Django powers the server side, React powers client side. So this is not a "either / or" decision, they do different things and are not exchangeable. (analogy: "should I choose a diesel engine or an automatic transmission?" -- well, you likely need both!)

I've used Django a lot and can say it lets you be productive, and it has good security defaults – doesn't have many "footguns". If you already know Python, it would likely be a reasonable choice.