Joe Biden almost dropped out of the race to become the Democratic presidential nominee this year after several disappointing results in early voting states – until black voters in South Carolina delivered him a resounding win.
And while the race between Biden and Donald Trump remained too close to call on Thursday evening, it appears Black Americans once again stepped up to give the Democrat the backbone of his support, especially in key battleground states including Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Record turnout among African American voters could be the difference between a Biden win and a Biden loss.
“What we’re all re-learning, both the pundits in DC and uninspired Black voters, is the value of our net worth when we show up at the ballot box,” said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist in South Carolina. “Even when we’re suppressed, depressed, or misinformed, we still show up.”
Even when we’re suppressed, we still show up
Antjuan Seawright, Democratic strategist
According to exit poll data, Black voters overwhelmingly backed the Democratic candidate by a margin of 87% to Donald Trump’s 12%. But Seawright had “been saying Black voters will decide the election since 2017”, last predicting South Carolina’s loyal Black moderates would propel Biden to victory in the state’s February Democratic primary.
With ballots still being counted, mail-in or absentee ballots from Democratic-leaning counties, most with large Black populations, are likely to be the deciding factor in who becomes the next US president, amplifying the power of the Black electorate.
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Analysts pinpoint a surge in turnout among young people of all races, but especially Black Americans.
Early voting data already showed young people turning out in record numbers, and with four in 10 eligible Black voters being millennials or from generation Z, the push in urban centers like Philadelphia, Atlanta and Detroit was critical for Biden.
“Every major movement in this country has been fueled by young people and Black people on the frontlines defining what change looks like,” Seawright said. “This election is going to be defined as a movement election for the American experiment.”
As racial justice protests ignited throughout the country this summer after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minnesota in May – then accelerated with the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August – Americans took sides divided mostly along racial lines.
Trump and Republicans took notice, capitalizing on existing racial tensions and preying on lingering fears of some conservatives of a less white America, where people of color will soon be the majority of the US population.
“[Trump] made a conscious decision to make an enemy of an entire movement for Black lives, going as far to use his authority and justice department not only to excuse law enforcement accountability but to target those within the movement,” said David Bowen, a Wisconsin state representative.
“[Young people are] out here making their voices heard and the power of their vote felt on a president who made a target out of them,” he added.
In Milwaukee, young men and women registering to vote for the first time dominated turnout at mostly empty polling stations on election day, as Black Americans were more likely to use mail-in or early voting methods nationwide.
A lot of people see Biden as the doorway, not the destination
David Bowen, Wisconsin state representative
Twenty-year-old Brianna – who did not want her surname published – picked up her aunt outside of her home in their north side community and “dragged her out to make her voice heard”, noting then that Black women would be the deal-breakers in the race.
“I’ve voted before but this was my aunt’s first time,” she said, relaying that she voted for Biden. “To me, both parties give lip service to us and don’t really have our issues at heart but I had to use my vote in some way to demand change from how it is now.”
As one of the nation’s most racially segregated areas, Milwaukee could be described as a microcosm for America. Throughout the country, those stark racial divides manifested in the form of liberal cities painting counties deep blue, yet surrounded by bright red suburban counties.
No president in modern history has won the general election by just winning the majority of white voters – diversity has always been essential. But since the founding of Black Lives Matter, and parallel social justice organizations, activists have kept pressure on Democrats to push for bold changes to the party platform.
Protests many groups have led since May are also translating into newly registered voters, increasing political power and global prominence.
“To all the counted-outs, the forgotten-abouts, the marginalized, and the pushed-asides. This is our moment. That’s how we build the political revolution,” Cori Bush, a community organizer and Black Lives Matter activist, tweeted as her victory speech.
Bush won her race for a US House seat in Missouri Tuesday. After two previous attempts, she now becomes first Black woman to represent the state in Congress.
But support for Democrats has declined among Black voters, and young Black Americans are defecting most. A survey from the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies found “young Black Americans tend to view Democrats much less favorably – and Republicans more favorably – than their older peers”.
Biden did experience hiccups courting Black voters throughout the election cycle, facing criticism for questioning the Blackness of non-supporters, as well as for describing Black communities as less diverse than their Latino counterparts.
Bowen insisted young voters eventually backed Biden as “a down payment toward a bigger goal in the future”.
“A lot of people see Biden as the doorway, not the destination,” he said. “We’re not going to see it in one election cycle, or through one level of government, but there’s this understanding that we’re on a trajectory toward attaining the justice we want to see.”
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