Black Men Don’t Like Kamala Harris

Sen. Kamala Harris has a problem with Black men. Rather, Black men have a problem with Sen. Kamala Harris.

Since her selection as presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate, I’ve received a deluge of phone calls, text messages, and WhatsApp group chats from Black men — only two of whom had positive things to say about her. One was from someone who sees himself in Harris; like her, he has one parent from Jamaica and another from India. The other is totally aligned with her policy positions. Everyone else, though, is down on the pick. . .

Before Harris became a senator, she was California’s attorney general, and before that, she served as district attorney of San Francisco. In both positions, her tenure and actions directly affected Black men. I’ve even heard people say that a Biden-Harris ticket would be worse for leading criminal justice reform than the current Trump-Pence administration. So do we lend our support without her acknowledging her record in these positions, or do we withhold it until we’re able to have a frank conversation with her about them?

. . .During her time as San Francisco’s district attorney, the conviction rate jumped from 52% to 67%. From 2002–2005, during her tenure, Black people made up less than 8% of the city’s population but accounted for over 40% of its police arrests. While she was attorney general for the state, her office oversaw over 1,900 marijuana convictions — convicting people on marijuana charges at a higher rate than under her predecessor. (Read more from “Black Men Don’t Like Kamala Harris” HERE)

via joemiller