EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: We need to thank Black women

Featured photo: Kamala Harris supporters at an event in Greensboro on July 11. (photo by Carolyn de Berry)

In this same space a few weeks ago, I urged Democrats to gather their support for President Joe Biden, even if we didn’t want to vote for him. Now, the tides have turned.

With Vice President Kamala Harris slated to be the Democratic nominee it’s time to focus our attention and gratitude to arguably the most important voting bloc in this country: Black women.

It’s no secret that Black women and women of color turned out the vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. In 2020, 90 percent of Black women voted for Joe Biden and Harris to secure their win.

And they’re doing it again.

In just three hours, Black women around the country coalesced around Kamala Harris to raise $1.5 million for the new candidate. You read that right: $1.5 million in three hours. This was after a historic Zoom call that brought forth an estimated 90,000 attendees on Sunday night. According to ActBlue, a left-leaning PAC that is supporting Harris, more than $46 million had been raised as of Sunday night after Harris was tapped to be Biden’s replacement. That’s about a fifth of what Biden’s campaign had raised at the end of June. In just one day. That’s the power of Black women’s vote in this country.

But of course, this is nothing new.

While history books may not always reflect this, Black women have always been at the forefront of change in this country. Often next to giants like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were female activists and scholars like Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer and so many more who not only worked alongside King and X, but also sustained the movements they worked to create.

They’ve long been the backbone of this country, whether it was working in the fields, serving in people’s homes, voting in booths, marching in the streets, teaching in classrooms, working on the frontlines or, now, running for president.

Malcolm X once was quoted as saying, “The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.” I’d like to add to that sentence: The most underappreciated and underestimated person in America is the Black woman.

But not anymore. It’s time we recognize the power and strength Black women have in this country and help uplift their efforts in any way we can.