President Joe Biden listed his major accomplishments in the White House, including appointing the first Black woman Supreme Court justice, as he sought to strengthen ties with Black voters at a hallowed site for the 1960s civil rights movement ahead of a planned 2024 reelection bid.
Biden spoke in Selma, Alabama, to mark the 58th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” when white state troopers attacked voting rights demonstrators. It was his second attempt in less than two months to solidify support among Black voters after a speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to mark Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday in January.
“My message to you is this: We see you,” Biden told the crowd of several hundred at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday. “We’re fighting to make sure no one is left behind. This is a time of choosing and we need everybody engaged.”
Biden leaned heavily on Black voter support to resuscitate his flagging bid for the Democratic nomination in 2020 and deliver key swing states such as Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania on Election Day. He has backed changes to the Democratic primary calendar that make South Carolina the first state to vote — a shift that also moves Georgia ahead of Super Tuesday and will elevate Black voters’ impact in future races.
Taken together, the moves show that Biden — who carried 87% of the Black vote in 2020 — recognizes the importance that key Democratic voting bloc will play in his upcoming bid for a second term.
Even while placing the 1965 clash at Selma in the sweep of U.S. history, Biden used Sunday’s speech to make the case for his presidency.
He mentioned legislation that lowered prescription drug costs, efforts to reduce gun violence and his commitment to trying to pass fresh voting rights legislation. He also took a swipe at Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has made headlines for barring critical race theory from advanced placement courses in Florida.
“The truth matters, notwithstanding what the other team is trying to hide,” Biden said. “We should learn everything — the good, the bad, the truth of who we are as a nation, and everyone should know the truth of Selma.”
However, Biden is facing criticism that he’s fallen short on his campaign promises. He has been stymied in his efforts to pass new voting rights and police reform legislation. With Republicans in charge of the House, there is hardly any chance Democratic proposals to expand access to the ballot will make it into law before 2024.
Last week, the Supreme Court weighed whether to strike down the president’s student loan forgiveness program, which is tailored to offer additional savings to low-income students and has been a priority of civil rights groups.
Biden’s approval rating among Black voters is in decline, falling from 78% in a January 2022 Quinnipiac poll to 61% in February. In the newer Quinnipiac poll, 28% of Black voters had an unfavorable opinion of him. An October Morning Consult poll indicated that Biden’s approval fell to 43% last year among Black voters, only a slightly higher average than for voters overall.
As he did in Atlanta, Biden reminded the audience on Sunday of his appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson, who in April became the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Last month, the president hosted a White House screening of the movie “Till,” which depicts the life of Mamie Till-Mobley, whose son Emmett Till, a Black teenager, was lynched in Mississippi in 1955.
“We hosted the screening because it’s important to say from the White House for the entire country to hear: History matters. History matters. And Black history matters,” Biden said at a White House reception honoring Black History Month.
Biden’s visit also followed efforts by some parts of the Republican Party to exacerbate racial tensions in the wake of the Norfolk Southern Corp. train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, arguing that Biden has forsaken white rural Americans.
Progressive Democrats, meanwhile, have criticized Biden for saying he won’t veto a measure overturning a District of Columbia law that reduces required penalties for some violent crimes such as carjackings and robberies.
It was Biden’s first trip to Selma as president.
“If you think about how the president got involved in politics, it was very much connected to the civil rights movement. So this is important to the president,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday.
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(With assistance from Gregory Korte.)
