What Does Biden Owe Black Voters?
Just two blocks south of Black Lives Matter Plaza — a section of 16th Street Northwest in Washington, D.C., renamed by Mayor Muriel Bowser last June after President Trump used tear gas on people protesting the police killing of George Floyd on the way to a photo-op — sits the White House where President-elect Biden will soon enter as President Biden. And he’ll have Black Americans to thank for helping him get there.
In his victory speech after he was projected as the winner, Biden noted that, “Especially at those moments when this campaign was at its lowest ebb, the African American community stood up again for me. You’ve always had my back, and I’ll have yours.”
But what will Biden do to return the favor? Black voters kept Biden in the top of the polls through much of the primaries and helped him win the Democratic nomination. They also helped Biden carry Georgia, a red state that hadn’t voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in more than 20 years. Biden should probably also thank Abrams, as her playbook and organizing power helped deliver a trifecta in Washington with the election of Warnock and Ossoff to the U.S. Senate (they’ll also be sworn in later today).
We’ll know soon enough what Biden will do. But the stakes are incredibly high. Black Americans have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic on every level — from the death toll to access to testing sites to receiving COVID-19 vaccinations.
The Black establishment in the Democratic Party wields a lot of influence, which could prove to be a sizable force in keeping Biden accountable for the promises he made to Black Americans on the campaign trail. For instance, in the Democratic primary, many prominent Black Democrats called for Biden to pick a Black woman as his pick for vice president, including high-ranking Rep. James Clyburn, who told NPR last March, “I really believe that we’ve reached a point in this country where African American women need to be rewarded for the loyalty that they’ve given to this party.”
Harris, of course, will be the first Black woman and first Indian American woman to be vice president. Biden’s Cabinet picks also include six Black people, including retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, who would be the first Black defense secretary. The question remains whether Biden will take actions that affect not only party elites but also Black voters, who have time and again turned out for him.