Elizabeth Warren endorsed by group of black women activists

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday scored an endorsement from a group of more than 100 black women activists, who praised the Democratic presidential candidate as a leader on implementing structural changes.

Black Womxn For released a lengthy statement and video “enthusiastically and wholeheartedly” backing Warren for president. The endorsement comes one day after Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley endorsed Warren, splitting from her progressive freshman allies.

“(Warren) is a leader with a track record of taking on the predatory policies and practices that harm our communities and implementing structural changes that give power back to working people,” the statement reads.

“She is a partner with a deep understanding of how racism and gender discrimination don’t just compound income inequality but are actually central to maintaining the status quo. She is a woman who is willing to learn, open to new ideas, and ready to be held accountable by us and our communities,” the statement continues.

Warren tweeted: “Black trans and cis women, gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary people are the backbone of our democracy and I don’t take this endorsement lightly. I’m committed to fighting alongside you for the big, structural change our country needs.”

Warren has received public praise from black leaders and activists this election cycle, but it has yet to fully translate to support among black voters.

A Quinnipiac national poll released last month shows Warren is the top-choice candidate for 20% of black Democratic or Democratic-leaning voters. It is a notable improvement from the 10% support Warren had among black voters in an August Quinnipiac survey, but former Vice President Joe Biden still remains well ahead in support among blacks, at 36%.

Black Womxn For said the endorsement came after hundreds of conversations and surveys with black women, gender non-conforming and non-binary people found the “overwhelming majority of excitement and support is for Sen. Elizabeth Warren.”

The group describes itself as a group of leaders, activists, artists, writers, and political strategists from across the country “in the fight for Black Liberation.”

The statement reads: “Though no one presidential contender can rectify the gross atrocities to which we’ve become accustomed, there is one leader who has shown, through action, deed, and word, that a future of economic prosperity, racial justice, gender justice, and social and political equity is possible.”

“We write this letter, not with the belief that Sen. Elizabeth Warren is a savior, but a stalwart who can be challenged when necessary, moved when appropriate, and held accountable to a base led by Black community leaders,” the statement reads. “We endorse her with the complete recognition that, upon her victory, the work is not over, nor is it just the beginning.”

The Warren campaign has sought to reach out to the black community through its policy plans. Warren has integrated measures aimed specifically at African Americans in many of her policy outlines, including her student loan debt forgiveness plan, her housing proposal, and plans on closing private prisons and assisting entrepreneurs of color.