The tide has turned so maybe I should leave well enough alone, but all this talk about 'Blackness' reminds me of a storyline that emerged during the Dem primary. Of course, this is about Kamala Harris; I hope it provides insight into some of her supporters' frustrations...(1/20)

2/Remember when D*nald Tr*mp, Jr. RT this vile post that questioned whether Kamala was an American Black (??) and even her detractors among the Black, um, influencers, defended her? They wanted us to think that they were above such crude attacks.

(They weren't).
...

3/They made the same bullsh*t claims that Kamala wasn't really black, but from an even more sinister angle. They challenged her connection to blackness through community and — most damning — through solidarity. This attack wasn't some noble policy disagreement.
...

4/To distance her from Blackness, those influencers had to go hard; it's the only way to pitch the claim that the Oakland-born, Howard University (HBCU) graduate described here by longtime friends wasn't actually one of *us*:

5/Skinfolk, kinfolk yadda yadda but they weren't dealing with an easy mark like St*cey D*sh or Cand*ce Ow*ns who is openly hostile toward the Black community. Kamala leans into who she is:

6/They weren't battling proponents of respectability politics like Don Lemon or Steve Harvey. Kamala doesn't associate value or Black success to a whitewashed look or behavior:
(Thank goodness for her voice)...

7/This wasn't the blind ambition of fellow Howard University alum Omar*sa M*nigault N*wman who had an epiphany upon leaving the White House. Kamala has spent her entire career as a public servant, helping the most vulnerable members of our community:

8/So when NHJ asked in earnest about using (Black) blue checks as an insult, I didn't think about verified accounts as a cohort; I thought of how a specific few used their platforms to advance the notion that (in this case but not only) Kamala wasn't kinfolk...

9/A Black feminist and Africana studies professor claimed that, unlike Warren (!!), Kamala hadn't run a campaign focused on Black women voters. The replies to that tweet were pointed. This was one of the gentler corrections: https://twitter.com/blackwomenviews/status/1235983583187275776

10/An influencer trolled Kamala's tweets, suggesting that she had gone to EssenceFest with no message for Black women. It's a willful misreading. Track record alone tells anyone acting in good faith that, of course, she'd have a targeted, robust message...and she did:

11/The cruelest suggestion was that Kamala had such disdain for *us* (or regard for expediency) that she used the racist CJ system to target innocent Black people - from struggling parents to low-level drug users. Sometimes they were checked:
(h/t @blackwomenviews, @iamJxWoods)

12/It didn't matter whether she erred on the side of Black children or that she hadn't arrested any parents under truancy or that her office's marijuana policy was, in fact, progressive...seeing a blue check amplify it was all the verification some other people needed. Meanwhile:

13/Anti-blackness was assigned to all her decisions; no regard for her foresight or judgment or tough decisions that Black women have to make in a rigged system or, hell, the fact that sometimes she may have simply been wrong. Nope; she must be targeting Black people...

14/So back to what Kamala's Black women supporters go through. We felt like those influencers had decided — without us! — that #BlackGirlMagic, #BlackExcellence, and other girl power slogans didn't apply to Kamala Harris; even though she actually LIVES #BlackGirlMagic...

15/She encouraged us to support Black women; and she walks the walk, ensuring that Black women are represented. She shows up for us.

16/And she has been showing up for Black women IN REAL LIFE for years, including mentoring community activists like Lateefah Simon:
(h/t @notcapnamerica)

17/She was addressing the issue of Black maternal health before some of us even understood there was a crisis. Kamala was turning plans into action: https://twitter.com/blackwomenviews/status/1250120526787424256

18/She knows *our* community's concerns from all sides of an issue; in this case — criminal justice:

19/I related to Kamala so much that the attacks were an actual blow to *my* esteem. She saw me. Yet Blackademics and activists and journalists implied that Kamala wasn't kinfolk. Thank goodness it's not up to them...

20/Even now folks on the left and the right follow their lead; mocking Black women for LOUDLY supporting the Black woman who ran for president. I still haven't made sense of that.

Y'all may pretend not to know, but Kamala Harris knows exactly who she is: