In their Names: Black Women’s Political Power in the United States
| Author | Emilia Belknap,Skyler Hawkins |
| Published date | 01 September 2020 |
| Date | 01 September 2020 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/2041905820958816 |
12POLITICAL INSIGHT•SEPTEMBER 2020
In their Names: Black
Women’s Political Power
in the United States
Emilia Belknap and Skyler Hawkins chart the growing power of Black
women in US politics, from the Black Lives Matter movement to the
2020 presidential election.
IIn the United States, 2018 was
labelled ‘Year of the Woman’ with
a record-breaking 36 new women
winning House seats and 23 women
elected to the Senate in the midterm
elections. Among these first-term
elected officials were Representatives
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York,
Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley
of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of
Michigan. These four women of colour –
known as ‘the Squad’ – are recognised for
their hard-hitting legislative work, close
connection to their constituents through
social media engagement and compelling
personal histories that led them to careers in
politics. At a February 2020 panel about social
justice, Congresswoman Pressley said ‘there
is a paradigm shift occurring, but there have
been women before us – women of colour
before us, Black women before us – who
shook the table, who called the question,
who sought justice, who were the truth-
tellers, who preserved our democracy, and
we are simply honouring and trying to be
good stewards of the ground that they laid.’
As one of the most reliable and mobilised
voting blocs in America, Pressley is right:
the political power of Black women is
unmistakeable. In recent presidential elections,
Black women voted at higher rates than other
voting groups by approximately 6.7 per cent
and have voted at 60 per cent or above in the
past ve US presidential elections. While Black
women historically support the Democratic
party, in a 2020 survey 24 per cent of Black
women identied as non-aliated to a
political party or as Independent voters.
© Press Association
Political Insight September 2020 BU.indd 12Political Insight September 2020 BU.indd 1204/08/2020 13:2804/08/2020 13:28
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