The 2024 presidential election has folks talking about was which demographic groups had drifted from the Democratic Party. But, Black women rallied behind Kamala Harris. The Democratic nominee earned an overwhelming majority of their votes, including in swing states like Georgia, Nevada and Michigan, even as other groups shifted dramatically to the right compared to 2020.
It was the result of tireless, labor by the Black political organizers and community activists who have helped keep the Democratic Party alive in recent election cycles. Black women like me are critical to the party’s survival and its future.
But in 2023, Black women lost nearly $43 billion in potential earnings compared with white men, because they are often segregated into lower-paying jobs.
When Black women thrive, the entire economy does, too. In 2020, a visionary fiscal and economic road map called “Black Women Best” could offer the party a clear way forward.
These ideas include raising the federal minimum wage to at least $15 an hour, expanding overtime rights and protecting collective bargaining. It advocates baby bonds, in which children receive a publicly funded trust account at birth to help close the racial wealth gap. Also it suggests guaranteed income programs, job subsidies and extending Medicaid postpartum coverage.
The beauty of these policies is that they can also address the economic issues that inform voter behavior among Latinos, Black men and working-class white Americans.
In 2017, Black women were crucial in delivering Doug Jones a Senate win in Alabama, flipping a Republican stronghold. Despite making up roughly 14 percent of the state’s population, Black women accounted for an estimated 17 percent of voters in that special election.
Stacey Abrams in Georgia and her team turned frustration into strategy, founding “Fair Fight.” Her organization registered hundreds of thousands of new voters and helped flip the state’s U.S. Senate seats in 2021. Similarly, in 2016, LaTosha Brown, who narrowly lost a 1998 State Board of Education race in Alabama, was a founder of Black Voters Matter. Her work has expanded voting rights and civic engagement in vulnerable communities across the country.
But Black women express frustration at being taken for granted. They are expected to deliver victories, but when it comes time to pass policies that address their needs, they are met with silence. The Democratic Party’s continued neglect has consequences. It risks not only our enthusiasm but the leadership we bring to the table.
To move forward, the party should invest in grass roots organizations like Fair Fight and Black Voters Matter all year, not just when election season rolls around. It also needs to confront systemic barriers like voter suppression, economic inequality and health care disparities.
The recent elections of Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester brought two promising, new leaders to the Senate, who have already shown their commitment to policies that center Black women.
Softening the Democratic platform to appeal to suburban moderates is a dead-end strategy. Black women are not just the backbone of the Democratic Party. They are its moral compass and its engine for progress. Their voting history reflects a deep commitment to safeguarding democracy.
If Democrats want to build a better future, they must stop treating Black women as an afterthought. What’s best for them isn’t just good politics, it’s good for America.
Source: NYT Dec 5, 2024