U.S. Senator Kamala Harris became the first Black woman and first woman of South Asian descent to run for vice president after U.S. presidential candidate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden elected her on Tuesday.
The pair will take over President Donald Trump in the November 3 US presidential election.
Harris’ choice was considered by many to be historic.
In her first sit-down interview since she was named after the ticket, Harris even called Biden’s choice “loud” and said it could encourage progress for women and women of color who might otherwise have taken decades.
Harris spoke with the non-profit, women-driven news organization The 19th in an exchange broadcast on the American TV channel MSNBC.
Kamala Harris became the second Black female U.S. senator in history when she was elected in 2016, and will be trusted to help mobilize Black voters, one of the Democratic Party’s most loyal constituencies. [File: Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters] The 55-year-old California senator, a former prosecutor and attorney general, spoke on a wide range of issues ranging from campaign priorities to the importance of voting.
Below are excerpts from her interview on Friday.
On Praying and the Agenda
“Joe Biden had the embarrassment of choosing a Black woman to be his running mate. How incredible is that? And what a statement about Joe Biden – that he decided he would do the thing that was about breaking one of ‘ the most substantial barriers that have existed in our country – and that he made that decision with what risk that entails. the United States will elect States.
“The Biden-Harris ticket is about an agenda that is about representing what America really is and knowing that among us there may be those who apparently have nothing in common but have everything in common. Joe Biden knows that “And it is also about saying that this will be an administration – the Biden-Harris administration – that is focused on the future of our country, motivated by what can be unbridled by what has been.”
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris speak at a campaign event at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Delaware [AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster]
Economy, health care and inclusion
“I think the Biden-Harris agenda is a shared agenda. Joe, for example, had a whole plan, to better build plans, about the economy, but it includes understanding the connection between job creation and also dignity and support bring working families.
“One of the components of a better building plan is to introduce health care and home care for people in need – [and] also to ensure that carers receive a living and a fair wage and receive all benefits in terms of benefits from workers. So in that plan, he passed the Bill of Rights of Domestic Workers, which is something I’ve been working on for a few years.
“And when we talk about domestic workers, we’re talking about overweight women of color who spend hours and hours, caring for other people’s children, other people’s parents, and grandparents. earn and support for the work they do. “
Climate change
“We have a shared commitment to tackling the climate crisis. And so there is a wholehearted plan to create a million jobs in terms of investing in sustainable energy infrastructure, but also with a focus on creating sure of communities of colors and our native brothers and sisters are part of the plan – knowing that in America today in communities that have some of the worst air quality, 70 percent of the people who live there are people of color.These are the components of the plan, the general plan for construction.
“It really is a shared commitment that is about addressing racial differences, addressing gender differences and also addressing what we need to do to grow our country back in a way that we can actually, again, strive for. to the ideals that we have yet to meet but can move closer to. “
Kamala Harris speaks during her first joint appearance with US presidential candidate Joe Biden after she was named as his running mate [Carlos Barria/Reuters]
Gender equity
“We still need to achieve equity when you look at issues like pay equity, something that Joe Biden is talking about and we will deal with it in our administration.”
“There’s a lot … to celebrate in terms of performance, but it should also motivate us to be clear about what needs to be done and the unfinished business.”
“When I think about this centennial [100 years since women gained the right to vote in the US], I also think about the fact that we need to be reminded about the ability of women also at every stage to build coalition and fight together. But let’s also acknowledge the differences that still exist on the basis of race and let’s all work on that together, as those suffragettes did so much, well over 100 years ago. “
Asked why she will fight on behalf of American women
“Everything. I said this back on that cold day in January 2017, at the women’s march, which is: ‘every issue is a women’s issue, and women’s issues should be everyone’s problems.’
“It’s unforgivable that we should not have full representation in the United States Congress. I want to say that we should encourage and always support women who run for office and support them, knowing that even if they are the first , that they are the ones needed for us to continue to break through these barriers.I have achieved nothing that I have without the support of many who believed in the possibility of someone who has never been “It’s been there. And that’s what we need to do for the whole nation.”
A demonstrator raises her fist as she listens to a speech during a protest in the Black Lives Matter at the Mark O Hatfield Courthouse in Portland, Oregon [AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez]
Race and racism
“I’m the only Black woman in the U.S. Senate. The only and only second in the history of the U.S. Senate. And so, when we look again at how far we have to go, we have a lot of work.And by asking Joe to be his running mate, he has advanced what could otherwise have taken decades.
“What we need to do is also talk about systemic racism. If you have one ticket that can say the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ and another that has sown hatred and distribution in our country, that’s it the things that are going to motivate Black women to vote. “
Election and voter repression
“When we talk about the elections in November, this is probably one of the most important elections of our lives. It’s about everything, every issue we’ve discussed and whether we’ll have a president of the United States who’s. ‘ t lift people up and give you a sense of pride in your country, as someone who just slays people full time.I’m afraid that if we do not correct the course, the damage will be irreversible.
“Everything is on the line.
“There are states and there are state legislators who – especially after the Supreme Court has passed the Voting Rights Act – have enacted laws designed to suppress the vote and in particular the Blacks. mood; [to prevent] students out of the vote, Indians out of the vote. And those obstacles, some of them we will fight against and graze for the elections; some of them will still be in place.
“Everyone needs to remember this and ask yourself this question, ‘Why do they not want us to vote? Why do they create obstacles for us to vote?’
“Well, the answer is because when we vote, things change. When we vote, things get better. When we vote, we address the differences we’ve talked about. We address the need of all people to act with dignity. to be treated and respected.This [are the] kind of things that are on this line in these elections.
“That we know how to jump or cross the obstacles that have been in place for many of us since the day we were born. And that will be the job for us.”
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