Considering the big news of the weekend with President Biden stepping down as the 2024 Democratic candidate for president (can we PLEASE have a break from big news?!), we thought today we’d round up some articles about Vice President and likely Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. She’s maintained a low profile during her time in office, to say the least, so let’s dig in.
(We’ve tried to include good articles that look at her personal story and rise — if you have any to share, please list them in the comments!)
Here’s an excerpt from a recent CNN story to start things off:
As recently as last year, some Democrats were worried that negative views of Harris could hurt the ticket, prompting prominent Democrats to urge the party to stop undermining her.
But in the weeks since Biden’s June debate performance, Harris has settled into a groove, becoming a key surrogate for Biden’s reelection campaign on reproductive health as the campaign put it, the threat Trump poses to democracy.
Harris allies have argued that much of the criticism is a result of racism and sexism against the country’s first woman of color in such a position. Now, they say, the country is seeing in Harris what her allies have seen for years.
“Oftentimes Black women are not seen until they’re needed,” said LaTosha Brown, a co-founder of Black Voters Matter, a progressive group that works to boost Black voter turnout. “We’ve seen her constantly berated, marginalized, questioned. I think that the shift is because there’s a need.”
“Kamala Harris: Everything you need to know about the new vice president [ABC News, 2021]
This 2021 article shares some of Harris’s personal background and policy positions. It details her careers as a U.S. senator, and prior to that, the first woman, first Black person, and first South Asian American person to serve as California’s attorney general, (2011-2017). Before that, she served from 2004-2010 as district attorney of San Francisco, the first Black woman in that position. In 1990, right after law school, she joined the Alameda County DA’s office.
“Biden endorses Kamala Harris: What her California years reveal” [CalMatters, 2024]
This story shares detailed aspects of Harris’s California years, including her focus on victims of sexual abuse and exploitation; her (controversial) efforts to reduce truancy rates; her “Back on Track” program, which “redirected first-time, non-violent drug offenders into supervised education, job training courses, therapy sessions and life skills classes”; and more. It also notes that she has been (almost) always opposed to the death penalty.
“Is Kamala the One?” (article preview/excerpt) [The Nation, 2024]
The Nation will publish a thorough profile of Harris in its August issue, but after Biden stepped down yesterday, editors decided to publish an excerpt immediately. It notes that her current task is one that “no vice president or vice presidential nominee has ever been asked to fulfill” (hmm, surprise surprise, a seriously daunting job has been assigned to someone who is Black and a woman); looks at her outreach to a diverse group of constituencies, including Black voters; reviews her criticism of the Israeli government; and mentions her speeches on reproductive rights.
The excerpt also includes this key quote from California Senator Laphonza Butler, Harris’s friend: “I see a Black woman who got sick and tired of trying to please everybody and just said, ‘F*** it. I’m not gonna make everybody happy. I just have to be me.’”
Podcast episode: “Is the Bodily Autonomy in the Room With Us?” — includes interview [American Fever Dream, 2024; no Spotify account required]
In February 2024, Harris made an appearance on the podcast American Fever Dream. In her interview with V. Spehar, she spoke about threats to reproductive rights, including fears around IVF accessibility, and expressed support for the queer community in the wake of Nex Benedict’s death. The interview starts about 49 minutes in.
“How pro-LGBTQ+ is Kamala Harris?” [Advocate, 2024]
This week, Advocate took a look at Harris’s views on LGBTQ+ rights. It noted that during her California career, she established a hate-crimes unit in the DA’s office; conducted marriages for same-sex couples after they became legal in San Francisco; prominently opposed Prop 8, which revoked marriage equality in California; and worked hard to abolish gay and transgender “panic” defenses in criminal trials — and much more.
By the way, GLAAD’s Biden Accountability Tracker includes Harris’s work to advance LGBTQ+ rights, health, and so on (very long page — ctrl+F is your friend here).
“A Guide to Kamala Harris’ Views on Abortion, the Economy, and More” [TIME, 2024]
Get quick facts about Harris’s views on crime, immigration, the economy, gun control, and several more issues.
Readers, do you have any helpful links about Vice Pres. Kamala Harris (not necessarily “But can she win?” articles)? Bonus question: Do you think the typical way of referring to her as “Kamala” rather than “Harris” is a potential indicator of sexism/racism (not to mention the common mispronunciation of her name)? We’ve seen some interesting conversations about this online.
Photo via Wikipedia / By The Circus on SHOWTIME – YouTube, CC BY 3.0
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