The leadership of the Black Lives Matter organization is demanding that the Democratic National Committee hold an informal "snap primary" to let voters weigh in on the process of choosing a new nominee before giving the title to Vice President Kamala Harris, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
"The current political landscape is unprecedented, with President Biden stepping aside in a manner never seen before. This moment calls for decisive action to protect the integrity of our democracy and the voices of Black voters," said the group in a statement. Shalomyah Bowers, the leader of the group, told Reuters, "We are not actually saying no to Kamala Harris. We are saying yes to process. We’re saying yes to having Black people be able to have the ability to weigh in."
Black Lives Matter is a decentralized movement against police violence and vigilante killing of Black Americans that began in 2013 in response to the killing of Trayvon Martin, and grew into nationwide protests in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. The group Bowers sits on the board of, Black Lives Matter Global Network, is a single part of the larger movement. Bowers noted that individual chapters of the movement may not all share the opinion of the overarching Global Network.
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When President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign last weekend over concerns about his health and fitness, his first act was to endorse Harris as his successor, which led to hundreds of millions in fundraising and the Democratic Party largely consolidating support behind her.
While in theory the Democratic delegates unbound after Biden's exit are free to vote for whomever they wish, a majority have already pledged support to Harris, making her nomination all but guaranteed.
Jaime Harrison, the chair of the DNC, has stated that, "The process has been fair. It's been open. It's been transparent," and that a nominee will be formally selected by August 7.
