We did it ya’ll! Our Black vote counted and now we got a Vice President who looks like me. Let me say it again - The first Black woman is VP. Okay, let me break it down: Kamala Harris is the first highest-ranking African/South Asian American female elected official in United States history. And she went to a HBCU; And she’s from the Bay, yeee! Hold on - we can’t give it up to Vice President Harris without recognizing Shirley Chisholm upon whose shoulders she stands.
Fact: Mrs. Chisholm was thee first Black Congresswoman to serve on the House Rules Committee and to ever run for president. She'll forever be remembered as as a woman who dared to be a catalyst for change.
Now let’s get to know our new vice president. She and her sister Maya were born and raised in Oakland, California but moved to Montreal, Canada at the age of 12. Her mother Shyamala Gopalan was from India and her father Donald J. Harris was from Jamaica. Her husband Doug Emhoff is now the second gentleman of the United States and his two children Ella and Cole call Vice President Harris “Momala.”
Harris attended Howard University, joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., and graduated with a degree in political science and economics. She returned to California to attend the University of California, Hastings College of Law and received a Juris Doctor in 1989. Harris served as District Attorney of San Francisco from 2004-2011, followed by California Attorney General where she won a $20 billion settlement for California homeowners affected by the foreclosure crisis. She also helped win marriage equality for all Californians and prosecuted transnational gangs.
As a U.S. Senator endorsed by President Barack Obama, Harris served on several committees before deciding to enter the presidential race. Her withdrawal gave way to her becoming Joe Biden’s running mate and on November 3, 2020 she let the world know, “we did it, we did it Joe. You’re going to be the next president of the United States.” The rest is herstory in the making. All I can say is watch (snap) her (snap) work (snap)!
“At present, our country needs women’s idealism and determination, perhaps more in politics than anywhere else.” - Shirley Chisholm.