As Tim Walz Eyes The White House, Can He Earn Black Women’s Trust?

Source: KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Getty

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz officially accepted the vice president nomination during Night 3 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC). While many are hopeful of what’s to come of Walz joining Madame Vice President Kamala Harris, many Black women who have worked closely with the politician are voicing concerns about his ability to uphold his promises.

After George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020, Walz was coming up on two years as the governor of Minnesota. When women like Toshira Garraway gathered just days after his death, Walz was inside his executive mansion in the state but stepped out to listen further to the women’s cries, according to a report from the Washington Post.

Garraway was speaking on behalf of her boyfriend, Justin Tiegen, a Black man who was found dead in a recycling bin in 2009 after police shared that they had lost track of him during a chase, claiming that he hid in a dumpster and remained there until disposal workers compacted the trash. She is still convinced that the police killed him. Alongside her were other Black women who had witnessed similar tragic endings for the Black men in their lives.

Floyd’s death was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but when Garraway learned that Walz joined the crowd of protestors at the time, she stepped away for the opportunity to meet him and asked for his cellphone number.

Demonstrators protest outside the Minnesota Governor’s mansion on March 6, 2021 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Source: The Washington Post / Getty

“I had been calling and writing the governor and attorney general for years,” she said, recounting their previous conversation. “I want you to meet with our families.”

Not only did Walz meet with the families, but during a May 2024 interview, he revealed that their accounts helped to change his worldview following Floyd’s murder.

Despite his empathy and ability to connect and support the Black women in his state as they mourned the loss of Floyd and countless others, many say that when it came to delivering legislation that would directly address their concerns, Walz fell short.

“He makes political calculations in terms of where he’s going to put his energy and spend down political capital, which any responsible person or elected official will do,” said Nekima Levy Armstrong, a former head of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP. “But because of his nature, you always have in the back of your mind that he will go the extra mile. … That’s when you get disappointed.”

Now that he is joining Harris in her historic quest for the White House, women like Garraway are conflicted about where to stand. Should Harris win America’s vote during the upcoming election, she will become the first woman

to hold the title of the nation’s leader.

“I don’t want to bash the man, but all I can do is speak from my heart, and I’m conflicted,” Garraway said. “I cannot say that empathy was not there. But, as time went on and this was no longer the headlining topic, we became less and less important. Our families are pushed to the side and, basically, ignored. It is painful and hurtful.”

A spokesperson for Walz responded to the claims, noting that he still “deeply values” the friendships formed with women like Garraway and Valerie Castile, whose son, Philando, was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop in 2016 who recalls telling him “something really bad” would happen if things continued to swing in that direction back in 2017.

Demonstrators take a knee during a standoff with police in Minneapolis, United States on May 31, 2020 during protests resulting from the killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, by police. Source: HOSSEIN FATEMI / Getty

Moreover,  the spokesperson also said that Walz values “what he’s been able to learn from them and the reforms they worked together to pass.”

“He continues to meet with them and looks forward to their continued work together to improve Minnesota,” read the statement.

Despite legislation accepted and passed on behalf of Black women like Garraway, Walz did announce his disappointment when politicians rejected other laws like making changes to police training and placing limits on the use of chokeholds.

“I feel like I failed Toshira,” he said then. 

“This is a complex issue,” he told the Washington Post after learning that “White men like him wanted to probe the details while Black women like Garraway sought swift action because the lives of their families were at stake.”

“But in the midst of this are people who say, ‘I don’t have time for nuance,’” Walz continued. “I don’t know if we’ll get another shot at it. I’m worried about this. … I’m worried [about what] I’m seeing at the national level. I’m seeing our democracy under threat, and I’m seeing the community here that’s losing faith.”

Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz walk onstage for a campaign rally at the Fiserv Forum on August 20, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Source: MAHKA ESLAMI / Getty

It looks like Walz’s opportunity to do right by Black women has come sooner than he could have anticipated now that he has officially accepted the Democratic nomination to represent the party as the vice president hopeful alongside presidential candidate and running mate Kamala Harris.

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