By Matt Brown
Black voters, who helped power Joe Biden to the White House, expressed a mix of hope and worry Monday over his exit from the presidential race and the prospect of Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic nominee.
A key Democratic constituency, Black voters were among Bidenâs most steadfast supporters, even as calls for him to quit grew. But as much pride as many Black Americans feel about the possibility of Harris, who is of Black and Indian descent, becoming president, the upending of the race has some voters feeling scared.
âI felt like we were doomed,â said Brianna Smith, a 24-year-old school counselor from Decatur, Georgia, recounting her reaction to Bidenâs announcement. âI donât see America actually accepting the fact that a Black woman is running for president.â
The apprehension of some Black voters was reminiscent of 2008, when Barack Obama sought the presidency alongside Biden, the vice presidential candidate. Millions of Black people were proud of Obamaâs candidacy even as they feared he wouldnât be accepted by Americans overall.
Cyria Adams, a 37-year-old hairstylist from Smyrna, Georgia, called Bidenâs decision âheartbreaking.â As speculation spread last week that the president might withdraw, she prayed it was just a rumor.
âIâm nervous. Iâm really nervous,â Adams said.
Bidenâs support of Harris and the immediate coalescing of other party leaders around her makes her the prohibitive favorite to replace him at the top of the presidential ticket. But in interviews in Atlanta, where voters helped flip Georgia for Democrats four years ago, some Black voters were nervous.
âPeople really donât like women, especially Black women,â said Mary Jameson, 46. âIf a white woman canât win, how can a Black woman win?â
Carrington Jackson, a 23-year-old chiropractic student from Marietta, Georgia, said she immediately felt fearful when Biden dropped out. Though she believes Harris is a great candidate, she worries about her facing not only the popularity of the GOP nominee, former President Donald Trump, but the prejudices of the American public.
âWith me being a Black woman, I understand that sheâs at the intersection of sexism and racism,â Jackson said. âI think now thatâs going to be a whole other battle, as well as competing against Donald Trumpâs supporters.â
An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll fielded prior to Bidenâs announcement Sunday found about 6 in 10 Democrats believe Harris would do well as president. More broadly, among all adults, the poll showed skepticism of Harris, with only 3 in 10 Americans saying she would do well as president.
But Black people were more likely to see Harris in a positive light.
In a show of enthusiasm about the vice president, more than 40,000 Black women participated in a Zoom meeting Sunday organized by a group called #WinWithBlackWomen. The call was held just hours after Bidenâs announcement and participants raised more than $1.5 million for the Harris campaign.
Many Democrats followed Bidenâs lead in expressing their support for Harris. The Congressional Black Caucus said it âfully backsâ the vice president.
And some Black voters, dismayed by what they saw as Bidenâs dwindling chance of winning in November, said they would support whoever could best compete with Trump.
âIf they can express the policy of the Democratic Party better than Biden, then I will gladly take that person,â said Pierre Varlet, 30, an anti-money laundering specialist in Atlanta.
The AP-NORC polling shows Black people generally view Trump negatively. But while about 7 in 10 Black adults have an unfavorable view of Trump, his numbers have improved notably since early 2021.
Trumpâs campaign has sought to win over more Black voters and members of other minorities.
Anaya Bridges, a 22-year-old student at Georgia State University, said she believed âsome people have been swayedâ by Republican outreach to communities of color, and she is concerned about voter turnout.
âThe timing is terrible,â she said of Bidenâs announcement.
Jon Diggs, a 40-year-old Atlanta therapist who has generally voted Democratic in past elections, said he was shocked by Bidenâs decision. Both parties, Diggs said, have work to do.
âI donât think that either party has done a good job for the middle class and particularly the middle-class African American person,â he said.
Johnny Bester, a 37-year-old from Atlanta who was riding a scooter alongside Diggs in Piedmont Park, said he was ânot loyal to any brandâ of politics. He said Biden should have dropped out long ago and that he wasnât a fan of the presidentâs endorsement of Harris.
âA lot of us forgot that she was even in the office, because she hasnât been too vocal. She hasnât been too visible,â Bester said.