Harris a role model for new generation of women voters

HERBERT L. WHITE | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Johnson C. Smith University juniors Shanyah Gibson, 20, of Brooklyn, New York, left, and Arieouance Gibson, 20, of St. Paul, Minnesota, plan to vote for Kamala Harris for president. Harris, a Democrat, is the first woman of color to win a major political party’s presidential nomination.

Shanyah Jarvis and Arieouance Gibson are all in for Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Johnson C. Smith University juniors are more motivated to cast their first presidential ballot for Harris, a Democrat who is taking on former President Donald Trump. Jarvis admits the prospect of electing a Black woman to the nation’s highest office is inspiring and historic.

“I’m looking more so to electing our first African American [woman] president,” said Jarvis, 20. “I would promote getting out there and voting for someone you see your values and morals in as opposed to just voting and saying, ‘I’m just going to get it done with.’”

Gibson, a political science major, said she was conversational in politics before Harris became the Democratic nominee, but not a devotee. She credits JCSU constitutional law professor Jasmine Corbett with expanding her understanding and why engagement and research are important.

“She helped me understand the importance of politics overall, not just the concentration on voting,” said Gibson, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, where Harris’ running mate Tim Walz is governor. “I’ve been taught that it’s important to have someone in power that looks like you, but you know the old saying: ‘Not all skin folk is kin folk.’ I think [Corbett] kind of shifted my perspective that it’s very much true but it’s very important, especially now with a woman who looks like you in office.”

North Carolina state Sen. Kandie Smith of Greenville.

Black women, the modern Democratic party’s bedrock constituency, have been behind Harris since she succeeded President Joe Biden atop the national ticket. In addition to their early political and financial support, they’ve raised money and organized voter outreach – the bread and butter of successful campaigns up and down the ballot.

Among North Carolina’s 7.7 million registered voters, 1.5 million identify as Black, and 3.8 million are women. Strong turnout for Harris could not only tilt North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes to Harris, it would likely create a coattails effect for Democrats in lower-profile races.

“This election, our future quite literally hangs in the balance,” said state Sen. Kandie Smith of Greenville. “The choices we make and the actions we take now will change the course of our politics, society, and lives for generations to come. There is more at stake in this election than ever before, from breaking the supermajority in the North Carolina General Assembly to fighting for reproductive rights, addressing climate change, and ensuring every child has access to a quality education.”

Jarvis, who is from Brooklyn, New York, said her family rarely discusses politics, but the classroom discussions at JCSU helped her understand the historic implication of Harris’ campaign.

“My family wasn’t really big on politics,” she said. “The first presidential election I heard about was Barack Obama. That was the first encounter …but beyond that it really hasn’t risen to anything beside that. I really got into politics in Dr. Corbett’s class. She voiced her opinion of just going out and voting. Vote for the best person who goes for your morals and will get the job done instead of just putting anybody in office.”

Young people tend to vote at lower rates than their elders, but Gibson believes learning more about the issues will close that gap – especially among Black men, who lag Black women. Black voters, with the exception of the Obama campaigns of 2008 and 2012, traditionally trail their white peers.

“I think part of it is one, we’re not as educated, and if I’m being honest, it’s because of a lot of things that’s been occurring is being ridiculed,” she said. … “You have people in office previously who were like entertainers, so [young voters are] like ‘this isn’t that serious,’ without understanding their vote can and will impact their community.”

Said Gibson: “That’s why we feel our voices won’t be heard but it’s actually the direct opposite as we are the generation coming up and the older generation is moving out. This will be the presidency that affects us as we are in our [late teens] to 20s. It is an important time to go out and vote, doing your due diligence on these candidates.”

As early votes are cast across the country leading up to Election Day on Nov. 5, Jarvis appreciates the opportunity that Harris’ campaign is creating for people previously locked out of the corridors of power.

“It’s very important to me as I am an African American female myself,” she said. “It just shows that anything is possible – you can strive for the highest and the greatest in the country that wasn’t for us but around us. We were taken from [Africa] to this country, and we built upon this country, so for us to actually have a voice and to be the highest power in the country it goes to show we can really do anything, and our voice actually does matter.”

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