The activist group has called on the Democratic Party to hold an open primary to nominate Joe Biden’s successor
The Black Lives Matter organization has accused the Democratic Party of “trying to manipulate black voters” by installing Kamala Harris as the presumptive presidential nominee without a public vote.
US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he would not seek reelection, and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to run in his stead. Harris announced her campaign immediately afterwards, and by Monday had secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to win the party’s nomination at next month’s Democratic National Convention.
In a lengthy statement on Tuesday, the normally Democrat-aligned Black Lives Matter (commonly shortened to BLM) organization condemned this rapid changeover.
“Democratic Party elites and billionaire donors are attempting to manipulate Black voters by anointing Kamala Harris and an unknown vice president as the new Democratic ticket without a primary vote by the public,” the statement read.
“This blatant disregard for democratic principles is unacceptable,” it continued. “While the potential outcome of a Harris presidency may be historic, the process to achieve it must align with true democratic values. We have no idea where Kamala Harris stands on the issues…and we have no idea of the record of her potential vice president because we don’t even know who it is yet.”
If elected, Harris would be the US’ first female and second black president. If confirmed as the Democratic nominee, she will be the first presidential candidate in 56 years to run for the White House without ever competing in a primary election.
Black Lives Matter was formed in 2013 to protest the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who shot a black teenager in self-defense the previous year. The organization grew following the police killings of two more African-Americans – Michael Brown and Eric Garner – in 2014, and shot to global prominence by organizing protests after the death of George Floyd in police custody in 2020.
BLM’s activism is primarily focused on criminal justice and police reform – issues that Harris embraced during the 2020 campaign. As protests over George Floyd’s death turned violent, Harris called for the defunding of police departments and urged her supporters to donate to a bail fund for rioters and murderers.
During her short-lived presidential run in 2019, however, Harris was attacked by progressives for her record as attorney-general of California from 2011 to 2017. During this time, Harris “blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row…kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor… and she fought to keep the cash bail system in place,” former presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard noted during a 2019 debate.
Harris, Gabbard declared, perpetuated a “broken criminal justice system that is disproportionately negatively impacting black and brown people all across this country today.”
Despite her record on BLM’s signature issues, the organization does not oppose Harris’ campaign. “This is not an attack on Kamala Harris or black women, and right now we aren’t questioning Kamala’s qualifications or capabilities,” BLM leader Shalomyah Bowers said in a statement. “This is about the nominating process.”
Instead of “anointing” Harris, BLM called on the Democratic party to hold a virtual snap primary election before its convention in August. “Anything less is unserious in the quest for democracy,” Bowers said.
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