University of Virginia Professor Compares Kamala Harris’s Loss to ‘Violence of Chattel Slavery’

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by the College Fix on February 18, 2025. With edits to match MTC’s style guidelines, it is cross-posted here with permission.


A panel of scholars recently discussing the 2024 presidential election outcome at the University of Virginia (UVA) largely blamed racism and sexism for President Donald Trump’s reelection, with one scholar arguing that Kamala Harris’ loss harkens back to “the violence of chattel slavery.”

“Viewed through the lens of the history of African American women in the United States, the defeat of the first black woman nominee [of] a major party for the presidency by an openly racist and misogynistic candidate seemed to recall the voicelessness and vulnerability of black women during the eras of slavery and segregation, particularly in the Jim Crow south,” said Kevin Gaines, a UVA professor of civil rights and social justice.

Gaines, moderator for the “Race, Gender and the American Electorate” event at UVA’s Miller Center, continued that “enslaved black women endured the violence of chattel slavery and the exploitation of their labor and reproductive sexuality.”

“Even in freedom, black women historically have been overlooked and marginalized, not only by white male oppressors, but also — and often — by their extensible allies: black men and white women,” Gaines said.

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Held in late January, the Miller Center, a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia, describes itself as striving “to illuminate presidential and political history accurately and fairly.”

But the panelists solely heaped criticism on Trump and those who voted for him during the event, described by organizers as a post-election analysis to discuss “the complex interplay of race, gender, and age demographics as they affected the outcome.”

Gaines said a majority of white women chose Trump, 52 to 47 percent, over Harris, adding with issues like abortion on the line, he had hoped more white women would support Harris.

“White women’s support for Trump was striking given the number of state ballot initiatives in which voters approved protecting abortion rights,” Gaines said.

Andra Gillespie, an associate professor of political science and the director of the Study of Race and Difference at Emory University, said that Fox News viewers were primed to vote for Trump due to its coverage.

“Fox [N]ews viewers tend to have very different views about politics than even other Republicans. It’s because … [they] think about the things being discussed on the news more,” Gillespie said.

She went on to talk about how the echo chamber might not have enough “editorial gatekeeping,” and so “media misinformation can proliferate.”

Professor Bertrall Ross of the University of Virginia School of Law said “we’re a nation that’s plagued with misogyny and sexism … to deny that would be to deny reality.”

(Editor’s note: The full video of the event can be accessed here).

In relation to the sexism and misogyny, Ross argued Harris would have won the election if she had been able to run as herself, and not as Biden’s vice president.

“We could’ve overcome the sexism and misogyny of our nation, and the willingness of Trump to play into that,” Ross said.

“Vice President Harris handled Trump better than any candidate I have seen opposing Trump,” Ross said. “The way she was able to bring Trump down to size… was quite remarkable.”

Ross continued by saying that “there are pockets of [voter] suppression” caused by Republican operatives “targeting minority communities.”

With regards to gender dynamics and the election, Ross said Trump pursued a “very proto-masculinity campaign.”

“The idea of ‘Make America Great Again’ is an idea of returning to a dynamic of patriarchal control, [and] patriarchal economic dynamics,” he said.

Ross said Hillary Clinton actually won the election in 2016, but for the “electoral college antiquity,” adding that the electoral college is the “biggest voter suppressant” in the political system.

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In response to a question about informed and uninformed voters, Gaines said “it’s quite likely that this election was determined by voters who did not have … as comprehensive a view of politics and the issues as … a fair amount of Harris supporters.”

“For Harris supporters, losing to Trump, who has repeatedly made vile racist and sexist attacks against Harris, was particularly galling,” Gaines said, without mentioning a specific incident.

At one point, Gaines also said, “Democrats can always find fault with the person at the top of the ticket, but Republicans … will fall in line no matter what.”

Reached for comment on the one-sided nature of the panel discussion, Joel Gardner, president of the Jefferson Council, said the university may want to find more balance.

“Professors have the right to freedom of speech pursuant to the University’s statement on freedom of expression. However, it becomes an issue and a problem when the administration adopts viewpoints as an official position or supports certain viewpoints to the exclusion of others,” he said in a written statement provided to the College Fix.

The Jefferson Council is a nonprofit alumni association formed to preserve Thomas Jefferson’s legacy of freedom and excellence at the University of Virginia.


Image of Rotunda at University of Virginia by Bestbudbrian on Wikimedia Commons 

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