On Tuesday, former Vice President Joe Biden announced his running mate for the 2020 Presidential election -- Senator Kamala Harris. This announcement has already been met with comments of both praise and objection from both sides of the aisle, from President Trump referring to Harris as “nasty”, Maya Rudolph, who has played Harris on SNL, commenting “that’s spicy”, to Tucker Carlson claiming that this is the “first entirely hollow presidential ticket in American history.”
Regardless of your opinions of Harris or Biden’s selection of her for Vice President, this is truly a defining moment in history for women, specifically the struggle of Black women in American government.
Why?
Before ending her run for the Democratic presidential nomination back in December, Harris was only the third Black woman to run for a major-party nomination as she follows in the footsteps of Shirley Chisholm and Carol Moseley-Braun. By becoming Biden’s running mate, this makes Harris the fourth woman in history to be chosen for a presidential ticket and, if elected, would make her the first Black woman, first Asian woman, and the first woman of a multifaceted identity to be elected to office.
That’s a lot of firsts.
But who is Kamala Harris?
Before being elected to the Senate by the state of California in 2017, making her the second African-American woman and first South Asian-American senator in history, Harris was a prosecutor who served as the District Attorney to the city and county of San Francisco before becoming the first woman to serve as California’s Attorney General.
However, what I believe Harris to be, above all else, is the change to the underrepresentation of women of color in office. In a political party that boasts Black women as being the backbone that keeps the party going, Harris could very well be the bridge to a change in leadership, one that is more inclusive and more widely representative of the people they give a voice for. Whether or not Biden and Harris are elected come November, this is a step in the right direction where there is still a lot of work to do.
What are your thoughts on Biden's announcement of Senator Kamala Harris as his Vice President? Let me know in the comments below or contact me using the chat function below, or by following me on Twitter at @desertbiblio or Instagram at @desertbibliophile!
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