Kamala Harris’ Selection is a Big Deal
Joe Biden announced his selection of Kamala Harris as Vice President a few hours ago. Despite Harris’ profile and the predictability of the choice, it’s a big deal. Historically speaking, consider how hard it is for Black, female politicians in the US:
- There have only been eleven Black state attorneys-general in the US. Kamala Harris was the first woman.
- Only 57 women have ever served as a US senator.
- Only ten Black politicians have ever served as a senator, only five were elected, and only two were women. Harris was one of them.
- Only four women have ever appeared on a major party ticket. Three, including Harris, were nominated for VP, while Hillary Clinton ran at the top of the ticket. If Biden/Harris win, she will be the first woman ever elected as President or VP.
It is not coincidental that Harris is the third woman to appear on a major party ticket in the past four elections. Representation matters. For 208 years, putting a woman on the ticket would have been unthinkable (for the majority of that time, women couldn’t even vote). When Mondale selected Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, she shattered a massive mental barrier many voters had about women and power. She and Mondale didn’t win in November, but watching her hold her own against a sitting VP made it much harder to argue women weren’t tough or competent enough. There was an unfortunate lag before the next woman was selected (Mondale did only win one state), but now it’s far from radical.
Women are still at a disadvantage in politic, thoughs. We don’t even have to go back to 2016 to see what role sexism played — Harris was subject to the same tired bigotry as recently as two weeks ago. Members of Biden’s own circle started a whisper campaign about her naked ambition and lack of respect in an effort to tank her campaign. The only word left out of the sexist playbook was “harpy.”
Of course, Black politicians face similar challenges. The numbers I cited above demonstrate that ably enough. Black politicians running for open seats among majority white electorates have not fared well. Now combine these two disadvantages. For Black women, the barriers are incredible. Kamala Harris has spent her career clearing them.
No matter what you think of Harris’ politics, the very sight of a Black woman running for VP will have a powerful effect on the country. Because of Biden’s age, there’s a very good chance she’ll be running for the top of the ticket in 2024 if he wins this year; ’28 at the latest. There are no guarantees, but the historically the easiest course to the Oval Office is from down the hall.
It won’t take long until the idea of Kamala Harris as VP seems familiar, routine, even boring. Don’t waste the opportunity to spend the time marveling at what a glorious, historic moment this is. America just got a little better, a little brighter. In this terrible, no-good summer of 2020, we need it.
