Athletes and celebrities join 100 Black male leaders calling on Biden to pick a Black woman running mate


A group of prominent Black male leaders, including several athletes and celebrities, signed a Monday open letter calling on former Vice President Joe Biden to select a Black woman as his running mate. The list includes names like Sean "Diddy Combs," Chris Paul, Kam Chancellor, Van Jones, Nick Cannon, and Bakari Sellers.
The letter is quite clear in its intent, stating that choosing one of the several Black women the Biden campaign is considering as vice president is no longer something that "should" happen, but an imperative. Otherwise, the statement warns Biden, "you will lose the election" to President Trump in November. The signees said they "don't want to vote for the lesser of two evils" or the "devil we know versus the devil we don't."
Additionally, the letter takes issue with the scrutiny some of the women on Biden's shortlist, like Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), have faced throughout the process, stating it "disgusts" the signatories that the candidates are the subject of unfair criticism.
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
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