To All of the Brown Girls with Big Names… Thank Goodness the World is Finally Catching Up.
With wide brown eyes and crops of kinky curls, afro puffs, beads, barrettes and braids thousands of little girls watched Vice-President elect Kamala Harris make history by becoming the first female, first woman of color, first Black and first South Asian woman to hold the position of our nation’s second-in-command. Over their shoulders mothers, grandmothers, aunts and big sisters watched on with smiles, cheers, tears of joy and relief while bearing witness to a dream come true. The dreams of Shirley Chisolm, Barbara Jordan, Ida B. Wells and Fannie Lou Hamer on display in the flesh and form of Senator Kamala Harris. Fathers beamed at their daughters with shining eyes, realizing that their paths to success might now stretch forward a little further. After a contentious election, news of an official victory for the Biden/Harris campaign caused an emotional response for supporters of the incoming administration. When the hard-fought race, further dramatized by close counts in swing states, was officially called in favor of Biden our nation inched closer to the end of Trump’s tumultuous term and a return to more principled leadership and civility. However, it is high time we enter a new era altogether; one where the political prowess and electorate electrifying power of Black women is thrust front and center. Black women voters have been the lifeblood of the Democratic Party, consistently showing up en masse and leading candidates to triumph. It is time for the DNC, Washington power brokers, and quite frankly the world-at-large, to recognize that women of color, particularly Black women, are not simply the saviors of the political stratosphere — we are the stars.
If we follow the trajectory of Senator Harris’ career — San Francisco District Attorney, US Senator (only the second Black woman in the chamber’s history), Democratic Presidential nominee and the culmination of her election as Vice-President — it’s clear that though she is incredibly accomplished in her own right, the way in which she has been viewed and valued is tied directly to whether she challenged or upheld the mission of her party and the white men in the center. She faced criticism for her record as DA and apprehension from the black community. During Trump’s Impeachment Trial and Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Hearing she was lauded by the media for her tough and tenacious questioning. There were no qualms about being strong and direct in those moments, but black women understand that whether you are seen as “angry” or “passionate” depends mostly on the time, place and the target. That same passion would soon become a controversial quality when battling within her own party, instead of across the aisle. As a Democratic Presidential nominee in June 2019, Harris hit her peak in popularity when she rocked Joe Biden on the Florida debate stage, grilling him on working with segregationists in the late 1970s. During that exchange a campaign refrain was born as she shared her experience with busing as a child, “that little girl was me.” Following a stellar showing that evening - a display of the grit that served her well in the Senate — Harris was met with musings that she might have been “unfair” or “too tough” on the party favorite and father of her dear friend Beau Biden. Even when going toe-to-toe with her political opponent for the highest office in the land, people actually wondered in private and in print if she was accommodating enough. Soon party pressure and campaign complexities caused her to exit the race. Many thought her political future was in question. Finally, after a push from well respected organizations run by Black women, prominent operatives and pundits like Angela Rye, along with the authors of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics,” Donna Brazile, Minyon Moore, Leah Daughtry and Yolanda Caraway, Biden committed to adding a Black woman to the campaign ticket as his Vice-Presidential running mate. Despite the diversity of those who consider themselves Democrats, party leaders are typically white, male and over 60. Exceptions include a smattering of women and people of color who often get close, but have fallen short of shattering the political glass ceiling that locks the status quo in place. Vice-President elect Harris has made history and the impact is monumental, yet we must acknowledge that she was given the opportunity based mostly on what she could do for the guy at the top of the ticket. Now victorious, thankfully she is being given the recognition she deserves as an ambitious, intelligent, focused woman of color; a path forger, the daughter of immigrants who is worthy to lead at the highest level based on her own determination, her own achievements and her own acumen.
While our country and our friends around the globe celebrate the ascension of Biden and Harris to the West Wing, black and brown communities are taking a moment to exhale. We are absorbing the gravity of our girls realizing “my VP looks like me!” But our marveling, our admiration, is not an awakening to our worth or brilliance. Instead it is a deep sigh, that makes us feel that maybe we are finally being seen for all we are and all that we do. From the mules of the world to Madame Vice-President, and all of the stops in between. From the back of the field, back of the house and back of the bus to the top of the hill, Black women have always done the heavy lifting for the least reward. While the DNC threw everything but the kitchen sink and gold coins to white suburban women, Black people - particularly Black women, carried this campaign over the finish line. With votes still being counted, as it stands roughly 90% of Black women, 70% of Latinas and 55% of White women voted for the Biden/Harris ticket.
As the list of Biden’s running mates was crafted, a variety of rising and established Black women were up for consideration. Valerie Jarrett, Susan Rice, Val Demings, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Stacey Abrams and Kamala Harris led the pack. Hailing from historically black colleges and universities namely Florida A&M University, Spelman College and Howard University respectively Lance Bottoms, Abrams and Harris were critically important to exciting the DNCs most vast and reliable base. HBCUs have never been asleep to the magic and undeniable capacity of Black women motivated to surpass the low expectations of those who take them for granted. Had it not been for the efforts of Abrams’ Georgia-based Fair Fight coalition and other grassroots organizations across the country registering new voters, driving inactive Democrats to vote (early, by mail and in person) and deconstructing methods of voter suppression in Metro Atlanta counties, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Detroit, President Trump would have prevailed. If Harris had not joined the ticket, perhaps replaced by Amy Klobuchar or Gretchen Whitmer, who knows who would have showed up for Biden and why.
So for now, we will soak up all of the good feelings that come with seeing Vice President - elect Harris shine. The pride she inspires in women is a reflection of the care and encouragement we give one another behind closed doors — at kitchen tables, in classrooms and workplaces. The same pride we feel when our loved ones are the first to attend college, the first to start their own business or the first to make partner. To see a little brown girl or an incredible black woman whom you love, transcend from being overlooked to being fully appreciated, is a joy beyond oneself. Since stepping shackled feet onto this land over 400 years ago, we have been packed with the power and promise to move mountains and achieve anything we set our minds to. When we reach our goals we bring entire generations upward with us. Nice to think the country is finally figuring out what we’ve known all along.
