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Black women are rethinking their role as America's reliable political organizers

ATLANTA (AP) — As she checked into a recent flight to Mexico for vacation, Teja Smith chuckled at the idea of joining another Women’s March on Washington.

As a Black woman, she just couldn’t see herself helping to replicate the largest act of resistance against then-President Donald Trump’s first term in January 2017. Even in an election this year where Trump questioned his opponent’s race, held rallies featuring racist insults and falsely claimed Black migrants in Ohio were eating residents’ pets, he didn't just win a second term. He became the first Republican in two decades to clinch the popular vote, although by a small margin.

“It’s like the people have spoken and this is what America looks like,” said Smith, the Los Angeles-based founder of the advocacy social media agency, Get Social. “And there’s not too much more fighting that you’re going to be able to do without losing your own sanity.”

After Trump was declared the winner over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, many politically engaged Black women said they were so dismayed by the outcome that they were reassessing — but not completely abandoning — their enthusiasm for electoral politics and movement organizing.

Black women often carry much of the work of getting out the vote in their communities. They had vigorously supported the historic candidacy of Harris, who would have been the first woman of Black and South Asian descent to win the presidency.

Harris' loss spurred a wave of Black women across social media resolving to prioritize themselves, before giving so much to a country that over and over has shown its indifference to their concerns.

AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters, found that 6 in 10 Black women said the future of democracy in the United States was the single most important factor for their vote this year, a higher share than for other demographic groups. But now, with Trump set to return to office in two months, some Black women are renewing calls to emphasize rest, focus on mental health and become more selective about what fight they lend their organizing power to.

“America is going to have to save herself,” said LaTosha Brown, the co-founder of the national voting rights group Black Voters Matter.

She compared Black women’s presence in social justice movements as “core strategists and core organizers” to the North Star, known as the most consistent and dependable star in the galaxy because of its seemingly fixed position in the sky. People can rely on Black women to lead change, Brown said, but the next four years will look different.

“That’s not a herculean task that’s for us. We don’t want that title. … I have no goals to be a martyr for a nation that cares nothing about me,” she said.

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by Anonymousreply 15November 26, 2024 10:38 PM

AP VoteCast paints a clear picture of Black women's concerns.

Black female voters were most likely to say that democracy was the single most important factor for their vote, compared to other motivators such as high prices or abortion. More than 7 in 10 Black female voters said they were “very concerned” that electing Trump would lead the nation toward authoritarianism, while only about 2 in 10 said this about Harris.

About 9 in 10 Black female voters supported Harris in 2024, according to AP VoteCast, similar to the share that backed Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. Trump received support from more than half of white voters, who made up the vast majority of his coalition in both years.

Like voters overall, Black women were most likely to say the economy and jobs were the most important issues facing the country, with about one-third saying that. But they were more likely than many other groups to say that abortion and racism were the top issues, and much less likely than other groups to say immigration was the top issue.

Despite those concerns, which were well-voiced by Black women throughout the campaign, increased support from young men of color and white women helped expand Trump’s lead and secured his victory.

Politically engaged Black women said they don’t plan to continue positioning themselves in the vertebrae of the “backbone” of America’s democracy. The growing movement prompting Black women to withdraw is a shift from history, where they are often present and at the forefront of political and social change.

by Anonymousreply 1November 26, 2024 11:04 AM

" America's reliable political organizers"?

Aren't they just mainly for the Democrats?

by Anonymousreply 2November 26, 2024 11:18 AM

He did NOT win the popular vote.

Final numbers are in now: more Americans voted AGAINST Trump.

by Anonymousreply 3November 26, 2024 11:35 AM

That fucking Electoral College has got to go!

by Anonymousreply 4November 26, 2024 11:42 AM

I just checked the current tally, R3.

He's still in the lead.

[quote] Harris 74,348,719 votes (48.4%)

[quote] Trump 76,851,910 votes (50%)

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by Anonymousreply 5November 26, 2024 11:56 AM

[quote] " America's reliable political organizers"?

[quote] Aren't they just mainly for the Democrats?

Just like MAGATS and Fox News and Elon Musk are for criminal, racist Nazi Republicans.

What's your point?

by Anonymousreply 6November 26, 2024 12:27 PM

He didn't win a majority. People calling this a blowout election are ridiculous. Reagan in 1984 was a blowout. Obama in 2008 was a blowout. This was NOT a blowout.

by Anonymousreply 7November 26, 2024 1:19 PM

R7 but this election was a game changer.

At the end of the day, the map was mostly red.

by Anonymousreply 8November 26, 2024 1:39 PM

I’m on their side. The next few years will be challenging to say the least. African Americans should focus on themselves first instead of forming alliances with other marginalized groups. I predict a dramatic increase in hate crimes because, let’s face it, MAGATS are not only sore losers but sore winners as well. They have started already- some high school in California has reported that white students, children of MAGATS were bullying black students with slurs and assaults right after the election. It will worsen. The legal system will be broken, populated by as many conservatives as possible, which means that the courts that are already against us will be even more so. Freedom of speech will be a thing of the past (as if it isn’t already 🙄🙄🙄). Diversity in entertainment is going to take a few steps back as well. Don’t even get me started on our civil rights gains. If I sound like I’m painting a paranoid and dystopian future, it’s because I am. 😞🫣

by Anonymousreply 9November 26, 2024 1:53 PM

raci$t le$bian troll alert!!

by Anonymousreply 10November 26, 2024 1:55 PM

[quote] “It’s like the people have spoken and this is what America looks like,” said Smith, the Los Angeles-based founder of the advocacy social media agency, Get Social. “And there’s not too much more fighting that you’re going to be able to do without losing your own sanity.”

I feel exactly the same way.

by Anonymousreply 11November 26, 2024 4:30 PM

R11, me too. I'm not going to stop fighting though. It's hard to explain, but even though I'm exhausted, I also feel energized to really understand our country's history and the way its politics work at all levels (federal, state and local).

by Anonymousreply 12November 26, 2024 4:49 PM

[quote]“America is going to have to save herself”

I want this on a T-shirt

by Anonymousreply 13November 26, 2024 4:56 PM

America needs a racial reckoning and needs it badly!

by Anonymousreply 14November 26, 2024 6:30 PM

R14, that ship has sailed now sweetie. Coulda shoulda woulda. The chickens have come home to roost in America, and the racists have defeated all of us. It’s devastating.

by Anonymousreply 15November 26, 2024 10:38 PM
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