For Black Women, ‘America Has Revealed to Us Her True Self’

Politics|For Black Women, ‘America Has Revealed to Us Her True Self’

From the infinitesimal Kamala Harris entered the statesmanlike race, Black women could spot the mountaintop.

Across the country, they led an outpouring of Democratic elation erstwhile the vice president took implicit the apical of the statesmanlike ticket. But underneath their anticipation and determination was a persistent worry: Was America ready, they asked, to elite a Black woman?

The achy reply arrived this week.

It affirmed the worst of what galore Black women believed astir their country: that it would alternatively take a antheral who was convicted of 34 felonies, has spewed lies and falsehoods, disparaged women and radical of color, and pledged to usage the powers of the national authorities to punish his governmental opponents than nonstop a pistillate of colour to the White House.

Many Democrats saw the brutal governmental situation for the party, peppered with choler astir President Biden’s leadership, arsenic much to blasted for Ms. Harris’s crushing nonaccomplishment than the double-edged sword of racism and sexism. But others, reflecting connected a run devoid of contention oregon evident missteps by a qualified campaigner who astir ne'er held retired her contention oregon sex arsenic reasons to ballot for her, recovered it hard to disregard suspicions astir wherefore Mr. Trump won with specified ease.

It was the infinitesimal that Black pistillate governmental leaders and organizers had feared astir and worked hardest to avoid. Across battleground states, the Democrats organizing fund-raisers, door-knocking and different get-out-the-vote efforts were often Black women, motivated to run for a statesmanlike campaigner who was not conscionable a subordinate of their enactment but 1 of their own.