As momentum builds for Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, Black Lives Matter (BLM) is demanding the party host a virtual snap primary across the country before the Democratic National Convention. With President Joe Biden now out of the race and Harris already securing the backing of a majority of Democratic delegates, the group is pushing the party to allow public participation in the nomination process, instead of what it calls a “nomination by party delegates.”
“While Joe Biden wasn’t our preferred candidate, we cannot ignore the troubling actions of the Democratic Party,” the group said in a statement.
BLM members argue that “following the primary where millions of Black voters weighed in, after one poor debate performance, the DNC party elites and billionaire donors bullied Joe Biden out of the race” and are now 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. This blatant disregard for democratic principles is unacceptable.”
BLM said that if the DNC would have allowed earlier debates between President Biden and former President Donald Trump, it would have likely allowed America to see the decline of Joe Biden in 2023.
Instead, BLM said the DNC created rules that “made it almost impossible for non-Biden candidates to appear on the ballot” during the primaries.
“The Democratic Party, which has been the loudest in defending democracy, is now poised to commit some of the most undemocratic maneuvering to avoid listening to the will of the voters,” the statement said.
BLM accused the party of being “hypocrites,” stating that “if Kamala Harris is to be the nominee, it must be through a process that upholds democratic principles and public participation.”
“This is not an attack on Kamala Harris or Black women, and right now we aren’t questioning Kamala’s qualifications or capabilities,” Black Lives Matter leader Shalomyah Bowers said. “This is about the nominating process.”
Bowers also said “democracies are stronger when political parties operate with primary systems that allow for genuine participation.”
