For Black Women at the DNC, Harris’ Historic Nomination Hits Something Else

For black women delegates who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris at this 12 months’s Democratic National Convention, her historic presidential nomination has a unique meaning.

In lower than 10 years, the party has nominated its second female presidential candidate and only the second black candidate in lower than 20 years. And as a black and South Asian woman, Harris’ nomination is historic for a lot of reasons.

“It’s something that I’ve been really emotional about over the last few weeks, thinking about this opportunity to do something that I’m not sure I ever thought I’d be able to do in my life,” said Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, a state delegate who also made history as the first black female lieutenant governor of Illinois.

Stratton said the moment reminds her of one other presidential candidate who made history: former U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm.

Reflecting on Chisholm’s famous quote, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair,” Lt. Governor Stratton said, “I think that moment is an example of not only bringing a folding chair, but of black women building their own tables.”

U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, R-Illinois, said she believes Chisholm can be “proud” of Harris for achieving this political feat on behalf of ladies, especially Black women.

“Congressman Chisholm was a true inspiration to all of us, and there were many threads in his leadership experience and approach,” she added.

Following the record-breaking fundraising and support Harris has received since announcing her presidential campaign last month, many are comparing the enthusiasm for Harris’ candidacy to that of Barack Obama, who was elected America’s first black president in 2008.

Stratton recalls being in Grant Park in Chicago when Obama was elected.

“Everyone was laughing, smiling, crying and just soaking in the moment where they knew that barrier had been broken,” she recalled. “It was just one of those moments that you don’t know if you’ll ever be able to recreate.”

Sixteen years later, Stratton said Harris and her vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are having fun with “incredibly high” momentum.

“Look at these rallies that we’re seeing… there are people standing outside trying to get in. They’re filling up,” she noted. “It’s standing room only, people outside who can’t get in, including in states that are frankly close states or states where people don’t expect to see as much enthusiasm for the Democrats.”

Nervahna Crew, a Harris-Walz delegate from North Carolina, recalled working as a volunteer and field organizer for Obama’s first presidential campaign. She also attended the 2008 DNC convention, when Obama accepted the party nomination.

While Obama’s historic election meant loads to him as a young black American, Crew said Harris’ nomination “made a little bit of a difference” this time around.

Firstly, unlike in 2008 when she sat in the “nosebleed section”, this 12 months, as a delegate, she might be in the room and witness “this watershed moment in history”.

“Sometimes the stars just align,” said Alisha Bell, a Michigan delegate and chairwoman of the Wayne County Commission.

“The energy I feel is the same energy we had for Barack Obama,” she said. “I think a lot of women of color, and just women in general, are really prepared and excited for her to potentially win.”

Both Crew and Bell consider voters of their home states of North Carolina and Michigan — that are also key swing states — will ultimately forged their electoral votes for Harris in November.

Black women delegates are especially excited to see Harris finally shatter the glass ceiling that has kept women in politics from America’s founding nearly 250 years ago. The United States got here near electing its first female president in 2016; nevertheless, Hillary Clinton’s candidacy was derailed by the surprise victory of Donald Trump, the Republican candidate searching for his third term as president.

“Secretary Clinton’s experience taught us that we can’t focus so much on the historic, barrier-breaking aspects of an exciting candidacy and nomination,” said Congresswoman Underwood. “We need to do the really important work of mobilizing voters and making sure they have a plan to vote in this election.”

Lt. Gov. Stratton said Clinton’s nearly successful but historic campaign preceded a Republican movement targeting freedoms that ladies and plenty of other vulnerable communities hold dear.

“We kind of hit that glass ceiling, and then the GOP’s response to that was they’re going to start tearing down every law that got us there,” she said. “Now we have another chance, really, to shatter what I think is the ultimate glass ceiling.”

Crew, who also served as a delegate for Hillary Clinton in 2016, recalled that she worked so extensively volunteering for the Clinton campaign that she developed a ganglion cyst on her foot.

“This is essential because this crisis is really urgent. It’s getting worse. The maternal mortality rate is up 89% since the pandemic,” said the congresswoman, who introduced comprehensive maternal health laws called the Momnibus Act with Harris while serving in the Senate.

In her role as Vice President, Harris used her office to attract attention to racial disparities in maternal care and successfully pressured states to increase Medicaid coverage for postpartum care from two months to 12 months.

If Harris and Congress can pass the Momnibus Act, women and pregnant people “will be able to get through what should be a joyous time,” Underwood said.

She added: “We will no longer see maternal deaths in the United States due to preventable maternal deaths.”

Delegates say that, overall, we’ll inevitably achieve higher results if the leader of the free world, each at home and around the world, is a black woman.

“Unfortunately, the United States is one of the few developed countries that has never had a female president. Being a woman brings a different dynamic to the table,” said Bell, a delegate from Michigan.

Bell said that despite the history of racism and misogyny in the United States, it is vital for voters to “dispel” any notions that she cannot win, though she admits she is “cautiously optimistic.”

“We know there’s work to be done. We definitely can’t take this for granted at all,” she said. Bell continued: “We need to continue to go into our barbershops and beauty salons and the general public to help them understand and get them excited.”

Underwood said that with Donald Trump on the ballot, voters have a “real choice in this election.”

“Do you want a future that is chaotic? An extremist who wants to control every aspect of our society, as described in Trump’s Project 2025?” she asked voters. “Do you want a capable, talented, experienced leader, Kamala Harris, who leads with joy and welcomes the voices and experiences of all Americans into this campaign?”

Featured Stories