This Black #SistersInLaw Talks Law, Politics, and What You Need to Know This Election Season – Essence

Kimberly Atkins Stohr has been covering politics for greater than twenty years. The lawyer-turned-award-winning journalist is the co-host of the Politicon podcast, and when it comes to this 12 months’s historic election, Atkins Stohr is deeply committed to helping voters understand and make sense of the problems at stake.

She recently launched a brand new podcast, which “explores how justice is painstakingly constructed in our society by featuring characters working on the ground to find real solutions to our most pressing problems.”

With Vice President Kamala Harris now the Democratic presidential candidate, ESSENCE had the chance to speak with Atkins Stohr concerning the current political climate.

The columnist was quick to dispel rumors that a black woman wouldn’t have the option to win the election, responding, “As someone who has been involved in politics as long as I have, I know there is a fear based on what other people will or will not do, particularly among Democrats, that just doesn’t come across on the conservative side in the same way.”

In conclusion, “people need to vote for who they want, people need to vote consciously, not vote strategically, not vote defensively, but really support the candidates they want to support,” Atkins Stohr firmly stated.

Atkins Stohr believes crucial issue on this election is “health care for Black women, especially reproductive freedom. That’s a fundamental part of freedom. It’s about the economy, about family choice, and about being able to support a family. That’s something that’s really mobilized and is one of the reasons why, right after Vice President Harris announced her candidacy, Black women were the first to organize because, as Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said, ‘those who are closest to the pain understand the power’ and they took action immediately.”

Regarding the vitriolic attacks on Harris due to her race, Atkins Stohr commented that “some of the attacks from conservatives at this point are coming from an admission that they are making accusations against themselves… they want to keep women in these more ‘traditional’ positions to protect the power of white, male patriarchy, because that is what the entire Republican agenda is based on.”

“What I find comforting,” says Atkins Stohor, “is the broadening of the coalition around Vice President Harris. It’s not just black women who are seeing this, but people outside of that demographic who are seeing the truth for what it is.”

This broad base of support “allows the momentum that has surrounded Harris’ campaign so far to come to the fore.” Atkins Stohr referenced former President Barack Obama’s contagious 2008 campaign, saying that “it reminds me of the excitement of what could happen. It seems like Democrats have been on the defensive ever since, fighting what Republicans are doing, what Trump is doing, what conservatives are doing, and Harris puts Democrats back on the offensive with something positive, just like Barack Obama did.”

“I think people are starting to understand that this is a very exciting moment in America right now, to see progress,” Atkins Stohr told ESSENCE. “We’re turning the page on what was a really dark period in America and we have the perspective of something fresh and inspiring. It’s really contagious, and it’s on the Democratic side right now.”

“I think if we can get back to a place where the problems are, where Americans can come together around what we have in common, rather than being so steadfastly focused on our differences and what divides us, that’s where we’ll get,” Atkins Stohr said. “It won’t happen overnight, but it can happen.”