With Kamala’s departure from the debate stage, many were left dumbfounded and at a loss for words. As a biracial, female prosecutor running for the presidency, she had the power to draw all attention in the room to her heartfelt words. It was not only her emotional appeal, but what her potential role as the president of the United States symbolized for young women and women of color. They began to picture her as the next president elect, but Kamala Harris’ vision and the demographics were not adding up.
Credit: The Daily Beast
She revved up her campaign 8 months ago on Martin Luther King’s birthday, accumulating $1.5 million in the first 24 hours, according to Politico. All while crushing records as the first black woman elected to the U.S. senate from California and paying tribute to Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to seek a major party’s presidential election.
Despite her early successes, her inability to stabilize funds throughout the campaign led to her ultimate downfall, she states on twitter.
Credit: Twitter
On the contrary, some sources claim that as much as they yearned for Kamala Harris to become the face of the United States, women and voters of color did not want to take the risk of losing the 2020 election. Earlier in her campaign, her energy behind her words were see-sawed on the verge of the “angry, black women,” harming her numbers. Consequently, many voters faulted on Joe Biden, who has perpetually gained an African American fan base.
As an attorney she had a way with words, but as a 1st term senator in the political sector, there were unforeseen mishaps on whether she appealed to the progressives or the moderates. Even her history of criminal justice and jail cases isolated her from black voters.
Overwhelmingly, the evidence proves that the United States is not ready. Kimberly Peeler-Allen, co-founder of Higher Heights, an activist organization that helps black woman enter office, recognizes that the United States has a history of white men ruling our country.
“You come and counter that with a woman — and a woman of color, and a black woman at that — seeking the highest office in the land, it’s something out of the norm.” – Kimberly Peeler-Allen
Through these efforts, politicians like Kamala Harris continue to push the envelope of representation in politics. Remember to identify these events as not failures, but the building blocks for future female leaders to use as support as Kamala Harris did Shirley Chisholm.
Her absent seat in the December Democratic Debates has left our hearts aching, but her pioneer work in the political sector is unfinished.