VP pick is part of the civil rights tradition
Joe Biden had the audacity to select Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate for 2020 — Kamala Harris, a woman of color, chosen to fill the second most powerful job in the United States, one among many strong women vetted by Biden’s team.
Harris was my first choice of them all: solid, compelling and powerful. I believe it’s because I’ve experienced and walked in some of the places that Kamala Harris walked, as a Black woman, as an adviser, teacher, activist, coach, supporter, tutor and mentor.
I grew up with my family in Baltimore. I obtained my education from Baltimore city public schools and attended one of Baltimore’s finest historical black colleges and universities, Coppin State University, where I received my Bachelor of Science degree and Master’s degree in Vocational Rehabilitation. During my time in Baltimore, I participated in a lot of civil rights activities, such as boycotts, student sit-ins at drug store lunch counters, marches and protests. I helped register people to vote and worked at voting polls. My mother and sisters were also active in the civil rights movement.
When one of my sisters graduated from college in 1971, we were fortunate to hear Shirley Chisholm speak. Ms. Chisholm, as you know, was the author of the book “Unbought and Unbossed,” and was the first African American women elected to Congress, representing New York. She also was the first African American woman to run for president, as a Democrat in 1972. I see Kamala Harris in this tradition.
I have lived in Española for over 25 years. I was employed with the state of New Mexico, working in the local office of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. I retired in 2015 from the state. Since residing here and being one of the few African American women in the Española Valley community, I wanted to extend my hand to help improve the quality of life for people in the area. I feel that I have always tried to make a lasting contribution to wellness and the wellbeing of people. I have tried to be a positive asset and a good member of the community. Currently, I am a yoga teacher.
In addition to helping my neighbors, I am the founder of “Friday Night Dining,” a nonprofit that provides local-product meals and fine dining to our elderly and homeless citizens, with music in a relaxed atmosphere and an upscale setting. I know how important it is to live in a diverse community and to be able to get along with your neighbors.
Again, I applaud former vice president Biden for making a fantastic selection in Kamala Harris.
She has proven herself to have the experience and wherewithal to function and handle the duties she will have to carry out. She has a good sense of who she is, where she comes from, knows the roads she has traveled (and those she still has yet to travel), and is looking straight ahead to what she, as VP, will have to deal with in the future.
Kamala Harris stands on the shoulders of many women who have paved the way for her, and many others in the struggle for civil and equal rights — women such as Barbara Jordan, the first African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas; Fannie Lou Hamer, who fought for women’s rights and voting rights, and said that “she was sick and tired of being sick and tired”; and Harriet Tubman, who led people from slavery to freedom.
As I look at all the struggles our country currently is going through (coronavirus pandemic, racial unrest, school closures, economic decline), I am going to challenge myself to keep going.
Yes, I dare to hope for the brighter days ahead for our country. I believe that there’s power in hope and believing these things will pass.
I believe that the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris ticket offers us this hope, and gives us the courage to look ahead and the strength to keep moving forward.
Kamala Harris’ nomination for the second most powerful job in the United States is historical. Her election as the vice president will inspire little Black and Brown girls and women to set their goals high, dream big dreams, educate themselves and strive for the highest accomplishments. She is an inspiration for us all.
The Biden-Harris ticket is our call for unity, our call to energize each other and ourselves. After We the People get ourselves together, and we come together united as one nation with hope, trust and love, then our democracy will be able to serve all its people.