Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has said that Vice President Kamala Harris has been facing sexism and racism from black men.
Abrams made an appearance on CNN wherein she was asked to comment on Georgia pastor Jamal Bryant saying that misogyny has been hurting the black community.
“Full stop misogyny is still real in our community. We’ve got to address it head-on and not act like it doesn’t exist. The reality is if black men had voted, Stacey Abrams would be a governor,” Bryant said.
Abrams agreed with Bryant’s assessment that sexism and racism remains a “very pertinent issue,” while stopping short of saying that black men have not been supporting Harris enough.
“I know it’s a shock to everyone, but sexism remains real and a very pertinent issue. But I want us to be really clear that Kamala Harris is doing very well with Black men. Black men are the second strongest cohort of Democratic voters,” she said. “What we’re seeing though is that she is showing them due respect by actually speaking to their issues. And those issues differ from other cohorts. I’m not quite certain why there is this panic about black men voting. They vote. In fact, they vote more than their counterparts in any other community for Democrats.”
“However, we do have to acknowledge that there is sexism. There is racism. There are challenges in our electorate and that’s why it’s so important that Kamala Harris is going everywhere and talking to everyone,” she continued. “She respects voters. She meets them where they are and she refuses to be told that she has lost a cohort, lost a community simply because she’s different.”
Former President Barack Obama recently admitted that Kamala Harris has been losing support among black men.
“We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities, as we saw when I was running,” Obama told Harris supporters in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty.
“Now, I also want to say that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers,” Obama said. “So if you don’t mind, just for a second, I’m going to speak to y’all, and say that when you have a choice that is this clear, when on the one hand, you have somebody who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences.”
