By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
With hopes of strengthening its connection with Black voters, the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign has hired Jasmine Harris as the Director of Black Media. Jasmine Harris, who previously held a similar role for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Harris, who announced via email, will spearhead the campaign’s efforts to engage and mobilize Black communities.
The decision follows the Biden-Harris reelection campaign’s significant investment in early ad purchases targeted at Black communities, more than a year ahead of the upcoming Election Day on Nov. 5.
However, despite tens of millions in ad buys directed at African Americans, the campaign still hasn’t included the Black Press of America, one of the major catalysts in Biden’s 2020 campaign victory over the twice-impeached and four-times indicted former President Donald Trump. The trade association, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), represents the 250 African American-owned newspapers and media companies that comprise the Black Press of America, founded before the end of slavery in 1827 in New York.
The Black Press of America, which includes the Washington Informer, has reached out on multiple occasions to the Biden-Harris campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Still, Quentin Fulks, the Principal Deputy Campaign Manager, emphasized to theGRIO the importance of mobilizing the diverse Biden-Harris coalition that secured their victory in 2020. “Black voters are a critical part of that winning coalition,” Fulks stated.
He also highlighted the campaign’s historic and early investment in Black media, starting in August 2023, and its on-the-ground organizing initiatives in key communities.
“There’s no one better equipped to continue to build on that work and communicate the stakes of this election directly to Black voters across the country,” he said of Harris, who expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work with the campaign.
“Black reporters and outlets must always have a seat at the table as it relates to our nation’s political leadership, especially when the stakes are as high as they are this election,” Harris affirmed.
Democratic strategist Joel Payne praised the party’s commitment to engaging with core constituencies and applauded the Biden-Harris campaign’s decision to appoint a Director of Black Media. “These types of investments in experienced staff show that the president and his team understand what it will take to keep their coalition together for 2024,” Payne stated.
