Biden, who vowed to ‘pass the torch’ in Oval Office speech, praised for having Black America’s back

Democratic leaders are praising President Joe Biden’s record of advancing racial equity and justice for Black Americans after the 81-year-old leader decided to “pass the torch” to Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he described in his televised Oval Office speech Wednesday evening as “experienced,” “tough” and “capable.”

“This man has done so much for not just the United States but for Black America,” said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, a Biden delegate who is now casting his ballot for Harris after the president endorsed her for the Democratic nomination. 

The 37-year-old recalled Biden’s acceptance speech after winning the 2020 election, in which he thanked Black American voters for supporting his campaign. The then-president-elect famously said, “You’ve always had my back, and I’ll have yours.” Johnson told theGrio, “He absolutely delivered.”

Nearly four years later, Biden is now entering the final stretch of his more than 50-year career in politics. In his primetime speech on Wednesday, the president solemnly told the American voters, “The power’s in your hands.” Without naming Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, Biden warned against dictatorship and the potential unraveling of American democracy if the former president returned to the White House. 

“Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition,” said Biden, who suspended his reelection campaign on Sunday after weeks of calls for him to step aside by party leadership. He maintained, “I revere this office, but I love my country more.”

Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist, said the Oval Office speech was “one of the most consequential speeches of Joe Biden’s career.”

“He was able to summarize Joe Biden the man, Joe Biden the politician, and Joe Biden the patriot, all in one speech,” Seawright told theGrio, “while passing the baton to not just the next generation of leaders, but passing the baton to a historic figure who can meet the challenges of tomorrow by standing in the gap today.”

U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., who has known Biden for 30 years in Delaware politics, expressed her gratitude for the president and praised his commitment to delivering for Black communities.

Blunt Rochester described Biden’s connection with Black America as one that dates back decades, telling theGrio, “In our state, the Black community has always been very close to Joe Biden and … I think it is one of the reasons why the Congressional Black Caucus has always been such a close friend and ally to [him] as well.”

The congresswoman and Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate said Biden’s historic investments in Black businesses and HBCUs, and commitment to addressing the cost of healthcare and education, have been “transformational” for the Black community.

Sharing a personal story of when Biden “found me in a hospital in Massachusetts” to comfort her during the “unexpected” passing of her husband in 2014 and reached out after the death of her father earlier this year, Blunt Rochester said the 46th president was “there when we as a family needed comforting, and he was there for this country as we were transitioning out of Charlottesville and the death of George Floyd and a pandemic.”

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed told theGrio one of Biden’s greatest legacies as it relates to Black America is his historically diverse cabinet. He noted that America’s most visible leaders on the world stage are Black, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Charles Q. Brown.

Even cabinet picks who are not Black, like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, understood the value of racial equity, said Reed, who serves as president of the African American Mayors Association. 

“Two years ago … she said capitalism has never worked for Black Americans. And she talked about losing upwards of $15 trillion in GDP in this nation because Black businesses and entrepreneurs aren’t properly resourced,” the mayor recalled. For one of his appointees to say that “speaks to who he is and what he empowered them to do.”

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Mayor Johnson of Milwaukee said Biden should especially be lauded for transforming the federal judiciary by appointing “more Black women judges than not just any president, but all presidents combined … Barack Obama.” 

He also noted the president’s historic appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson as the nation’s first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I hope that we all understand that Joe Biden walked this earth, served this country for 50-plus years, and had a remarkable presidency to cap it all off,” said Johnson.

Biden’s final act as president will be marked by empowering his vice president to campaign to succeed him in the very Oval Office from which he delivered Wednesday night’s address.

“She’s been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country,” said the president. “Now, the choice is up to you, the American people.”

Seawright, the Democratic strategist, said Black America should be thankful to Biden for not only meeting his past commitments but also his “commitment to our future” by choosing Harris as a running mate. 

The president, he said, allowed Harris to “be creative, to be helpful, and to be visible for our cause and for our people.”

Blunt Rochester said while there’s “gratitude” for Biden, there’s also “a determination that we must elect Kamala Harris.”

“There’s a level of pride in the fact that his vice president has taken on the mantle of something so big and so special,” she said.