'Underestimated': In Kamala Harris, some Black women see themselves

CHICAGO — When Kamala Harris takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night to accept the Democratic nomination, many Black women say they will see themselves − someone who was underestimated and picked apart, only to prove skeptics wrong.

For most of Harris' first term as vice president, the 59-year-old Harris was saddled with low approval ratings . She faced criticism for struggling to find her niche in the administration after getting assigned the tough tasks of voting rights and combatting root causes of migration at the southern border.

And before President Joe Biden dropped out of the election in June, some Democrats floated bypassing Harris altogether to hold a contested convention to choose the party's nominee.

Yet now, in the one month since launching her bid for president, Harris has united the Democratic Party, packed campaign rallies in large arenas, overtaken Republican nominee Donald Trump in key battleground states and raised around $500 million in campaign cash.

"She has so much fire in her that people didn't see, and now people are able to see the fire that's inside," said Margaret Sumpter, a Democratic National Committee delegate from South Carolina who chairs the state's Democratic Party Council of Black Democrats.

"Black women are strong," said Sumpter, a 66-year-old grandmother. "Black women are really the backbone of the family. And a lot of times, people underestimate the power that we have."

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With her nomination, Harris is the first Black woman and the first Asian American to be a major political party's presidential nominee. If she defeats Trump in November, she would become the first woman president after Hillary Clinton lost her bid against Trump in 2016.

Thelma Sias, a 71-year-old Black delegate from Wisconsin who lives in Milwaukee, donned a custom-made air-brushed jacket with Harris' portrait and the words "Madame President" as she walked the convention floor.

"Now, greater than ever before, I know we have the capacity to do this. We have the energy. We have the understanding. And we've made a bold decision in the transfer of power," said Sais, a longtime Democratic activist.

She called it "almost overwhelming and an extraordinarily proud moment" to be on the cusp of a potential Black female president.

"The reality is, women all over this country have experienced being taken for granted and underestimated about the power, not only of what we can do, but of our extraordinary talent. This is nothing new," Sias said.

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During her rousing convention speech Tuesday, former first lady Michelle Obama touched on a similar theme of expectations as she excoriated Trump for doing "everything in his power to try to make people fear" her and Barack Obama, the first Black president.

Trump famously launched his political career by spreading the “birther” conspiracy targeting Barack Obama's citizenship years ago.

"His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black," Michelle Obama said. "Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those 'Black jobs?'" she added in a dig at Trump's use of the phrase.

Since Harris secured the Democratic nomination, Trump has lobbed repeated personal attacks, calling her "dumb" and "stupid," despite her long career as as prosecutor and in politics, mocking her laugh and even saying he's "better looking" than Harris.

Trump has also questioned the Black identity of Harris, who is biracial, falsely claiming that she "happened to turn Black."

"Black women are underestimated," said Rogette Harris, a 42-year-old Black delegate from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. "That's why I laughed when Donald Trump made the comment she's just now Black. He's treating her like a Black woman."

Rogette Harris, chairwoman of the Dauphin County Democratic Party in Pennsylvania, said Black women are "held to a different standard" and "once you reach that benchmark, then they move it. But we just have to elevate ourselves." She said Vice President Harris is proving herself with the way she's enthused Democratic voters.

"Sometimes the best kept secret is to be underestimated because people don't know when you're coming," Rogette Harris said.

Harris has started to reassemble the coalition that helped elected Biden in 2020, polling has suggested, improving on Biden's underperformance this election with women voters, young voters and voter of color. There's also evidence Harris is energizing Black voters in a way Biden did not.

More: Harris surges with Black voters in key battleground states but gaps remain

A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll last week found 77% of Black voters in Michigan surveyed are now "very motivated" to vote for Harris while only 52% previously said the same for Biden. In Pennsylvania, 78% were very motivated to vote for Harris, compared to 61% who said they were motivated to vote for Biden..

Yet at this week's convention, Democrats have sought to temper their excitement with the reality of a close election that could be decided by tens of thousands of votes in a handful of battlegrounds states.

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"There are still so many people who are desperate for a different outcome − who are ready to question and criticize every move Kamala makes," Michelle Obama said in her speech. She called the election an "uphill fight," and urged Democrats to "do something" to put Harris over the top.

On Thursday night, though, Black women at the United Center will soak in the history-making moment.

Edwina Martin, a delegate from Staten Island in New York, said she knew something special was happening when she joined 45,000 other women on a "Win with Black Women" Zoom call the night that Biden dropped out.

"I can say that by the end of that night, when I got off the call, I knew that people were going to coalesce around her. You could feel it," she said. "It's difficult for me to articulate how happy I am, how excited, how hopeful − and how anxious."

More: Kamala Harris heads to DNC in Chicago with momentum and a big opportunity

Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Underestimated': In Kamala Harris, some Black women see themselves