To say there is a lot at stake with this year’s election is an understatement. The consequences for Black women are multifaceted, affecting various aspects of our lives and communities. These consequences highlight the significant role Black women play in shaping political landscapes and the importance of our participation in elections.
A new survey of 1,200 Black women from “The Cut” at New York Magazine shows that ahead of Election Day, enthusiasm is fading among us. In this election, 82 percent of Black women plan to vote, according to the survey, down from 91 percent in September. By comparison, back in June, when Joe Biden was still running as the Democratic presidential nominee, 79 percent of Black women surveyed by “The Cut” said they planned to vote in the election.
We cannot be swayed because the result of us not fighting to the end will affect us in every area of our lives.
Elections usually determine the leadership and policies that shape healthcare systems. For Black women, access to quality healthcare is crucial, particularly given the disparities we face. Policies that expand Medicaid, improve maternal health services, and promote reproductive rights can directly impact our well-being.
So, when our elected officials prioritize funding for community health centers, this helps to ensure that Black women receive adequate prenatal and postnatal care, addressing high maternal mortality rates that plague our community so badly. Just as important, legislation aimed at addressing systemic racism in healthcare can improve outcomes by reducing bias and enhancing cultural competency among healthcare providers.
As an educator, I know how education can be a tool for empowerment. Elections can influence funding, curriculum standards, and access to quality schooling. For Black women, policies that support equitable funding for schools, enhance early childhood education, and promote diversity in educational institutions can make a significant difference.
Electing representatives who advocate for comprehensive educational reforms, such as reducing class sizes and increasing support for under-resourced schools, can lead to better educational outcomes. Policies that promote mentorship programs and scholarships for Black women in higher education can help dismantle barriers to success.
The criminal justice system will also have profound effects on Black women, both as victims and as members of communities disproportionately affected by policing and incarceration. This election can usher in reforms aimed at addressing systemic injustices, such as bail reform, sentencing reform, and the decriminalization of certain offenses. Restorative justice practices and alternatives to incarceration can help reduce the impact of the criminal justice system on Black women and their families. What we need more than ever are anti-violence initiatives that support services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
The wrong person to elect to office is Trump. He intends to wage war on his enemies, order mass deportations, use the military against American citizens, and abandon our allyship with other countries. Michelle Obama said it best: “If we don’t get this election right, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we as women will become collateral damage to your rage.”
Although Vice President Kamala Harris inches over Trump in some states, Trump’s win against Hillary Clinton in 2016 has taught us that nothing is ever certain. If Trump secures another term, many Black women will carry this burden.
Another Trump Administration would reinforce racial hierarchies, push back civil rights protections, and end the federal government’s efforts to achieve gender justice. Other impacts would be (1) limiting reproductive rights and penalizing unmarried women; (2) attacking protections against sex discrimination and other efforts to expand gender equity; (3) attacking LGBTQI+ people; (4) gutting of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and other racial justice measures; and (5) reducing access to anti-poverty programs by prioritizing the interests of the wealthy over the needs of low-income families, which are disproportionately led by women.
We’ve already seen what happens when Trump is at the wheel: More than 130,000 U.S. citizens dead from Covid — a global pandemic, under Trumps’ leadership, ignored. In every age group, most of the dead were Black. In states like Minnesota, the coronavirus took the lives of Black people at twice the rate of their white counterparts.
For decades, Black women have consistently been a reliable voting base for the Democratic Party, and in recent elections Democrats have garnered support from large majorities of Black women. The truth is history has shown neither party ever really looks out for our best interests. We experienced disproportionate economic setbacks during the pandemic, with our unemployment rate outpacing that of men and women of other racial and ethnic groups. Rising inflation rates have created a scenario in which many families across the country struggle to afford basic household expenses, and Black women are more likely than any other group of women to have these struggles.
Another truth is that we supported Biden when he was still running for president, even though he consistently fell short of what we needed. When he stepped down and Kamala Harris picked up the torch, Black women rallied together like never before. We understood the significance of a Black women leader of the free world. We understand that our alternative can be destructive.
Let’s be clear. Elections are rarely about the issues. In this election, gender and race are playing a crucial role. It’s clear that Kamala Harris identifies as a Black woman. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically Black sorority. She graduated from Howard University, a historically Black college, before receiving her law degree from University of California Law San Francisco.
However, we shouldn’t vote for Kamala Harris for the sole reason she is a Black woman. Vote for her because she represents the present administration and its platform, which many Democrats already agree with. Another important fact is communication. She’s not traveling state to state hurling hatred against people and groups. She uses tolerant speech, calls for unity and means it. There’s a glaring difference between Harris and Trump. She has strong experience in elected office, including as a prosecutor. From Oakland, California, she has been a district attorney, attorney general and U.S. senator before challenging Joe Biden early in the 2020 presidential election campaign cycle.
As Black women, we know what’s at stake — women’s reproductive health, voting rights, climate action, and moderate gun control — the last of which speaks directly to cities like my hometown of Kansas City where they struggle with high homicide rates.
We can’t use ethnicity and gender alone as good reasons to support a presidential candidate. Kamala Harris a lot more going for her than that. But for the first time, Black women have a candidate we can identify with. She presents an opportunity for us to be seen, heard, protected, and supported.
If the reason you vote for Kamala Harris is because she’s a Black woman, it reduces her to the very diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hire the haters reduce her to. If you don’t vote her, ask yourself why that matters.
