Atlanta’s black voters feel excitement, hope and plenty of concern as Harris takes center stage in campaign – WABE

Black voters expressed a mix of hope and concern Monday about Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race and the prospect of Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic nominee.

Black voters, a key constituency for the Democratic Party, helped lead Biden to victory in the 2020 primary and the White House. They have been among his most loyal supporters, even as calls for his resignation have grown. But while some black Americans are proud of the possibility of Harris, who is black and Indian, becoming president, the reversal of the race has some voters spooked.

“I felt like we were doomed,” said Brianna Smith, a 24-year-old school counselor from Decatur, Georgia, of her reaction to Biden’s announcement. “I don’t see America accepting the fact that a Black woman is running for president.”

Biden’s support for Harris and the immediate cohesion of other party leaders around her make her the favorite to replace him at the top of the presidential ticket. But in interviews in Atlanta, where voters helped swing Georgia to 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 was immediately scared when Biden dropped out. While she thinks Harris is a great candidate, she worries she’ll have to deal not only with the popularity of the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, but also with the biases of the American public.

“Being a black woman, I understand that she’s at the intersection of sexism and racism,” Jackson said. “I think that’s going to be a whole other battle, on top of competing against Donald Trump supporters.”

An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted before Biden’s announcement Sunday found that about 6 in 10 Democrats think Harris would do well as president. More broadly, among all adults, the poll showed some skepticism toward Harris, with just 3 in 10 Americans saying she would do well as president.

But blacks were more likely to view Harris in a positive light.

Many Democrats followed Biden’s lead in expressing support for Harris. The Congressional Black Caucus said it “fully supports” the vice president.

And some black voters, dismayed by what they see as Biden’s diminishing chances of winning in November, have said they will back whoever is best able to compete with Trump.

“If they can articulate Democratic Party policy better than Biden, then I’ll gladly take that person,” said Pierre Varlet, 30, an anti-money laundering specialist in Atlanta.