How Kamala Harris is making history as VP-elect
Harris becomes the first woman, and first woman of color, elected to serve in the White House.
The election of California Sen. Kamala Harris to the second-highest office in the United States marks many firsts. The daughter of immigrant parents from India and Jamaica, Harris has broken barriers as the first woman, first Black person and first Asian American to be elected to the vice presidency. She is also the first person in the White House to graduate from a historically Black university and to be a member of a Black sorority.
(Photo by Phil Roeder/ Flickr)
Speaking for the first time as the vice president-elect in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday, Harris talked about her late mother who believed a moment like this was possible in America. Harris said that while she may be the first woman in the office, she would not be the last.
“So, I’m thinking about her and about the generations of women—Black Women, Asian, White, Latina, and Native American women, throughout our nation’s history, who have paved the way for this moment tonight,” Harris said.
Her historical win brings unprecedented representation to the White House. We spoke with a few women at the University of Connecticut about what this moment means to them and to progress toward gender equality.
“What it has done is it has made visible what I think has been invisible for a long time,” said Kathleen Holgerson, director of UConn’s Women’s Center. “It’s not like women of color weren’t doing work in the political realm or that they didn’t have important things to say, it was that women of color often weren’t able to garner the platform that white folks and white men were able to.”
Holgerson said it is groundbreaking for young girls to see someone who looks like them in office, giving them hope for what their own futures may hold.
UConn Journalism alumna Jamiah Bennett ‘20 reflected on the importance of representation in her childhood years, having been raised in a predominately white community. When Bennett saw Black women or Black girls breaking barriers in leadership positions, she said it made her even more motivated to do the same. She watched Harris’s speech with her family on Saturday night and said it was a special moment.
“I got emotional seeing her up there because I was seeing this woman who looked like me as the vice president-elect,” said Bennett. “I never thought that I would see that in my lifetime.”
UConn senior Olasubomi (Mini) Ajayi has always been passionate about practicing medicine, but she noticed there were not many Black doctors or nurses treating her while she was growing up. She said representation serves as a motivator for young girls because it allows them to see themselves reflected in different spaces and gives them something to aspire towards.
“There are so many barriers that are in place for women, especially women of color to really get into those spaces, especially in politics considering the political context that we live in now,” said Ajayi. “It’s gratifying to see Kamala Harris in that position.”
Female politicians have weighed in on the historical win over the past week. Former Georgia State House Democratic Leader Stacey Abrams told CNN, “It is a privilege in this nation to be able to see yourself reflected in the face of leadership.”
Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) echoed this sentiment, saying it’s amazing that so many young girls are growing up with this being a norm for them.
The women we spoke to are hopeful that the Biden administration will choose a diverse group of cabinet members.
“Having diversity across the board hopefully will be powerful. Not only does it bring different voices to the table that haven’t been there for so long, is powerful because it adds other perspectives and shows us unity as well,” said Bennett.