Updated November 26, 2024 at 05:00 AM ET
Kamryn Davis had a baby this past May, so she took time off from political organizing ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
But she decided to end her maternity leave when President Biden got out of the race. For Davis, the Philadelphia regional director for a group called PA Youth Vote, Biden's exit was an opening to mobilize young people who had checked out of politics.
"We engage a lot of Black and brown students and they were a little bit more hopeful," she said.
Davis said even though some young people were excited by Vice President Harris' entry into the race, getting others to care was often "like pulling teeth."
PA Youth Vote organizes around issues like public education and voting rights. Davis said she and others worked really hard to get young people to engage with these issues and vote for candidates who shared those goals.
Ultimately, young voters were among many groups that swung toward President-elect Donald Trump this year.
Black women like Davis have long been essential to turning out voters, but now, after Harris lost the chance to become the first Black woman president, many Black women organizers are exhausted, and thinking about what's next.
"The fact that I sacrificed my mind, body and spirit to really just try to educate young people and to kind of see how the results played out in the aftermath, I'm exhausted," Davis said. "I'm exhausted as a Black woman, as a mother, as a youth advocate — because I'm only 24 years old. I'm tired."
Kadida Kenner, founding CEO of the New Pennsylvania Project, said the election result has prompted some organizers to take a step back — even if it's just for a little bit.
"Because of the letdown and the feeling of depression and anger … there is more downtime," she said.
Kenner said unlike Trump's election in 2016, she thinks political organizing in response to a Trump administration will not happen quite as quickly.
"And I think it's necessary to protect our own mental health in this moment," Kenner said. "We can't be the protectors and defenders of all people all the time."
For Black female organizers, this time brings a mix of disappointments.
Black voters largely backed Harris, even though many of their coalition partners — including Latinos and voters under 30 — moved toward Trump. And in doing so, they cast their ballots against a Black woman.
"I definitely think that coalition politics are always tricky, right?" said Sommer Foster, executive director of Michigan Voices, a nonpartisan group that works with about 100 organizations across the state on pro-democracy and voter mobilization issues. She says it's always tough when big groups of people with different needs have to come together toward a common goal. But Black women, like Foster, have been trying anyway.
"I will say that Black women are tired," Foster said. "Black women feel like we have saved democracy over and over and over again. And sometimes we haven't seen the same solidarity coming from other communities. And folks are rethinking, you know, the best way to utilize resources and the best way to move forward."
In Philadelphia, PA Youth Vote's Davis said this could mean maybe being more selective about who her group works with.
"When we join these coalitions … we do need to make sure that we are also being prioritized in other people's agendas," she said. "And when it comes to coalition building moving forward, we should not build coalitions with anybody that does not also care about the issues that are impacting our community."
Other Black female activists say this election may prompt a move in the opposite direction.
Alexis Anderson-Reed — president and CEO of State Voices, a national network of progressive groups working on creating multiracial democracy — said the best next move might be reaching outside of their typical coalitions.
"I think in the days, weeks and months to come, there's going to be a lot of conversations around like a post mortem from this election and further progressive kind of ecosystem movements, what that means for how we're going to have to do our work differently," she said. "And one thing that I think is going to be really important is that we are expanding our base and that we are getting back to organizing."
Anderson-Reed said since the pandemic there has been less investment in "deep organizing," which means being in communities and talking to people outside of election season.
"I think that this is not a time for us to become insular," she said. "We have to really be able to find opportunities to expand our base and sometimes with unlikely allies."
In the meantime, emotions are still high and many advocates are figuring out what to do next.
Christina Greer, a political science professor at Fordham University whose expertise is in Black politics, said if enough organizers take a step back or rethink some of their past strategies, it could have an effect on U.S. politics.
"I think it will change what it looks like," she said. "Keep in mind, it's been [just a few] weeks, right. So emotions are still very raw and very high and the data is still rolling in. But I think a lot of organizers, at least right now, are saying, 'Well, why are we organizing the people who don't want to be in community with us?'"
Greer said the impact of this election on all these organizers moving forward is hard to predict. While Black women are not often credited as the leaders of big political movements, their work is essential, she said.
"We've never had a moment in this country where ... collectively Black women are like, 'You know what? I am working my tail off for this country that doesn't appreciate my efforts,'" Greer said. "'It doesn't appreciate my intellectual input. It doesn't appreciate my blood, sweat and tears. And so you guys can figure it out.'"
How long some Black women decide to take a step back is an open question. Most organizers say they are regrouping but still plan to do the work they've been doing.
Angelique Hinton, the executive director of PA Youth Vote, said she's also disappointed with this election. But she says coalition building is still essential — especially if the goal is a multiracial democracy.
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