For about a decade the Left has been transitioning their human rights/social justice platform from “race” to the broader one of economics (the one they’ve been creating) ie “the poor.”
Race was always just a proxy for “poor” for the left. With the rise of a prominent black elite, it has become difficult to make the case that racism contributes to black poverty. The experience of the white middle class in the US is replete with examples of mediocre black professionals quickly ascending the corporate ranks. The election of an Affirmative Action President was probably the culmination and last hurrah of the drive to make racial amends. There is very little tolerance for further racial reparations. So I think the left is simply responding to what the polls are telling them.