ensure that those demands are met.
In many recent elections, Black women voters have turned out at higher rates than any other demographic. More than 90 percent of Black women have cast their ballot for the Democratic candidate in the last three presidential elections. In 2008 and 2012 they had the highest turnout rate among all racial, ethnic and gender groups. No other major demographic is as loyal to either party as Black people. And Black women have become increasingly organized and focused on making that support meaningful for themselves and their community.
That kind of turnout and loyalty doesn’t just happen. Largely without any major investment from the Democratic Party, Black women have worked through grass-roots organizations to register new voters and motivate them to cast ballots. The work of groups like the New Georgia Project to transform the electoral landscape of the South has resulted in hundreds of thousands of new voters. In Alabama, Black women and the Black Voters Matter Fund played pivotal roles in the election of Doug Jones to the Senate in 2017. Across the country, Black congresswomen like Lucy McBath of Georgia, Lauren Underwood of Illinois and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts have run for office and won historic victories.
Black women have also formed organizations to support and encourage more Black women to run for office and maximize their political power. Glynda Carr’s Higher Heights for America, Aimee Allison’s She The People and Leah Daughtry’s Power Rising are examples of organizations that convene discussions with African-American women, empower those who want to run for office and insist that candidates answer questions that are important to Black women. During the Democratic primary, nearly every candidate showed up to discuss his or her views about race and gender at a forum held by She The People in April. They understood that their road to the White House is paved not just by Black women’s votes but also by their labor as volunteers, community influencers and, increasingly, important donors.
Of course, this moment is decades in the making. A century ago this month, women demanded and earned the right to vote through the passage of the 19th Amendment. In that effort, African-American women were often asked to march behind white women and participate in segregated rallies. Most Black women didn’t get access to the ballot until the Voting Rights Act was passed 45 years later. African-American women understood the power of the vote to choose candidates who would enact policies that either helped or hindered their quest for equal rights.
And despite the intersectional impact of racism and sexism on Black women, they are the nation’s most reliable champions for universal rights for all groups. They are keenly aware that all forms of oppression disproportionately affect Black women; consequently, Black women’s movements have always been inclusive even when that inclusion was not reciprocated.
So the selection of Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s vice-presidential running mate is bigger than an individual choice. It is not just about this one Black woman and her success. The selection is a win for Black women politicians who have higher political ambitions, Black women operatives who want to have more say in how campaigns are run, and Black women voters who want to see themselves among the many candidates the party fields every election.
Kamala Harris stands on the shoulders of giants in the Democratic Party who broke down barriers — the congresswomen Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordan and political operatives like Donna Brazile and Mignon Moore. Millions of Black women and their political labor have made this historic day possible. Ms. Harris’s selection represents a major step forward in Black women’s political ascendance and not a single victory.
Melanye Price (@ProfMTP), a professor of political science at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, is the author, most recently, of “The Race Whisperer: Barack Obama and the Political Uses of Race.”
The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.
Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
