Former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to announce his pick for a running mate as early as Tuesday. More than 100 Black male leaders, including Sean “Diddy” Combs, have sent an open letter to the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee stating that his choice needs to be a Black woman.
“As someone who has said throughout the campaign that VP Joe Biden needs to choose a Black woman VP, the urgency for that pick has gone from something that SHOULD happen to something that HAS to happen,” the statement of solidarity read. “It disgusts us that Black women are not just being vetted in this VP process but unfairly criticized and scrutinized.”
California Senator Kamala Harris has allegedly received harsh critiques from both inside and outside of the Biden camp. A Politico article published late last month noted that former Senator Chris Dodd, a member of Biden’s search committee, asked Harris about the moment during the first Democratic debate when she criticized Biden’s policy on bussing. According to reports, her decision to show “no remorse” put a bad taste in Dodd’s mouth. He labeled her unloyal and “too ambitious.”
For the more than 100 Black men who are demanding that Biden pick a Black woman, they find the assertion offensive. “Why does Senator Kamala Harris have to show remorse for questioning Biden’s previous stance on integrated busing during a Democratic primary debate?” they ask before pointing out the fact that Biden has apologizing of his own to do as it pertains to harmful policies that have negatively affected the Black community.
In 2020, both Black men and women want to witness a reckoning. As the letter points out, for years the Democratic party has benefited from Black women’s ability to “rally the troops” and “risk their lives” in the name of democracy. It’s time that we receive acknowledgment, respect, visibility and support for our hard work.
More than 700 Black women have already penned an open letter demanding a Black woman VP. Now more than 100 Black men are rising to the occasion and saying it’s time to #WinWithBlackWomen. “We don’t want to choose between the lesser of two evils and we don’t want to vote the devil we know versus the devil we don’t,” they say, “because we are tired of voting for devils—period.”