Joe Biden made a legendary revelation earlier this year during a Democratic debate. He promised that his running mate will be a female to the American people. Last week, Biden made history by announcing Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. Harris is the first Black and South Asian woman to run for vice president on a major party ticket in US history. The announcement came to a nation weary from fighting two deadly pandemics—the coronavirus and systemic racism.
Black women have consistently been at the forefront of the struggle for civil rights in America for generations. Black women organized freedom riders, oversaw the Underground Railroad, were the unsung suffrage movement leaders, paved the way for constitutional protections against sex discrimination, and continue to be the most reliable voting bloc in the US to defend the rights of marginalized people.
Black women are by no means a homogeneous group, but because they frequently find themselves at the intersections of targeted oppression, they collectively possess a profound grasp of the relational nature of liberation. This means that for Black women, a conversation about maternal and child health must also address access to care and unconscious bias; a conversation about parenting must also address implicit dehumanization and police brutality; a conversation about education must also address adultification bias and the school-to-prison pipeline; and a conversation about gender must also address equal pay and other gender-related issues.
Black women’s leadership is more than just their fortitude and tenacity. It depends on how frequently they appear and engage in battle for the common good. When Black women lead, we all win, whether they are working to close the wealth gap, promoting free and fair elections, or preparing to hold one of the highest offices in the land.
Black women are ideally situated to drive the country forward at this time. Black women have bravely campaigned for greater access to justice and civil rights for all people for generations. We have acted as the moral rebuttal to a non-democratic system designed to give white men the upper hand over everyone else. The centuries-old wrongs in this nation cannot be easily rectified. We require more than just allies in positions of authority. Instead, we need supporters to relinquish control to us, giving Black women and our communities the opportunity to lead. The phrase “trust Black women” has become a fresh and powerful call to action for some. Let’s see how quickly that call was answered. To bring our nation out of the mess we are in, black women must exercise executive leadership, have access to extensive resources, and get vociferous support from people of every race and gender. Black women have the experience, intellect, talent, and heart to fight for economic and racial justice.
