Despite being favored by Black voters who strongly support school choice, Vice President Kamala Harris has remained silent on the issue. Her stance could have major implications for her political future.
Despite her popularity among Black voters, Vice President Kamala Harris has been curiously silent on the issue of school choice. This silence is becoming increasingly untenable as the 2024 election looms, as school choice strikes at the heart of a deep divide within the Democratic Party.
According to Harvard University's 2022 EdNext poll, a staggering 72% of Black Americans support private school vouchers, but just 41% of White Democrats do. This reflects a growing divide between Black communities and the Democratic establishment, which has largely opposed school choice.
Kamala Harris' Silence on School Choice Puts Her in a Difficult Spot
Harris' silence on the issue is even more perplexing given her husband Jay-Z's support for school vouchers in Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state in the upcoming election. This tension is exemplified by Mesha Mainor, a Black Georgia legislator who defected to the Republican Party after being excoriated by her fellow Democrats for supporting a school choice bill.
Mainor's experience highlights the growing frustration among minority communities with the Democratic Party's stance on education. Like Mainor, Black parents recognize that America already has a system of school choice - it's just one that requires higher income. Families with sufficient means move to the suburbs, where high property taxes finance good public schools. Wealthy parents send their kids to private school. Both are forms of choice. Meanwhile, poor kids get stuck in poor-performing urban public schools.
Kamala Harris' Silence on School Choice Puts Her in a Difficult Spot
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been vocal in her criticism of this hypocrisy, asking bluntly, "Are you for school choice or not?" She has questioned how so many politicians can claim to champion civil rights while opposing measures that expand educational opportunity for poor children of color.
While Obama took steps to support charter schools, and Biden's administration actively suppressed them, Harris has largely sidestepped the issue. Her silence is becoming increasingly untenable as the 2024 election looms. To date, she has avoided taking a position on charters, vouchers, or other aspects of school choice.
Kamala Harris' Silence on School Choice Puts Her in a Difficult Spot
By picking a union-favored former teacher in Tim Walz for VP, Harris now avoids the debate over school choice in Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state, where Governor Josh Shapiro and Jay-Z have both signaled strong support for expanding parental choice.
If Harris opposes school choice, she risks alienating a significant portion of the minority electorate. This could potentially boost Trump support among Black and Hispanic voters, which has been higher in the polls than many expected, and could derail her presidential ambitions.
As the election approaches, Harris can't evade this issue forever. Her stance on school choice could well be a deciding factor in her political future. She can either authentically represent Black families and their sincere priorities or pursue narrow political self-interest by continuing the Biden administration’s course of kowtowing to the teachers unions.
