The left-wing organization Black Lives Matter is resisting the installation of Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee and are calling on the Democratic National Convention “to create a process that allows for public participation in the nomination process, not just a nomination by party delegates.”
In a statement Tuesday, the group, which rose to prominence in 2020 for organizing nationwide protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, said that “a 24-hour process of talking to party bosses is not democratic, nor is it a process Democrats should be proud of.”
For weeks after his disastrous debate performance last month, internal party pressure mounted against President Joe Biden to drop out of the race — though he resisted those calls and insisted he was “in it to win it.”
But abruptly, over the weekend, Biden dropped out of the race and nominated Harris to lead the top of the ticket. And overnight, the Democratic Party coalesced around her, winning enough delegate support to secure the nomination at the DNC convention in August.
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A protester picks up signs during a demonstration in Beverly Hills, Calif., July 17, 2013, in reaction to the acquittal of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
But, BLM, a group that predominantly aligns with the Democrat Party, is calling foul on the play.
“We do not live in a dictatorship. Delegates are not oligarchs. Installing Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee and an unknown vice president without any public voting process would make the modern Democratic Party a party of hypocrites,” the group said in a statement.
“Black Lives Matter demands that the [DNC] immediately host an informal, virtual snap primary across the country prior to the DNC convention in August.”
“We call for the Rules Committee to create a process that allows for public participation in the nomination process, not just a nomination by party delegates. The current political landscape is unprecedented, with President Biden stepping aside in a manner never seen before. This moment calls for decisive action to protect the integrity of our democracy and the voices of Black voters,” it said.
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A black lives matter t-shirt during a “Hands Up, Dont Shoot” demonstration in front of the San Francisco Hall of Justice on December 18, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“Democratic Party elites and billionaire donors are 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,” the group stated.
“This blatant disregard for democratic principles is unacceptable. While the potential outcome of a Harris presidency may be historic, the process to achieve it must align with true democratic values,” it continued.
“We have no idea where Kamala Harris stands on the issues, now that she has assumed Joe Biden’s place, and we have no idea of the record of her potential vice president because we don’t even know who it is yet.”
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Shalomyah Bowers speaks onstage during the NBJC Equity March on June 15, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Brian Stukes/Getty Images)
Shalomyah Bowers, a BLM leader, said, “This is not an attack on Kamala Harris or Black women, and right now we aren’t questioning Kamala’s qualifications or capabilities. This is about the nominating process.”
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“Those of us who care about the principles of democracy cannot be serious about installing Kamala Harris and an unknown vice president as the Democratic nominee without any semblance of a people-powered process,” Bowers said.
“Not delegates and party elites, but actually asking communities across the country if they believe this should be the democratic ticket. Anything less is unserious in the quest for democracy.”
Efforts to reach the Harris campaign for comment were unsuccessful at press time.