Despite Donald Trump’s controversial U.S.
presidential election, it was certain that victory has sent shockwaves through
Black American communities, which voted overwhelmingly for Democratic Candidate
Kamala Harris despite a campaign by her Republican rival to court Black men.
While Trump made gains among Black
Americans in North Carolina and some in the community celebrated his win,
nationally his vote share among Black voters was unchanged in the Tuesday vote
from 2020, according to an exit poll conducted by Edison Research, which showed
a much larger swing towards Trump among Hispanic voters.
Black voters were important to President
Joe Biden's victory over Trump in 2020, when Harris was also elected as the
first Black and first Asian-American U.S. vice president. Had she won on
Tuesday, Harris would have become the United States' first woman president.
A majority of the two dozen Black
Americans who spoke to Reuters for this story said they feared a second Trump
term, including a rollback of civil rights after his pledge to end federal
diversity and inclusion programs.
Many said his rhetoric, including racist
and sexist language, proved he does not have the best interests of Black
Americans at heart.
Mary Spencer, 72, a retired nurse and
educator in Oak Creek, in swing state Wisconsin, was dismayed by Trump's
victory. She said Trump's opinion of Black people was condescending.
"Because that's what he thinks of us
- that we only strive to do the jobs that (illegal) immigrants come to do -
which he identifies as housekeeping or working on landscape projects. Things
that don't require much skill or education."
At an event with Black journalists in
July, Trump said immigrants were taking "Black jobs", reinforcing
racist stereotypes about the kinds of work Black Americans do.
Trump denies he is racist. He says his
economic agenda will lower taxes, housing costs, and boost job creation for all
Americans, including Black Americans. His campaign did not immediately respond
to a request for comment.
Katrena Holmes, 51, a Black entrepreneur
from Riverdale, Georgia, voted for Harris, hoping she would unify the country
and reduce racial inequities. A Trump victory threatens to arrest progress on
closing those gaps, given his policy agenda and rhetoric, she said.
"There's a spirit of
divisiveness," she said.
Nadia Brown, director of the women's and
gender studies program at Georgetown University, said Trump's victory has
likely dealt "a blow psychologically" to many Black Americans, who
had been excited by the prospect of having the nation's first woman president
and its second Black commander in chief who could usher in policy change for
their communities.
His rhetoric, and all of the race baiting
and racist remarks, it's just going to be more of a distraction," Brown
said, adding people will feel dejected after spending months organizing on the
ground for Harris.
However, civil and voting rights groups
said the result will galvanize them to fight even harder for racial equality.
"We're going to mobilize at every
angle to try to stop the continued progression of the rollback of all of our
fundamental rights and freedoms. We won't be quiet," said Jotaka Eaddy,
the founder of the Win With Black Women group, which kicked off a ground swell
of organizing for Harris and raised millions of dollars in the early hours
after she rose to the top of the ticket in July.
Trump has said immigrants in the U.S.
illegally are "poisoning the blood of our country." He spread false
claims that Haitians were eating cats and dogs in an Ohio town and has promised
to fight what he called "anti-white feeling."
At the event with journalists in July,
Trump falsely claimed Harris previously downplayed her Black heritage.
Harris won 86% of the Black vote, compared
to 12% for Trump, according to Edison Research, the same share of support Biden
received in 2020.
Throughout his campaign, Trump tried to
make inroads with Black men, but he only received 20% of their vote, a one
percentage point increase from 2020, according to Edison Research. Harris won
92% of Black women voters nationwide, up two points from 2020. Black voters
accounted for 11% of the share of voters nationwide.
TRUMP SWING
In some parts of the country, Trump’s
message, including the promise to keep a lid on inflation, did lead to gains
amongst the Black community.
In North Carolina, an Edison Research exit
poll showed Trump boosting his share of the Black vote to 12%, from 7% in 2020.
He garnered the support of 20% of Black male voters, in line with the national
average, according to the poll.
Trump won North Carolina with about 51% of
the vote.
In another of the states that decided
Trump's win, Georgia, Trump’s share of the Black vote rose by one percentage
point to 12%, according to Edison Research. Shedrick Carter, 38, a Black man
and a small business owner in Atlanta, was celebrating the former president's
victory.
He believes Trump will improve the lives
of Black Americans by boosting jobs, lowering prices, and keeping America out
of foreign wars.
"He's going to be amazing for Black
people," said Carter, who voted early for Trump, also his choice in the
previous two elections.
At a roller skating rink in Atlanta,
Bryson Goodbeir, 32, who works in demolition on construction sites, said his
financial situation was better under Trump's presidency.
"I like his assertiveness. I like the
way he carries himself," Goodbeir said, adding he believes Trump will
improve the economy and reduce the cost of living.
Goodbeir said he supported Trump's tough
stance on people entering the U.S. illegally, because he believes it helps
Black workers. "Trump is trying to protect us," Goodbeir said.
But Sondra Walker, a Black teacher in
North Carolina, was deeply worried by Trump's victory, calling it
"dangerous for Black Americans."
"I just think he is a dangerous human
being, " said Walker, 63, from the city of Creedmoor in the battleground
state.
Shenekia McDaniels, a 40-year-old teacher
who lives in Asheville, North Carolina, also worried about a second Trump term.
"Some of the stuff that Trump says
and gets away with, and people clap, and there's never a repercussion for it.
That just blows my mind.
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