Donald J. Trump and others continue to try and find ways to invalidate Vice President Kamala Harris’ blackness, pushing a narrative that she changes her accent whenever she is around certain people.
This feeds into the former president’s statement that she “turned Black” in order to sway votes during the presidential election and to resonate with those who scrutinize Harris’ accent and demeanor when addressing different communities.
This criticism gained traction once again during the 2024 Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation’s Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, Sep. 14, where the Oakland native delivered remarks to a predominantly Black and brown audience.
A viral clip of the Democratic presidential candidate’s greeting the audience with “Hello to all of my Divine Nine brothers and sisters, and my sorors.”
Dressed in a blue sequined dress, Harris continued, filled with giggles, “And to all my HBCU brothers and sisters.” While the clip was short and did not record the response from the crowd, it also ignited a storm on social media.
Her lighthearted tone, signature laugh, and reference to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) prompted many to accuse the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. member of 38 years of being inauthentic.
“Kamala’s new accent that she unveiled at the Black Caucus dinner. Can’t make this up. Worse than Hillary. Revolting and appalling,” one user tweeted.
🇺🇸
— Yisrael official 🇮🇱 🎗 (@YisraelOfficial) September 15, 2024
Kamala’s new accent that she unveiled at the Black Caucus dinner.
Can’t make this up. Worse than Hillary.
Revolting and appalling 🤮 pic.twitter.com/Awc7Xr22NL
Another critique emphasized Harris’ pattern, bashing, “It’s not her ‘new accent.’ It’s the accent she’s been switching to for a long time whenever she’s addressing Black voters.”
These critiques are familiar ground for Harris.
Throughout her campaign, her use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) or adjustments in speech when addressing different groups has sparked both backlash and defense. During a July event in Atlanta and a September speech in Detroit, critics compared her speech delivery, accusing her of altering her tone based on the demographic of her audience, interpreting it as a way to pander to Black voters.
Fox News’ Peter Doocy even asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre why Harris appeared to adopt a “Southern accent” in Detroit, to which Jean-Pierre replied, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Many others believe he has no idea what he is talking about.
Harris’ supporters, especially within the Black community, point to W.E.B. Du Bois’ concept of “Double Consciousness” and the survival tactic of code-switching — adjusting one’s speech or behavior depending on the social context, a common experience for many people of color.
One user defended Harris by explaining, “Nah this is actually the way she speaks. The voice y’all are used to is the one she’s using when she’s having to conform in her workspace to be accepted by her peers that don’t look like her. Black ppl have been doing this forever. It’s called #codeswitching.”
Another commentator added, “So what racist, white people should know, is that ALL black people do this and when I meet a black person who sounds like me, they’re afraid of me?”
One influencer, 2RawTooReal, chimed in with a humorous take, posting a meme about code-switching and writing, “Code switching is a Black art. Me at my corporate job.”
Code switching is a Black art.
— 2RawTooReal (@2RawTooReal) September 4, 2024
*Me at my corporate job* pic.twitter.com/3NIqpGPE00
The notion that Harris is “acting Black” or being inauthentic has been strongly dismissed by many who know her, including her sorority sisters who pledged with her in 1986 at Howard University. She is a proud member of the Alpha chapter of the oldest Black sorority and a graduate of one of the oldest HBCUs.
Associate professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, Nicole Holliday, who is an expert in sociophonetics, said she has studying Harris’ speech patterns for years and does not see anything odd.
In an interview with MSNBC, she argued that people who critique Harris for code-switching are missing the point.
“She sounds Black,” Holliday said. “She sounds professional. She sounds like a woman. She sounds Californian, all of these things. And she pretty much consistently does. If you’re listening to her, she consistently sounds like all those things.”
The expert also released a 2023 paper, “Complex Variation in the Construction of a Sociolinguistic Persona: The Case of Vice President Kamala Harris,” published in American Speech, which explored how Harris navigates these linguistic waters, showing how her speech reflects her multifaceted identity as a Black woman and as a woman in a position of power.
Ultimately, Holliday believes that Harris’ ability to navigate different linguistic landscapes is emblematic of a larger phenomenon, particularly among Black leaders. She even compares the former prosecutor to former President Barack Obama and how he had to flip his speech when addressing diverse audiences.
