Black women's groups exercising new political power going into 2020 presidential campaign

WASHINGTON – After historic midterms, when they helped Democrats recapture the House of Representatives, women of color are moving fast to leverage their newfound political clout for the 2020 presidential election.

They're hosting a presidential forum – in a bold move to get national candidates to recognize their influence – while ramping up get-out-the-vote efforts and preparing more women to run for Congress.

“There’s never been a moment for women of color in politics like there is now,'' said Aimee Allison, president and founder of She the People, a national network. "It’s kind of like there’s a big awakening.”

After years of complaining that national political parties have not done enough to fund their turnout efforts or to support black female candidates, some groups are raising the money to do it themselves.

“We are demanding a return on our voting investment," said Glynda Carr, co-founder of Higher Heights, which supports black female candidates and more black political involvement.

That has paid off.

“We have seen women step up in the entire political ecosystem. It’s not only running for office. We see women step up and running campaigns, being the press secretaries, being the finance director," said A’shanti F. Gholar, political director at Emerge America, which trains Democratic female candidates. “We have also seen women start several organizations that support candidates, which is extremely important because we know not every woman is going to want to run for office.

“All of those things are finally coming together."

Turning to the national stage

To take advantage of the national attention, She the People will host a presidential forum in Houston in April – the first by a group led by women of color.

"I’m excited and also recognize how much is riding on the success of this,'' said Allison, who plans to announce participating candidates as soon as this week.

Whether candidates attend could show how important it is to court women of color.

Organizers said they scheduled the forum early in the campaign cycle to establish the group as a political force. Holding it in a red state was also intentional.

The South and the Southwest, which have diverse populations, will be fertile ground for Democratic candidates.

“For men and women (candidates) of various races, they all need to win women of color,'' Allison said. "They have to make their case.”

The group plans to hold a town hall this spring in Virginia to focus on state races. Virginia is a crucial state for Democratic presidential candidates.

Virginia was in the national spotlight this year when a photo emerged of a person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe on the yearbook page of Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. Northam initially apologized but later questioned whether he was in the picture.

“It’s very important for women of color to be heard given the political environment that’s going on there," Allison said. “We had no idea that Virginia was going to be Crazytown.”

The presidential forum and other events hosted by women of color are part of a movement across the country, said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

“There’s an energy in communities of women of color to do everything possible to have a greater voice and to make sure they are not taken for granted,” Walsh said.

One early indicator of that power will be who shows up for the presidential forum, Walsh said.

“Democratic presidential hopefuls who ignore the power of the votes of women of color do so at their own peril,” she said.

Other groups demand an ear

Sisters Lead Sisters Vote, a group formed last spring, plans to partner with She the People for the presidential forum. The group plans listening sessions with black female leaders to discuss get-out-the-vote campaigns and demands from candidates.

"We’re not going to just be voting for people just to be voting for people," said Holli Holliday, president of Sisters Lead Sisters Vote. "We’re going to try to let folks know where people stand for real and not just rubber-stamping people.”

This week, the Black Women’s Roundtable will hold a summit in Washington, in part to discuss its strategy for the 2020 presidential election.

The group will send questionnaires to presidential candidates and follow up with meetings with their campaigns.

“We decided we need something in writing, so we would have something to leverage once people are elected,” said Melanie Campbell, convener of the roundtable.

Campbell said her organization hasn’t heard from presidential candidates.

“We’re not waiting on anybody to acknowledge us,” she said.

Before he opted not to run for president, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, tweeted, “You can't be a human being who's awake and not understand that black women are the heart of the Democratic Party.”

Black women key to Democratic wins

Black women, who trend Democratic, have long been active in their communities, playing key roles in the civil rights movement and helping to get neighbors, family and fellow church members to the polls.

Black female voters helped Doug Jones pull off an upset in Alabama in 2017, making him the state’s first Democratic senator in 25 years.

They helped Democratic gubernatorial candidates Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Andrew Gillum in Florida come close to victory last year.

The groups backed female candidates of color who made this Congress the most diverse in history.

Women of color are likely to play a crucial role in the presidential primaries, particularly when the focus shifts to South Carolina – the first early primary state with a diverse population.

Black voters are concentrated in the South.

“Southern states really make a big difference in whoever wants to win,” Campbell said.

Campbell criticized Republicans and Democrats for not talking with black women enough.

"When it comes to engaging and being respectful of the black vote and black women’s vote, they have a lot of room (where) they can go up," she said of Republicans.

She cited a survey by her organization that found only 1 percent of black women say Republicans have their best interest at heart.

Democrats didn't fare well either. Campbell said that in 2017, there was an 11-percentage-point drop in black women’s faith in the party.

“We’re looking for people to respect our vote, respect our leadership," she said. "Don’t just think that we’re just a voting bloc."

Push for women to run for Congress

Black women’s groups and others plan to continue urging more women of color to run for office, including for Congress.

In Louisiana, nearly two dozen women signed up for Emerge Louisiana's training program for Democratic candidates this year.

They included women running for school boards, the state Senate and Congress.

Sandra “Candy” Christophe of Alexandria, Louisiana, joined Emerge's boot camp. She hopes to represent the 5th Congressional District, succeeding GOP incumbent Rep. Ralph Abraham, who is running for governor.

If she wins, Christophe, who is black, would be the only woman in the Louisiana delegation.

“I don’t know if Louisiana is ready for it, but I am inspired and encouraged by those women who have run," Christophe said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Black women's groups exercising new political power going into 2020 presidential campaign