Waiting for the right moment may lose you the only moment. Although this election was not meant for Black women, we chose to make it ours. It was a 92-day campaign of dreams, action, and taking the future into our own hands. Black women, heralded as the backbone of the Democratic Party, have embodied this title through unwavering loyalty and political engagement. Over the past five presidential cycles, Black women have voted at higher rates than any other demographic. In 2020, 90% of their votes went to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, reaffirming the relationship founded on justice and democratic participation.
The modern, overt push for Black women representation emerged in late April of 2020, when more than 200 Black female activists signed a letter to the presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. The demand: select a Black woman as his running mate. “The road to the White House is powered by Black women. Black women are not only the most loyal voters for the Democratic Party. There has not been a Democratic presidential nominee in over 40 years that has won the White House without Black women’s leadership and vote,” the letter read. Biden chose Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate for the 2020 Democratic ticket, selecting her to serve as Vice President. President Biden’s actions marked a departure from the Democratic Party’s long-standing pattern of offering symbolic rather than substantive recognition of Black women’s influence.
Black women have voted at higher rates than any other demographic.
Biden pursued more avenues to deliver on change. A key issue President Biden campaigned on entailed appointing the first Black Female Supreme Court Justice. In 2022, President Biden fulfilled his promise by appointing Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, elevating her to the highest court in the nation. For Black women, representation matters. A February 2022 poll by AP-NORC revealed that 70% of Black women viewed having a Black woman on the Supreme Court as “extremely/very important.” Biden’s moves to include Black women in such roles set a precedent for addressing the long-standing underrepresentation of Black women in national politics.
Yet, these actions, while groundbreaking, are only the beginning. Democrats may feel tempted to retreat from nominating Black female politicians to represent the party on a national stage, attributing electoral losses to Kamala Harris’s racial and gender identity. But retreat is not an option. The Democratic Party cannot afford to alienate the one demographic that consistently stood by them during this election cycle. Black women have been a vocal and active electorate for the party since 1965, and maintaining their support is not just a strategy—it is a necessity. The path forward lies in continuing to advance the political representation that Black women have long fought for and have finally begun to achieve.
Democrats may feel tempted to retreat from nominating Black female politicians, attributing electoral losses to Kamala Harris’s racial and gender identity. But retreat is not an option.
This demand for representation is about loyalty.It was also a caution that a lifetime of unfulfilled promises is not enough for a community that has propelled presidents to victory but often been left behind. The Democratic Party has long relied on the political support of Black women while frequently propping up white men—those who “have not shown up for the Democratic Party in more than 20 years.” By ensuring that his political picks included the very women who secured his presidency, Biden moved toward fulfilling a long-overdue commitment to representation. Black women were never the candidates chosen for the No. 1 or No. 2 spot on the ticket, thus creating a troubling dissonance in the relationship between the Democratic Party and Black Women. Despite their overwhelming commitment and support. The Democratic Party frequently fails to deliver the substantive changes that Black Women have called for—chiefly, political representation. Their calls often yield insufficient results creating an imbalanced relationship where loyalty is not met with desired proportionate rewards.
John Burn-Murdoch argued in March that “American politics is undergoing a racial realignment,” reflecting a significant decline in Democratic affiliation. Notably, former President Trump managed to peel off some traditional support from the Democratic Party—young people, women, and minority groups—raising concerns about the durability of this coalition. Yet, if we are indeed witnessing a once-in-a-generation racial realignment, Black women are not following the same script. While there has been some erosion of Democratic identity among Black Americans, it has been relatively modest, particularly among Black women. In 2023, 77 percent of Black women identified as Democrats or leaned toward the party, compared to just 58 percent of Black men. Even as some Democrats were drawn to Trump’s economic promises, Black women remained steadfast in their support, distinguishing themselves from other groups within the Democratic coalition. Their awareness of daily economic markers—the cost of milk, eggs, or gas—did not sway them toward economic-focused rhetoric that overlooked deeper issues. They remained committed to the pursuit of justice and equality, values that we have prioritized over the purported “economic relief” promised by the opposition.
Elise Taylor ‘28 studies in the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached at elise.l.taylor@wustl.edu.