Vice President Kamala Harris is making history as the first Black and Indian woman to become the presidential nominee for either major party.
While the majority of Black voters tend to vote Democratic, not all are lining up to endorse Harris. In a recent statement, the advocacy group Black Lives Matter has called into question Harris’ candidacy and the process by which she’s been nominated.
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The statement called on the Democratic National Committee to host a “virtual snap primary across the country prior to the DNC convention” to ensure the process is people-powered rather than a decision decided by party delegates.
The organization still hasn’t endorsed any presidential candidate and has some qualms when it comes to supporting Harris. Namely, her record as a San Francisco’s district attorney and later as the California’s attorney general.
“Kamala is always there to show face but she’s never really gone against the grain,” said Chivona Newsome, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, Greater New York. “When you look at the state of Black people in America, it’s scary to have a candidate who’s going to go along with the tide,”
The “top cop” narrative has been following Harris since her first bid for the oval office back in 2019 when progressives worried she was too tough on crime, and simultaneously, Republicans thought she’s too soft.
Her history in law enforcement has earned her the nickname “Copola,” from some advocates.
She’s leaned into some of that history recently, shifting the narrative of the race to a battle between a prosecutor and convicted felon, in reference to former President Donald Trump’s 34 felony convictions. At a political event in Massachusetts, she told the crowd, “I was a courtroom prosecutor. In those roles I took on perpetrators of all kinds — predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type.”
One of Black Lives Matter’s core beliefs is the abolition of any system that perpetuates violence against Black people, including prisons and police.
Newsome, like many other Black Lives Matter members, plans to withhold her vote in the upcoming election, akin to the “I ain’t voting till Black lives matter” campaign.
“I don’t feel comfortable voting for Harris or Trump,” she said. “We know that nothing happens for marginalized people unless there is legislation at hand, and right now out of the DNC, there is no legislation coming.”
Newsome predicts that Harris will not mobilize the Black voting bloc, emphasizing that policy and economic issues outweigh a desire for representation.
“Harris is not getting our votes just because she’s Black,” Newsome said.
Looking ahead, Newsome says Black Lives Matter and its supporters’ main priorities in the election are police brutality, a commission for reparations and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
With the Democratic National Convention less than two weeks away, Newsome says Harris can still pull their support by showcasing a clear plan and timeline to support the causes she and other voters care about like DEI initiatives, closing the racial gap and building upon the work people started back in 2020 during the George Floyd protests.
“I want to vote,” Newsome said. “I’ve participated in the system just like my grandparents, like the people before.”