ATLANTA – Black voters, who helped power Joe Biden to the White House, expressed a mix of hope and worry Monday over his exit from the presidential race and the prospect of Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic nominee.
A key Democratic constituency, Black voters were among Biden's most steadfast supporters, even as calls for him to quit grew. But as much pride as many Black Americans feel about the possibility of Harris, who is of Black and Indian descent, becoming president, the upending of the race has some voters feeling scared.
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“I felt like we were doomed,” said Brianna Smith, a 24-year-old school counselor from Decatur, Georgia, recounting her reaction to Biden’s announcement. “I don’t see America actually accepting the fact that a Black woman is running for president.”
The apprehension of some Black voters was reminiscent of 2008, when Barack Obama sought the presidency alongside Biden, the vice presidential candidate. Millions of Black people were proud of Obama’s candidacy even as they feared he wouldn’t be accepted by Americans overall.
Cyria Adams, a 37-year-old hairstylist from Smyrna, Georgia, called Biden's decision “heartbreaking.” As speculation spread last week that the president might withdraw, she prayed it was just a rumor.
“I'm nervous. I'm really nervous,” Adams said.
Biden’s support of Harris and the immediate coalescing of other party leaders around her makes her the prohibitive favorite to replace him at the top of the presidential ticket. But in interviews in Atlanta, where voters helped flip Georgia for Democrats four years ago, some Black voters were nervous.
“People really don’t like women, especially Black women,” said Mary Jameson, 46. “If a white woman can’t win, how can a Black woman win?”
Carrington Jackson, a 23-year-old chiropractic student from Marietta, Georgia, said she immediately felt fearful when Biden dropped out. Though she believes Harris is a great candidate, she worries about her facing not only the popularity of the GOP nominee, former President Donald Trump, but the prejudices of the American public.
“With me being a Black woman, I understand that she’s at the intersection of sexism and racism,” Jackson said. “I think now that’s going to be a whole other battle, as well as competing against Donald Trump’s supporters.”
An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll fielded prior to Biden’s announcement Sunday found about 6 in 10 Democrats believe Harris would do well as president. More broadly, among all adults, the poll showed skepticism of Harris, with only 3 in 10 Americans saying she would do well as president.
But Black people were more likely to see Harris in a positive light.
In a show of enthusiasm about the vice president, more than 40,000 Black women participated in a Zoom meeting Sunday organized by a group called #WinWithBlackWomen. The call was held just hours after Biden’s announcement and participants raised more than $1.5 million for the Harris campaign.
Many Democrats followed Biden’s lead in expressing their support for Harris. The Congressional Black Caucus said it “fully backs” the vice president.
And some Black voters, dismayed by what they saw as Biden’s dwindling chance of winning in November, said they would support whoever could best compete with Trump.
“If they can express the policy of the Democratic Party better than Biden, then I will gladly take that person,” said Pierre Varlet, 30, an anti-money laundering specialist in Atlanta.
The AP-NORC polling shows Black people generally view Trump negatively. But while about 7 in 10 Black adults have an unfavorable view of Trump, his numbers have improved notably since early 2021.
Trump's campaign has sought to win over more Black voters and members of other minorities.
Anaya Bridges, a 22-year-old student at Georgia State University, said she believed “some people have been swayed” by Republican outreach to communities of color, and she is concerned about voter turnout.
“The timing is terrible,” she said of Biden's announcement.
Jon Diggs, a 40-year-old Atlanta therapist who has generally voted Democratic in past elections, said he was shocked by Biden's decision. Both parties, Diggs said, have work to do.
“I don’t think that either party has done a good job for the middle class and particularly the middle-class African American person,” he said.
Johnny Bester, a 37-year-old from Atlanta who was riding a scooter alongside Diggs in Piedmont Park, said he was “not loyal to any brand” of politics. He said Biden should have dropped out long ago and that he wasn't a fan of the president's endorsement of Harris.
“A lot of us forgot that she was even in the office, because she hasn’t been too vocal. She hasn’t been too visible,” Bester said.