interview
Kamala Harris isn't just winning over black voters in the swing state of North Carolina. In an interview, political science professor Isaac Una explained why African Americans are turning away from the Democratic Party.
Ralph Steiner, Washington, DC
Beyond economic recovery and academic voters, what makes North Carolina a swing state?
Isaac Una: North Carolina has long been considered a conservative Republican stronghold. In 2008, a smart, articulate candidate, Barack Obama, came on the scene and brought about change. About a quarter of North Carolina residents are African-American; at the time, those people went to the polls in large numbers to support the African-American president, Barack Obama. Obama became the only Democratic presidential candidate to win the state in the past four decades.
“White men, Hispanic men, black men are just less willing to support women.”
Has Kamala Harris been able to mobilize African American voters so far?
Democrats hope Kamala Harris, who is part African-American, can score points with this demographic. However, if you look at early voting reviews in North Carolina, black voter turnout was lower than expected. That number is even lower than during the same period during the last presidential campaign, when Joe Biden narrowly lost. If the state looks back, Donald Trump has an advantage. Unless a late wave of black mobilization can help turn the tide.
To people
Isaac Una is professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research topics include legal institutions and their impact on public policy. One of his main focuses is racism in criminal proceedings.
What’s the reason for Harris’ poor rapport with this group of voters nationally?
One reason Kamala Harris has so far received less support from black voters — especially men — than Barack Obama is because of her gender. Let’s face it, America has never elected a woman as president. For many men, regardless of their background, there is a strong aversion to the idea of a female president. There is clear scientific evidence that women in politics generally have a harder time winning over male voters. White men, Hispanic men, black men are just less willing to support women.
What other factors are there?
Another possible explanation for Kamala Harris’ low approval ratings, especially among black men, is her past as a prosecutor. This did not go down well with this group, which is statistically the group most affected by law enforcement in the United States. The negative perception of Black people being associated with the justice system is affecting Kamala Harris.
“Dark skin is a silent, aggravating factor in American criminal proceedings.”
To what extent are black people disadvantaged in law enforcement?
There is irrefutable evidence that race plays an important role at all stages of the criminal justice process. It affects where police stops, who is arrested, how interrogations are conducted and how juries reach verdicts. Prosecutors are more likely to seek harsher sentences for African Americans than for whites for the same crime. Dark skin is a silent, aggravating factor in American criminal proceedings. Aggravating because it increases the likelihood of hefty penalties, silent because this factor is not talked about but is always present.
The latest polling numbers make the case for Kamala Harris, but she still has to fight — including for the support of African-American voters.Image: trapezoid
Does Kamala Harris’ political plan address this form of discrimination?
really. I think their stance on this issue is very sensible and progressive. It aims to save our country from a return to the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, when hateful racial hostility toward blacks and minorities was prevalent in America. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has pursued very aggressive criminal justice policies during his tenure in the White House. He appointed three strongly conservative justices to the Supreme Court, overturning progressive civil rights decisions of the 1950s and 1960s that particularly promoted the rights of African Americans.
Can you give an example?
The Supreme Court, under the influence of these three justices, ruled that the United States—particularly Southern states—should not require Justice Department approval before adopting policies that violated the rights of African Americans.
What would happen to law enforcement if Donald Trump was elected president for a second time?
Trump has vowed to crack down on crime in a possible second term to protect the American people. However, there is no guarantee that crime rates will actually fall. That number even increased during his first term. Trump and Republican administrations before him have often been strong supporters of law enforcement. This encourages police to act harshly, aggressively and abuse their power. The best example is the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota that occurred during the Trump administration.
An artist has painted a mural about George Floyd at the site of his 2020 murder by police.Image: trapezoid
What does this mean for African Americans?
There is strong evidence that levels of violence against African Americans are increasing under Republican administrations. Donald Trump has announced that if he is re-elected as president, police will not be held accountable for using force against citizens. Under Trump, the criminal justice environment will become more aggressive and hostile, especially against Black people, who often bear the brunt of criminal prosecutions in the United States.
“The way we administer punishment in the United States has very strong political implications.”
Isn’t this a reason for African American men to support Harris?
In fact, African-American men in particular should have a strong incentive to vote for Harris. But African Americans tend to forget what happened under Republican administrations and the Trump administration and the negative impact it had on the African American community, and Harris has little support among them because of her past as a prosecutor.
Traditionally, law enforcement seems to have played an important role in the United States. To what extent is the United States a punitive state?
As Founding Father John Adams said, we are truly a punitive nation because we are a nation of laws, not of the people. If someone breaks the law, the next step is punishment. Unfortunately, the punishment system does not operate linearly, and in the United States, the punishment system is very dependent on social class. Some people commit crimes and are not prosecuted because they can afford good legal representation. If you are poor, you have the right to hire a public defender, but they are generally not as good as the attorneys that wealthy people can afford. The way we administer punishment in America is deeply political.
The interview with Isaac Una was conducted in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Thousands of women took to the streets in Washington, D.C., on Saturday to join the Women's March to campaign for Trump's rival Harris. “We will not go back,” it said in signs and slogans, according to US media. “I have a message for former President Trump: We don't believe you want to protect women,” the Washington Post quoted a spokesman as saying.
