Kamala Harris challenges history, reuniting communities in presidential bid
Kamala Harris is the first Black woman since 1972 to challenge white male ideology as a prerequisite for becoming an American presidential candidate.
After President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday and moved to endorse Harris, the sitting vice president immediately broke records with donor support, racking up nearly $50 million in 48 hours from Republicans and Democrats alike.
Over the course of those two days, 80,000 Black men and women joined various task force-hosted Zoom calls to voice their support, shock, and steadfast love for Harris.
“It was after midnight before the ladies finally called it a night. The excitement, unity, display of sisterhood and anticipated success was overwhelming,” Veronica McGriff Wallace, a resident of swing state North Carolina, posted on Facebook after the Sunday night Win with Black Women call. “To think that link went out within the day of the announcement and still drew over 40,000 women of color from all walks of life represents who we are.”
Grassroots donors pooled together $1.6 million through individual donations in just three hours during the initial meeting. The next night, 50,000 men joined Roland Martin’s Black Star Network succeeding with the same goal of crowdfunding to propel Harris as a frontrunner in the 2024 election.
The following days were dotted with rollouts of smaller, more intimate conversations with lawmakers, Black Greek letter organizations, and advocacy groups, a collective display of Harris’ representation of the cross sections of American life and ideals. All six of the nation’s Black attorney generals—one of many titles Harris has held in her trajectory, once in her home state of California—put out a joint statement pledging full support to Harris.
“There is no one more qualified to lead and continue to uphold the values of our nation,” New York Attorney General (and, like Harris, Howard University alumna) Letitia James said in a joint statement on Sunday alongside Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford.
Born to an Indian mother and Jamaican father and raised in Oakland in 1964, Harris holds a vibrant and voracious vision for the nation she has always called home.
As a Howard graduate, she was steeped in Black-centric curricula rooted in fundamental values of equality, truth, and service. Those morals still guide her today as she now faces former president and convicted felon Donald Trump in a head-on challenge for the position of commander in chief.
“Before I was elected as vice president, before I was elected as United States senator, I was the elected attorney general, as I’ve mentioned, of California. And before that, I was a courtroom prosecutor,” Harris said, slating her resume at the first campaign event in Wilmington. “In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds, predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So, hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type.”
This direct approach at calling out Trump for past discrepancies ignited the audience prompting an emotional response from viewers in person and remotely.
“This campaign is not just about us versus Donald Trump. There is more to this campaign than that,” Harris continued. “Our campaign has always been about two different versions of what we see as the future of our country, two different visions for the future of our country: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past.”
Other Americans strongly agree, citing this election as a pivotal marker in the country’s civil liberties for the next 10 decades.
“Once the news about Biden broke, it felt like we collectively moved through a natural chain of succession emotions and events—from sadness to pride, and then onto momentum and hope,” Courtney Stockland, a caucasian donor from D.C. told the AmNews. “I was moved to donate to Vice President Harris’ campaign, my first contribution of this cycle, in honor of President Biden’s remarkably brave and selfless act of democracy, and in support of the V.P. Kamala, who is wicked smart, obviously able, and most importantly, a good person. And that’s what we need more of in this country—goodness and progress—not hate and regression.”
A CBS News poll showed 52% of women voters, 76% of Black voters, and 62% of voters aged 18-29 prefer Harris over Trump.
“I’m hoping you’ll give every bit of your heart and soul that you gave to me to Kamala,” President Biden told supporters on July 22.
Democratic leaders like Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-11), Jim Clyburn (D-SC-6) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) amongst many more have done just that, encouraging Americans to reflect on the failures of Trump’s four years in office.
“This election is about choices, what do you want for your family, your friends and yourself?” Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC-12), a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority shared days after the rally citing abortion bans and the issue of women’s rights as backsliding efforts spawned by Republicans. “We’re rallying behind Harris 100 percent, I am endorsing her 100 percent.”
The post Kamala Harris challenges history, reuniting communities in presidential bid appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.