Election Day is a lot. Here’s how Black voters and rights groups are strategizing, no matter the presidential outcome.
This story was originally published on Capital B News.
Activist Camille Bennett never backs down from a fight, despite her life being in danger.
She’s endured racist and violent threats in rural Alabama, a part of a life she’s known since moving there as a teenager. She’s in Florence, her father’s hometown in the northwest part of the state known as The Shoals. In Florence, Black people account for only 18 percent of the 40,000 people that live there.
The racial hostility she experienced came to a head in 2017, a year after former President Donald Trump won the presidential election. In 2016 and 2020, about 71 percent of votes went to Trump in Lauderdale County, according to Politico.
At the town’s first LGBTQ pride rally, Bennett, the only Black speaker, addressed a majority white crowd of 400 attendees. Dressed in white hoods and robes, members of the Ku Klux Klan harassed and heckled her. They mistook the event for a protest to take down Confederate monuments. In a separate incident in 2020, Bennett says a white motorcyclist at a racial justice march attempted to run her over as she held two small boys.
“They tried to kill me,” she told Capital B. “I had two white children with me, and I blocked them with my body. I looked [the motorcyclist] into his eyes, and he couldn’t do it. I was just lucky, I guess.”
Bennett says the racism and the attacks weren’t uncommon, but Trump’s rhetoric normalized the hate she received and the lack of accountability. No one has ever been charged or arrested for harassing her.
Through her nonprofit Project Say Something, Bennett urged city officials to remove a Confederate monument in front of the local courthouse in Florence. Throughout Trump’s presidency, as support grew across the country to topple and rename Confederate monuments, the former president continued to defend the racist remnants of the past.
Organizers like Bennett say they can’t afford another Trump win. Several people told Capital B that they believe his presidency increased the threat of white terrorism, while others say the overt hate stems from the backlash to President Barack Obama’s wins in 2008 and 2012. Counties where Trump won by larger margins or hosted campaign rallies in 2016 experienced spikes in hate crimes, according to a Brookings Institution analysis.
Bennett and others aren’t necessarily afraid of a potential Trump victory, but they expressed concern about what it would bring, including violence, dis/misinformation, and regressive policies like Project 2025. With the rise of voter intimidation over the past four years, organizations like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund say they’re monitoring continued threats to the democratic process, including election certification and voter protection.
Others reiterate that Vice President Kamala Harris becoming that nation’s next leader isn’t exactly a panacea; folks on the ground still will have to grapple with state legislatures, particularly those in the South or with Republican strongholds. Whether Trump wins or not, they are strategizing, with less than one week left until the polls close.
“Make no mistake about it, if [Trump] is reelected, this is going to further embolden his supporters to express their racial hostility, their racial grievances, and also continue to further inspire people to engage in hateful tactics,” said Emmitt Riley, president of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. “Some folks are sick of Trump, but this election is going to really be another test as to whether or not a nation who has lived under four years of chaos is ready to return to that dysfunction and chaos.”
Ensuring a Sense of Security and Protection
On the national level, Movement for Black Lives has been civically and politically engaging with Black people across the country through several initiatives to build political infrastructure, conduct trainings on public safety, and host conversations about the importance of down ballot races.
Rukia Lumumba, director of the organization’s Electoral Justice Project, said one of their ongoing initiatives is scenario planning, which prepares their member organizations for how to respond to the possible outcomes of a Harris or Trump win. This includes training on physical and digital security, guidance around protests, and how to build good legislation.
On Nov. 7, the organization will host a community call for people interested in post-election work following Election Day.
Some of the core areas for the NAACP post-election are securing voting rights, reproductive freedom, affordable housing and parity in the judicial system, said Cedric Haynes, vice president of policy and legislative affairs. However, he cautioned how those who “question legitimacy of an election that has happened” will add fuel to the flame of the myth that “our electorate system is not trustworthy,” which feels very much akin to four years ago, he said. He also pointed to concerns around Project 2025, and its potential to erode Black political progress.
“We all should be extremely alarmed. We all should be paying attention, and we all should be doing what we can do and preparing ourselves to advocate and combat these policies from coming true if they come to fruition,” Haynes said.
We can’t just sit back because she gets elected. We got to keep working. Regardless of what the outcomes may be, Black folks have got to roll their sleeves and be ready to move.
Rev. Alex Gee
In response, the NAACP published “Our 2025,” a collection of policies they’re advocating for that will benefit Black Americans while addressing the “problematic” agenda—from dismantling Head Start to increasing the use of the death penalty—in The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.
Amir Badat, manager of Black Voters on the Rise and voting special counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, says they’re watching out for intimidation or threats to voters and poll workers. However, the biggest threat scenario for “bad actors to do harm” will be the timeline for when the election results will be finalized, which can cause people to sow district and chaos in the process, he said.
“We’ve seen narratives being spun up about noncitizens voting in our elections, or about individuals who are otherwise ineligible to vote, voting in our elections,” Badat told Capital B. These narratives are going to be used after the election, potentially to justify refusals to certify the election at the county level, or potentially at the state level. There are a whole bunch of consequences that could arise that we’re kind of keeping an eye out for and preparing for.”
They are prepared to file emergency litigation if the need arises. He emphasized that voters can call 866-OUR-VOTE for information on polling locations or to report issues on Election Day. They also created an election toolkit that focuses on approaches to preventing and addressing threats of intimidation for Black communities.
A Harris Victory Isn’t the Be-All or End-All
The Rev. Alex Gee, host of the Black Like Me podcast and pastor of Life Covenant Church, grew up in Madison, Wis., being one of two Black children in his elementary school class. While he’s seen some change there, Black folks are only 5 percent of the population. Though Dane County, where Madison is, tends to be “the liberal safe haven of equality and tolerance,” Gee and other Black residents have experienced racism like Bennett—and still fighting for Black representation in government while working to reverse deep racial disparities that are worse than anywhere else in the country, according to a 2023 Kids Forward Race to Equity report.
Instead of waiting on the government or white leaders, Gee raised $30 million in three years to build the Center for Black Excellence and Culture to ensure the Black community has the resources to thrive. Over the next four years, he hopes to do more.
His biggest concern isn’t the “Trumpers who run around with Confederate flags on old Chevy pickups,” he said. It’s white liberals who say they support Black people but don’t have intentions on passing policies that benefit them.
“We know how to see a Confederate flag coming and take cover, but for an open-minded, educated, well-intentioned white person … who think they are woke and know how to speak for us, that’s actually more threatening to me than some Trump idiots because the Trump idiots may ride down the street, but they’re not really controlling policy,” Gee said. “There are folks who don’t know Black people, and they’re making policies concerning us, which could be just as dangerous as what Trump does.”
The critical work, he said, is building relationships and bridges with white colleagues who know “Trump did not create this current area, but is a response to Obama’s election.” Gee says Trump isn’t the only issue, but Harris isn’t the solution. There must also be a focus on down-ballot races—from state senators to congressmen, he added.
“If Harris wins, we can’t just go back home and start having barbecue parties and Kool-Aid,” Gee said. “We gotta celebrate. We gotta also keep moving. Keep challenging systems, [and] being innovative. … We can’t just sit back because she gets elected. We got to keep working. Regardless of what the outcomes may be, Black folks have got to roll their sleeves and be ready to move.”
Similar to Wisconsin, Glynis Johns has been fighting to create a space in Scranton, Pa., where Black folks feel safe and seen. She felt this notion was reinforced by President Joe Biden when he noted his hometown had no Black residents. Less than 5 percent of Scranton’s 75,000 residents are Black.
“It just kind of fueled me to be like, this isn’t OK,” Johns said. “I just want people to feel like this is a space that we can call home, whether you want to stay here or not, I do think that we deserve to have spaces. I think that we deserve to be seen as full-class citizens.”
It’s why she founded the Black Scranton Project, a nonprofit local heritage initiative. Historically, the Black community has helped to elect Black leaders during the Reconstruction era—and now they’re working to rebuild their political power. Only recently did the NAACP open its Lackawanna County chapter, where Scranton is.
In the county, voters could flip either way. While it’s been a historically Democratic area, it has been trending toward Republican in recent years. Johns has been providing voter education, especially to the younger generation, and working to host town halls or round tables with local organizations and government.
She acknowledges that “people are fearful” and believes their “fears are bringing people to the polls for either side.”
On Election Day, she’ll open her doors so people can play games and watch the race together. She’s already preparing to host a community conversation post-election, which will hopefully be in partnership with the Legislative Black Caucus.
“I’m trying to bring the community together. No matter what the outcome of the election is, I feel like there should be a space where we can kind of be together because Election Day is a lot, and some people don’t want to be alone,” she said.
Back in Alabama, it took at least two years for the city council in Florence to come to a compromise with Project Say Something to install a historical marker to add context to a Confederate monument located in front of the courthouse. In 2020, the council voted to relocate the monument to a cemetery—but couldn’t figure out whether it was city or county-owned property where the statue stood. The council later learned the Alabama Legislature passed an act that prohibits removal of historically significant buildings. In May, in a 3-2 vote, the city council went back on its word and ultimately voted against it. (One council member was absent.)
“I could not in good conscience vote to have something etched into a marker that wasn’t felt accurate by some citizens of Florence,” Councilmember Jimmy Oliver said. “There are those that agree with the opinions of [Project Say Something] but there are those that see the statue as nothing more than a memorial to fallen soldiers and family members, some who may have been forced to fight in a war that they didn’t agree with and lost their lives.”
As a result, Bennett paid for a billboard that informs citizens of how the white council members failed to vote to denounce the racist monument.
Despite the election outcomes, Bennett is prepared to go back to the state Capitol during the upcoming legislative session to “apply political pressure” to secure funding to address the childcare crisis, address policies over what should be taught in K-12 schools, and other “white supremacist bills” that will disproportionately harm Black communities, she said.
“The power belongs to the people,” Bennett said. “If we choose to mobilize and really lift our voices as a nation, we can get a lot done. And that’s the hope that I carry on—no matter what happens, we can’t be afraid.”
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