I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 11, 2020
It was a historic moment in America. One of the most highly anticipated announcements of the 2020 presidential election could arrive at any moment. Then came the “tweet of interest.” Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee has chosen Senator Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential candidate. Enthusiasm swept the country, hailing praise for Joe Biden’s decision to break a substantial barrier and endorse the first Black Asian American woman.
Kamala Harris has been serving as a junior United States Senator since 2017. As the second African American and first person of Asian heritage to serve in that capacity, Biden calls Harris “a fearless fighter for the little guy.” Dedicating her life to public service, the lionhearted champion is an attorney and member of the Democratic Party. From San Francisco district attorney to California attorney general and then to U.S. senator, her climb has been rapid. Smart and unapologetically vigilant, Harris’ appeal to democrats, women of color, and African Americans marks a shining star in Biden’s potential political crown.
EARLY LIFE
Born Kamala Devi Harris in Oakland, California, to immigrants of Indian and Jamaican descent—her mother and father, a breast cancer scientist and a Stanford University economics professor, respectively—the pursuit of academic excellence was a responsibility. Reared in an African American community in Berkeley, the opportunity to attend civil rights demonstrations came early on. Through the experiment of desegregation, Kamala was among thousands that were bused to predominantly white neighborhoods to continue their education.
At age 17, the decision to attend Howard University, a black school in Washington, DC, was a result of her desire to engage in black culture and traditions at the crown jewel of historically black colleges and universities, often referred to then as the “Black Harvard.” Harris would later attend and graduate from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
The Year 2020
The Biden-Harris partnership comes at a moment of cataclysmic crises. The lives of over 150,000 Americans have been claimed resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. With an economy in free fall, tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs; businesses have downsized or have closed. Social unrest has risen to fever pitch as police brutality against African Americans and people of color provoked nationwide protests reminiscent of the civil rights movement more than 50 years ago.
THE CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT
“Kamala Harris for the People!” was the slogan launching her presidential campaign in 2019. It would be a short-lived campaign where she rivaled Joe Biden in the debate stage battling over racism and his past opposition to mandating bussing. The lack of funding forced Harris to end her campaign and went on to endorse her former rival in March 2020. The close relationship between Harris and Beau Biden (Joe Biden’s son) working as state attorneys general remained foremost in Joe Biden’s mind admiring their achievements. Beau Biden passed away in 2015 from brain cancer at the age of 46. Adding to the announcement tweet Joe Biden stated:
“Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau. I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse. I was proud then, and I’m proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.”
THE BIDEN-HARRIS TICKET
‘Building the country back better,’ the theme of the Biden-Harris ticket has democrats excited and the presidential competition is on! Imagine the ideal America: equitable access to opportunity, restoring dignity to a tarnished democracy; responsible leadership with a comprehensive plan to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the restoration of an economy in peril, a corrupt social justice system dismantled, addressing climate change, operating as a collective mindset to move toward a more perfect union.
While the victory celebration for the next president of the United States will have to wait until the November 3, 2020 election, democrats, women and people of color are proud to see the arrival of this moment. We Congratulate Kamala Harris On This Historic Nomination As The Vice President Candidate!
