[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition to tell news media: STOP racism and sexism in your
Kamala Harris election reporting NOW!

Dear MoveOn member,

In the time since it was announced that President Biden was stepping down
from the presidential campaign and Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as
the new prospective Democratic nominee, irresponsible journalism touting
racist and sexist dog whistles has already been published. Media outlets
like Fox News have a history of racist and sexist attacks against Vice
President Harris.^1,2 We don't have to repeat the tired tropes and
offensive attacks being wielded against Harris. We've heard them all
before. When Harris was selected as vice president on Biden's presidential
ticket, 61% of news coverage mentioned her race or gender, and 25% of the
coverage included sexist or racist stereotyping.^3,4 It's unacceptable. We
can't let history keep repeating itself. It's time to rein in the media
and demand fair and unbiased reporting, because we know that as Donald
Trump and MAGA Republicans lose their grip on power, the attacks against
Kamala Harris are only going to get worse.

We must come together to condemn and call out the racism, misogynoir, and
sexism that the media and MAGA Republicans have thrown and will continue
to throw Harris's way to appeal to their base. [ [link removed] ]Will you sign the
petition to put news media like Fox News on notice by demanding that they
address and stop the racism and sexism in their Kamala Harris election
reporting NOW?

Vice President Kamala Harris is a Black, South Asian daughter of
immigrants who has tirelessly advocated for and fought for our communities
and freedoms. She's fought to raise the minimum wage, to protect our
voting rights, to make higher education tuition-free, to reform the cash
bail system, to expand access to health care, to hold sexual abusers
accountable, to protect our reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy, to
protect the LGBTQIA+ community, and so much more.

Harris has a proven track record of putting people over corporations by
taking on fraudsters trying to cheat the American people—and winning,
successfully going after Big Oil, greedy pharmaceutical companies, and
predatory mortgage lenders to deliver wins for working people.

[ [link removed] ]This is what the media should focus on instead of racist and sexist
attacks. Will you add your name to the petition?

Vice President Harris is more than qualified to be president. The racist
and sexist attacks against her by MAGA Republicans, Fox News, and others
in the news media must end NOW.

[4]Sign the petition

Unfortunately, attacks against Black candidates, especially Black women
candidates, are not new. When former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, the
first Black woman elected to the House of Representatives, ran for
president, she was not taken seriously. When Stacey Abrams ran,
Republicans talked about her relationship status, her weight, they
darkened her skin in political ads to rile up their racist base, and so
much more.^5,6,7

And now, Republicans like Congressman Tim Burchett are calling Vice
President Harris a "DEI hire."^8,9 We have to call it what it is: a racist
dog whistle against VP Harris that bigots also use to diminish and
discredit Black and brown people, LGBTQIA+ people, and women's experiences
and accomplishments. "DEI'' which stands for Diversity, Equity, and
Inclusion, is being weaponized similarly to how the word "woke" has been
weaponized by bigots.^10 And news outlets stoke the flames, reporting on
these statements without providing necessary critical analysis or context
regarding the underlying racism and sexism. We must come together to fight
back against this. 

[ [link removed] ]The news media has a responsibility to address racism and sexism in
election reporting NOW. Click here to sign the petition.

The truth is that Black women have powered the Democratic Party for years.
Last Sunday, Win With Black Women hosted a national organizing call that
was attended by more than 44,000 Black women who raised over $2 MILLION
for the Harris presidential campaign in as little as three hours.^11 This
inspired other grassroots organizing calls, and now, in the last week,
people who joined these organizing calls calls have raised over $15
million for Harris' campaign.^12 In 2008 and 2012, 96% of Black women
voted for President Barack Obama, providing the margin he needed to win
two presidential terms. In 2016, 94% of Black women voted for Hillary
Clinton. Black women powered the blue wave in 2018, and 90% of Black women
voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020.^13 We can't sit idly by as
MAGA Republicans and bigots continue to hurl racist and sexist attacks and
news and media outlets legitimize their most offensive and baseless
claims.

Vice President Harris has broken glass ceiling after glass ceiling
throughout her life. She was the first Black woman in the state of
California to be elected as district attorney. She was the first woman,
first Black American, and first South Asian elected as attorney general in
California in 2010 and was reelected in 2014. She was the first South
Asian and second Black woman to become a U.S. senator. Then, in 2020, a
multiracial, multigenerational coalition of voters elected her to become
the first woman, Black American, and South Asian vice president. And soon,
she will become the first Black, South Asian woman president of the United
States.

But when trailblazing women in politics like Harris are put in the
spotlight, they are far too often subjected to sexist and racist
disinformation campaigns, made worse by news publications looking for "hot
takes" and social media virality for clicks, views, and money.^14 We need
news outlets and journalists to be held to the highest standards of
integrity, ensuring that they are not spreading harmful misinformation,
recklessly sharing racist or sexist commentary that undermines Harris'
qualifications, or publishing biased and unbalanced reporting on Harris.

[ [link removed] ]Will you add your name to the petition to tell news media: STOP racism
and sexism in Kamala Harris election reporting NOW?

Harris is a beacon of hope and representation for young Black and brown
girls and women, not only across the country but the world. MAGA
Republicans are afraid of her because they know she will continue to
expose their dangerous Project 2025 agenda that will give Trump unchecked
powers to eliminate abortion, hurt working- and middle-class people, fire
civil servants, and roll back our rights and freedoms while reshaping all
aspects of the government. They are afraid of her because they know she
will fight for the working class instead of big corporations. So they
resort to racist and sexist attacks against her.

We can only imagine how low MAGA Republicans will go to discredit a
successful, qualified candidate like Harris. But we can and must demand
better from independent journalists now to STOP these sexist and racist
attacks in their tracks. The media has a significant influence on the
public narrative, and journalists have a responsibility to address racism,
sexism, misogynoir, and any biases that can influence their election
reporting when it comes to Harris. 

[ [link removed] ]Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to
three friends to spread the word.

Thanks for all you do.

–Jensine, Gabi, Kathy, Isbah, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "The long history of ugly right-wing media attacks against VP Kamala
Harris," Media Matters for America, July 11, 2024
[link removed]

2. "Fox News Begins Blitz Against Kamala Harris," Newsweek, July 22, 2024
[link removed]

3. "Over 60 Percent Of Sen. Kamala Harris Coverage Has Mentioned Her Race
Or Gender," BET, October 7, 2020
[link removed]

4. "Report: One-quarter of Kamala Harris announcement coverage included
racist or sexist stereotyping," USA Today, October 6, 2020
[link removed]

5. "The real reason a Kamala Harris presidency is unfathomable to her
critics," MSNBC, July 10, 2024
[link removed]

6. "Attack Ads Are Darkening the Skin Tone of Black Candidates," The
xxxxxx, October 19, 2022
[link removed]

7. "The story of Black women in politics: How we got to Kamala Harris'
ascent," NBC News, August 12, 2020
[link removed]

8. "Frost calls out GOP for 'racist dog whistles' about Harris," The Hill,
July 23, 2024
[link removed]

9. "What people mean when they call Kamala a 'DEI candidate,'" Fast
Company, July 23, 2024
[link removed]

10. "How 'woke' went from a social justice term to a pejorative favored by
some conservatives," CNN, July 10, 2022
[link removed]

11. "Win With Black Women Raise $1.5M For VP Kamala Harris' Campaign In As
Little As 3 Hours," Black Enterprise, July 22, 2024
[link removed]

12. "Grassroots organizers raise millions online for Harris in first
week," CBS News, July 29, 2024
[link removed]

13. "By the Numbers, Black Women in American politics," Higher Heights for
America PAC, accessed July 24, 2024
[link removed]

14. "Women in politics and the media," International Idea, March 3, 2023
[link removed]

You're receiving this petition because we thought it might interest you.
It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online
petitions. You can [ [link removed] ]start your own petition here.



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