Kamala Harris’ campaign for president energized Black women. The level of enthusiasm for the Democratic party by Black women was palpable. For example, the night Joe Biden announced that he would not seek reelection and endorsed his vice president, over 44,000 Black women joined the Win with Black Women weekly Zoom call and raised over $1 million dollars in five hours. Members of historically Black sororities and Black women’s civic groups quickly mobilized to support Harris and encouraged others to vote for her.
Our previous research shows that Black women were enthused about Harris’ selection as vice president. This enthusiasm, in turn, demonstrated the groundwork for arguments that Black women appreciate descriptive representation – the concept that elected officials reflect the experiences and demographics of their constituents. By late July, Black women were clearly energized by the possibility of electing the first multiethnic Black women at the top of the ticket.
Emotions and politics
Black women’s emotions were pivotal in shaping how they evaluated both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump as candidates. However, coupled with the enthusiasm towards Harris is the frustration Black women feel about the American political system, partisan leadership, and political rhetoric. Emotions like anger are also important for Black political behavior, the research shows.
When we talked with Black women through focus group discussions, we found that Black women felt that electoral politics were ill-equipped to address their needs – despite being optimistic about Harris as a presidential candidate. Before the election, Black women were frustrated that even as president, Harris would not improve their lot. Here’s what we learned.
How we did our research
We conducted four focus groups with Black women in October and November 2024 to learn about their emotive responses to the election. Three focus groups were conducted via Zoom, and one was in person. The women in our study self-identified as Black and ranged in age between 24 and 72. Our participants were all college-educated and were civically engaged before this election. The focus groups lasted from 60 to 90 minutes and were recorded and transcribed. We then re-read the transcripts for clarity. We use pseudonyms to protect the anonymity of participants. The quotes below, in italics, are drawn from these focus groups, and have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
We recruited the women in this study by leveraging our social networks. Since we discussed topics that were distinctively important to Black women, we also moderated the focus groups. Women responded to an ad, text message, or notice in a newsletter for a focus group on Black women and their emotions. We advertised among sorority members, fitness classes, and civic organizations. Recruiting Black women this way is important, as race and gender were critical to both the process and the outcome of data collection. Participants knew they could participate with confidence that their details would not be shared outside of the group.
We asked open-ended questions to stir conversation. During our conversations, we focused on the role of overlapping social identities; experiences with discrimination; the prevalence of emotions like pride, hope, anger, and anxiety; and the extent to which participants felt a strong gender and racial group consciousness. We asked about feelings toward Harris entering the race and running her campaign, the political climate of Trump’s campaign, and each participant’s political and social involvement.
Towards the end of these sessions, we asked about the policies that were most important to Black women. From these discussions, two common themes emerged: threat and frustration.
When we asked participants about their feelings towards U.S. politics, many brought up the political climate that the Trump campaign ushered in. This feeling of new threats altered their behavior and made them reluctant to express their political beliefs because they didn’t feel safe doing so.
Black women felt threatened during Trump’s campaign
Sonja, a retired mother of two adult children, described feeling anxious for her personal safety during her out-of-state travels, after seeing Trump campaign signs. She explained that she and her husband often drive from Maryland to upstate New York to check on the house that her father-in-law had resided in before passing away two years ago. The couple drives through rural communities and small mountain towns to reach their New York home. Sonja admitted that seeing Trump campaign signs during this drive makes her feel her Blackness. She stated:
I’ve dealt with racism now and then, but not to the point where I felt threatened. And this political climate has really made me take a back seat and say “Wait a minute.”
Sonja is from Harlem but grew up in Queens, NY, and now lives in Maryland. She shared that she is aware of racism and the racial discrimination that Black people face while traveling. Still, because she grew up semi-isolated from overt racism, Sonja has been forced to rethink her safety when traveling in areas where there are ardent Trump supporters. She stated:
And so, we realized at some point last year, because of the political climate, I cannot travel in clothing that has Democratic messaging. So, I have to rethink things. Because it’s not just where you stop and get gas – heaven forbid, you know, a tire goes out, and we have to be on the road and get help. You know, I never had to think about these kinds of things before. But Trump has made me realize how bad things are. I mean, it’s not like 80 years ago, right? I shouldn’t feel this way, not now.
Sonja’s words demonstrate how emotions influence political and social behavior. Sonja sought to avoid distress to her well-being by not driving through specific communities. In this case, the threat didn’t motivate her to participate more in politics; it changed how she behaved.
Black women felt frustrated that Trump’s racism and sexism is normalized
Black women stated their frustration that Republicans embraced Trump’s rhetoric and its implications for public policy on issues impacting Black women, as well as Black people overall.
Callie, a mother of four, is very concerned about the U.S. judicial system. As a mother of three Black men, Callie expressed that she was worried about the ability of her sons to make it to adulthood without being killed by the police.
Monica, another focus group participant, expressed deep frustration with the political system but directed much of her ire toward Republicans. She values people who stand up and do what is morally right, even if it is not politically expedient. Black Americans, in Monica’s estimation, are “the most courageous group in the world.” Yet, she believes that some Republicans do not have the same sense of moral conviction and are not courageous, which, in turn, is detrimental to the American political system. She states:
But it frustrates me. I’m not as angry at Trump as I am with Republicans in general. You know, people like [Ted] Cruz and [Marco] Rubio, I’m frustrated with people like that. They know that Trump is not right. They know. But they insist that everything he says is OK. The cowardice in those people is what bothers me with Trump. Something is definitely wrong with Trump, but they find that it’s easier to sit back in their office and do nothing. What happened is that they like power. They don’t want to go back and work a nine-to-five. So that part frustrates me. And I hate that.
It’s not just Trump that frustrates Black women
Overall, Black women expressed frustration that ongoing problems in their communities that have persisted for generations remain unaddressed.
The majority of Black women support reproductive justice, which goes beyond being pro-choice. In response to one of the focus group participants who shared that she is pro-life, Naomi expressed her frustrations with pro-life advocates who narrowly focus on birth. Naomi, a retired grandmother of five, sighed and stated:
I don’t think we, our country, have put enough emphasis on quality of life and the protection of life. So, when deciding to have a baby or not, it’s important to ensure that life has to be supported. So yeah, we need childcare. We should not have food deserts. Children should have quality food and quality education. They should be safe. You should have housing that doesn’t have lead or brown water coming out of the pipes. There shouldn’t have to be a sign that says it’s a drug-free zone because there’s a school somewhere.
There must be a quality of life, meaning more community resources and many family activities. Elderly people shouldn’t have to choose between eating or housing. I think pro-life means from the cradle to the grave. And I don’t think we as a country look at it like that, but we should. It’s frustrating that these are our choices.
Sonja, who is in her early 70s, expressed concerns about Black Americans’ access to the ballot. As our previous research indicates, Black women view voter suppression as a primary threat to American democracy. Sonja retold the experiences of one of her girlfriends, one of the election supervisors in the Atlanta metro area, as an example of why she is frustrated with the mantra of simply telling Black people to vote – but without acknowledging the unequal voting infrastructure in the United States. She elaborated:
It’s no joke down there [Atlanta, GA], still. And it is 50, 60, 70 years later, and it’s still a problem. My girlfriend knows Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the women that Mr. Trump accused; she knows them. Yeah, it’s insane. But I think [for] people our age – there’s a history to what we do and how we do it. And so instead of just saying, “Oh, well, we can vote, so I’ll guess I’ll vote,” [it’s] “No, I have to vote.”
Negatively valenced emotions like anger, frustration, and anxiety were prominent in the focus group discussions leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Black women from different age cohorts report channeling their feelings into their political behavior. It’s not always the case that Black women can freely express their emotions. Quite often, in fact, Black anger and rage have been suppressed. However, our research demonstrates that these feelings are potent in explaining Black women’s politics.
Nadia E. Brown is a professor of government and the director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Georgetown University. She is the author of Sisters in the Statehouse.
Christine M. Slaughter is an assistant professor of political science at Boston University.
The study of Black women was funded by the Idol Family Fellowship Program in the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership at Villanova University.
