Opinion | Democrats Must Stop Treating Black Women as an Afterthought

In the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election, at times it has felt as though all Democrats could talk about was which demographic groups had drifted away from the Democratic Party and why. What’s generally lost in that conversation is the fact that Black women rallied behind Vice President Kamala Harris. The Democratic nominee earned an overwhelming majority of their votes, including in swing states like Georgia, Nevada and Michigan, even as other groups shifted significantly to the right compared with 2020.

This is not just a matter of loyalty. It’s the result of tireless, unglamorous labor by the Black political organizers and community activists who have helped keep the Democratic Party alive in recent election cycles. And yet, as the party scrambles to course-correct after its loss, it is missing the bigger picture. Black women like me are critical to the party’s survival and its future. To build a stronger agenda, Democrats need to prioritize us.

Historically, Black women have higher labor force participation rates than other women, yet systemic barriers have kept us from reaching our full potential. In 2023 alone, Black women lost nearly $43 billion in potential earnings compared with white men, because they are often segregated into lower-paying jobs. This persistent devaluation of Black women’s experiences and contributions undermines our collective potential for shared prosperity.

Janelle Jones, the first Black woman to serve as chief economist at the Labor Department, advanced the idea that when Black women thrive, the entire economy does, too. In 2020, Ms. Jones released a visionary fiscal and economic road map, “Black Women Best,” as a way to center equity in the conversation around policy. The plan could offer the party a clear way forward.

The Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls has already translated Ms. Jones’s road map into a comprehensive legislative agenda. Its proposals include raising the federal minimum wage to at least $15 an hour, expanding the right to overtime and protecting collective bargaining. It advocates baby bonds, in which children receive a publicly funded trust account at birth to help close the racial wealth gap, guaranteed income programs, job subsidies and extending Medicaid postpartum coverage.

Investments in community organizations as well as health navigators — people who could help patients, caregivers and health care providers get through the health care system productively and efficiently — can be critical tools in the fight against systemic inequities. The beauty of these policies is that they can also address the economic issues that inform voter behavior among Latinos, Black men and working-class white Americans.

Black women are disproportionately represented among frontline and essential workers. And for all the talk about working-class voters, they remain virtually invisible in policy discussions. The framework focuses on those most excluded, dismantling the systemic hurdles that impede our access to education, housing and economic opportunities.

Our commitment to the party has had an enduring effect. In 2017, we were crucial in delivering Doug Jones a Senate win in Alabama, flipping a Republican stronghold. Despite making up roughly 14 percent of the state’s population, Black women accounted for an estimated 17 percent of voters in that special election.

After her campaign for governor of Georgia in 2018, Stacey Abrams and her team turned frustration into strategy, founding Fair Fight. Her organization registered hundreds of thousands of new voters and helped flip the state’s U.S. Senate seats in 2021. Similarly, in 2016, LaTosha Brown, who narrowly lost a 1998 State Board of Education race in Alabama, was a founder of Black Voters Matter. Her work has expanded voting rights and civic engagement in vulnerable communities across the country.

And yet, year after year, Black women express frustration at being taken for granted. We’re expected to deliver victories, but when it comes time to pass policies that address our needs, we’re met with silence. The Democratic Party’s continued neglect has consequences. It risks not only our enthusiasm but also the leadership we bring to the table.

To move forward, the party would be wise to embrace the Black Women Best framework as the cornerstone of its platform. It should invest in grass roots organizations like Fair Fight and Black Voters Matter all year, not just when election season rolls around. It also needs to confront systemic barriers like voter suppression, economic inequality and health care disparities.

And Democrats must strengthen Black women’s leadership by elevating us to positions of real power within the party and government. The recent elections of Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester brought two promising new leaders to the Senate. They have already shown their commitment to policies that center Black women, like the bill Ms. Blunt Rochester introduced while in the House of Representatives, known as the Moms Matter Act, which aims to address maternal mental health inequity. But much more work is needed to elect more women like them and elevate them to positions of power once they reach Washington.

Softening the Democratic platform to appeal to suburban moderates is a dead-end strategy. Black women are not just the backbone of the Democratic Party. We are its moral compass and its engine for progress. Our voting history reflects a deep commitment to safeguarding democracy, not just for ourselves, but for everyone. Loyalty without reciprocity is unsustainable.

If Democrats want to build a better future, they must stop treating Black women as an afterthought. What’s best for us isn’t just good politics, it’s good for America. If the party fails to see this, it will be the one left behind.

Patrice Peck, a journalist, created the newsletter “The Wakeful.”

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