Black Women Abroad Voting in Historic 2024 Election

Seun Shokunbi - Editor

“For all the men and women in this room and watching around the country, we need you. Your voice has power and magnitude.”

This was megastar Beyonce’s call to action as she spoke at Kamala Harris’ campaign rally in Houston. It was a coveted appearance—rumors abound on when she’d perform at a Harris event. However, it might have been limited in scope and impact when considering approximately 2.8 million Americans who weren’t in the room or country during her speech.

Click to watch clips of Beyonce’s speech and interviews from this article.

Election candidates rarely, if ever, discuss U.S. citizens voting from abroad. Yet many of them, including Black women, are watching this election closely and are invested in casting their ballots while living miles away. 

In the interviews featured below, some Black women expressed they still have faith in the strength of U.S. institutions to secure the rights of people of color despite recent decisions made by the Supreme Court and Congress. At the same time, they believe the “American Dream” is only achieved abroad and have no intentions of returning to the States regardless of the election outcome.

To what extent are Black American women living abroad emotionally attached to the U.S. election? This is the question addressed in conversation with three women who spoke with our team.

Rachelle, living in Europe

So yes, I live in Paris. And I'm originally from Chicago, Southside. I've been here, well, just about 10 years. And this is maybe, what, my third presidential election that I've voted in. And I think the stakes get higher and keep getting higher each time.

I got the ballot sent to me by email. I printed it out and, you know, filled it out and everything…It still hasn't been delivered to the board of elections in Chicago. So it's it's hit or miss. I think it's not quite guaranteed that everything will work out smoothly.

I feel not helpless, but I feel like [voting is] an obligation. You know, like I need to do it because I'm over here kind of avoiding…not avoiding politics, but I get to filter how much political discourse that I get involved in. I don't have to turn on the TV every day and see Trump's face. So I can be as disconnected or as connected as I want to. And I feel like voting is a duty that I need to fulfill in order to just be a little bit more connected.

Also, I don't like the tax situation between the U.S. and France. So, whatever candidate I choose, I’d like them to consider people who live abroad to have a voice in the government in terms of what the current tax situation is. It's a little complicated that you have to file in both countries, and it's complicated for a lot of people. So I would like that to be changed and I would like to, you know, vote for a candidate that had an interest in, you know, us abroad.

I worry about my family that's still in Chicago and in just, you know, my friends in the U.S. period. I would like to somehow, you know, bring them all over here if I could. But you can't, so yeah, I don't really have a plan of action [if Trump wins] but it's just I guess like a plan of care. Just be willing to reach out to people via social media or whatever, just help people put their plan of action together, I guess.

Amber, Marketer

Just because I'm [abroad] doesn't mean, you know, the U.S. isn't home. And I'm there half of the year anyway because I work in the U.S….literally in my hometown. And so I feel a responsibility to not just myself and the future I want to have for my kids but my community as well. When it comes to voting, it's an absolute privilege because there are a lot of places that don't have the freedom to vote, and so it's something that I don't want to take for granted. 

What is your plan of action if the candidate that you voted for didn't win? Do you have one in place? 

Well, it's certainly not to storm the Capitol! I think what we do, what we always do, what people of color will do is we persist, and we continue, and we've never been strangers to starting over during hard times and challenges, and that's just what we are. 

It's the people that scare me. It's the people who follow anyone so blindly that they would do things like [storm the Capitol]. And it's not like we're not new to that in this country at all. We have things like the Tulsa riot and Boston massacres like this going back, and it's in the vein of our history, and people suffer for it. 

How does it make you feel as an American living abroad when you cannot participate in non-federal elections (e.g., city mayor, judicial, and city council)?

It's disappointing, and honestly, it feels very reminiscent of all the other ways that they were trying to do voter suppression, or that they were, that they still are…It's the reason why, you know, the Supreme Court looks the way it does, and the governors that we have are there. And it's just, and I really wish they would give us this opportunity to participate at that level because it's really hard for whoever, whatever candidate that someone votes for, to do their job when you have them at a judicial level going against everything that they're trying to push through. 

I would love that someone who makes this decision to move abroad does so…with love and not as a response to, you know, something like [this election] because it really takes away kind of the joy and the challenge of moving abroad and learning how to live as well.

Laila, Teacher

I originally moved overseas because I just wanted an opportunity to have sort of, you know, the American dream, and I realized that wasn't possible in America. So I felt like I had a lot more opportunities for education, work, just happiness, you know, quality of life, living overseas. And I still feel like that five years later. So that's why I'm still I'm still here.

For me, voting is really important, partially due to my demographic. You know, as an African American woman, I think both of those groups have really struggled when it comes to voting rights. For me, I feel like people have given their lives and really have fought to make sure that I'm able to pass my vote. So even though I no longer live in America, I still consider myself to be an American, and I really think it's important for all of us, you know, particularly women and people of color, to make sure that we're using our voice and we're using the opportunity that so many people fought to make sure that we had that right.

I still have a lot of family and friends that live in America and are Americans, and I feel like, even though I might be over here and I don't have to worry about some of the things that are happening in America, I still have people that I love that are going to be influenced. You know, there are certain topics that are very important for me, like reproductive health, and I have a lot of female friends that are my age, and they're directly impacted by a lot of laws and a lot of the changing environments that we've been seeing in the past several years…I really genuinely care about how they're doing and how their lives are. So I think it's important for those of us abroad to realize, okay, we might be fine living outside of America. We might not have to deal with some of the issues that are happening, but, you know, our family and friends are still there.

I was surprised that a lot of my Russian students are really rooting for Kamala. Actually, they think that she's going to do a lot more positive things. Particularly, a lot of them don't believe that Trump said that he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

There is always that likelihood you know that your candidate won't win, and especially now with five days to go, I know it's 50/50. I haven't really thought of a kind of plan B. I think, you know, for me, regardless of who wins, I do plan to stay abroad. But I think if the candidate that I didn't support is elected, that definitely will solidify my, you know, my want to remain outside of the United States. I think also, if that candidate is indeed victorious, I definitely feel that I need to reach out to my friends and say, “Hey, I have an extra bedroom here. If you feel like you need to get out of the U.S. for a little while and you just need a place to stay for a little bit”…but you know, we'll see. 

I do still believe in a lot of American institutions in terms of a constitution and having checks and balances. That being said, you know, I have done research into both candidates. I think it's important to really research and dig. And I've tried to to find information on my own and learn about, you know, different different stances, and a lot of what I am hearing from the other side does give me pause and give me concern if those plans were really put into action. It is definitely concerning, in my opinion, how America would look in four years if everything was implemented.