As soon as then-Senator Kamala Harris stepped into the national spotlight during the 2019 Democratic primary for the presidential nomination, she instantly became a victim of a disinformation campaign to smear her reputation and divide Black communities along gender and class lines. At the height of a nationwide conversation about Black men finding themselves victim to disproportionately harsh sentences, police brutality, and fatal encounters, Harris's record as District Attorney and Attorney General was skewed with out of context data and outright distortions. She was given the moniker "Cop-mala" by those who were justifiably frustrated by a lack of police reform, accountability, and overall change in the criminal justice system.
But the truth has since been exposed, and based on the enthusiasm I'm seeing, large numbers of Black men will enthusiastically back Vice President Harris. She was a progressive prosecutor for the time period she was D.A. and has been an integral part of an administration that has gotten results for Black men, women, and families.
One of the major distortions that has always made rounds when Vice President Harris's name is invoked is that she allegedly put "1,500 Black men in prison for marijuana" as Attorney General of California. This statement is misleading at best. Most prosecutions of drug offenses occur at the local level. And marijuana-related admissions dropped precipitously during her time in office, from 817 marijuana-related admissions in her first year to 137 in her last. As District Attorney, she oversaw 1,956 felony marijuana convictions but just 45 saw state prison time, which is far fewer than the 135 during the tenure of her predecessor. Harris led the way with one of the nation's first prison diversion programs for first time, low level drug offenders called "Back on Track." She was also part of a Biden Administration that pardoned all federal convictions for simple marijuana possession.
The Biden/Harris Administration has also delivered for Black families on the economy. We've had the lowest Black unemployment and the fastest Black small business growth in three decades. Furthermore, the Biden/Harris administration cut Black child poverty in half with the American Rescue Plan in 2021.
The Vice President also recognizes that education is the fast route to class mobility, and has been part of an administration that has supported Black education. Firstly, this administration has added $900 to the maximum Pell grant award. 60 percent of Black undergraduate students receive Pell grants to pay for their education. Harris is a proud alumna of Howard University in Washington, D.C. She understands that 70 percent of Black doctors and 80 percent of Black judges attend an HBCU. For that reason, this administration provided $16 billion to HBCUs since 2021. By contrast, the Trump administration provided a much more modest $255 million per year.
Black men also have some of America's worst health outcomes. More Black men have health insurance than ever before due to increased enrollment in the Affordable Care Act's health coverage program.
Were it not for a major family emergency, I would have been part of the nearly 50,000 Black men to join a Zoom call hosted by my colleague and friend Roland Martin and the "Win With Black Men" nonprofit in support of VP Harris. The energy was described to me as "electric" by a friend who is not particularly politically engaged. The call raised $1.5 million. Most importantly, it shows that Black men will not be fooled with disinformation.
We are not voting for Vice President Harris because she is a Black woman. We are voting for our own interests and those of our families.
Dr. Jason Nichols is an award winning senior lecturer in the African American Studies Department at the University of Maryland College Park and was the longtime editor-in-chief of Words Beats & Life: The Global Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
