That the cross still stands / And the blood still speaks / And the grave’s still empty / Jesus, I believe / You’ve already overcome / You’ve already won it all / The victory belongs to You / It’s too late to lose / You’ve already made a way / There is power in Your name / The victory belongs to You / It’s too late to lose — Kyle Lee; Michael Paul Bethany; Mitch Wong
Rosa sat, so Ruby could walk, so that Kamala could run. – T-shirt campaign slogan
This past Tuesday August 20, 2024, an overwhelming majority of Democratic Party delegates voted to nominate Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party. She amassed over 4,900 delegate votes; the required number to get the nomination to run on the party’s ticket is 2,300 delegate votes. There was something that topped this magnificent: the feat of being the first African American and of Indian origin vice president, who when elected this coming November, will be the first woman president of the United States. But Tuesday night Harris and her running mate, veteran and current Minnesota Governor Tim Walz showed their crowd-pull, unmatched by any presidential candidate.
While state after state made their perfunctory delegate votes in a packed-to-capacity conference hall in Chicago, Candidate Harris and her running mate 1tim Walz, were at another packed-to-capacity conference hall in Wisconsin; at the same time. The crowd sizes in both halls were over 10,000 and 18,000. Among the crowd were a star-studded line up of Democratic heavy weights such as current President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, former President and former First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
On Day Two, the convention schedule included the vice presidential candidate accepting the nomination. It also amassed heavy weights in America, these included former eloquent speaker on all things economics former president Bill Clinton, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, governors and senators and the entertainment stars like Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Oprah, Amanda Gorman, Beyonce (her Freedom song is the theme of the DNC 2024 Democratic Party campaign), Taylor Swift, Robert De Niro, Jane Fonda, the football team members from Tim Walz’ high school.
On the other side, former president Donald Trump and the RNC have been criticizing Harris and her running mate. He has ridiculed her on her dual race, called her stupid and not intelligent. Watching from the sidelines and frenzied on the policies of the Harris/Walz team, its supporters know Harris is tough, experienced, and ready, shouting “when we fight, we win!”
As a former prosecutor and activist, Harris is mindful of the numerous black women before her, and who’s contributions in the United States are telling stories that spell out a long time coming for a woman (black or white) to take the helm of leadership in the capital of democracy.
The non-exhaustive list of African American women who rose even as they faced hardships, mud-slinging, and obstructions, and sometimes death.
1. Harriet Tubman – leader of the Underground Railroad that helped transport slaves from the south to the north.
2. Sojourner Truth – outspoken critic of slavery; was a leading voice for women’s right to vote.
3. Ida B. Wells – journalist, abolitionist, and feminist; founded the National Association of Colored Women’s Club.
4. Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges civil rights activists that fed into Martin Luther King leading African Americans demands for equality in the US.
5. Coretta Scott King — activist and wife of civil rights leader MLK.
6. Oprah and Maya Angelou, Lorraine Hansberry, Amanda Goman, Nikki Giovanni are among the literary and entertainment giants.
7. The three hidden women of effort to the moon – Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughn), Mae Jemison, engineer and physician and NASA astronaut, first black woman to travel to space; Marie Maynard Daly, first African American woman to receive a doctorate in chemistry.
8. Shirley Chisolm – first African American woman in congress; Carol Morsley Baun – first African American senator, (Kamala is second black woman on the senate floor); Barbara Jordan – congresswoman and gifted public speaker on civil rights and racial equality.
9. Serena William – great tennis sports star, Simone Biles – great Gold Medal Olympian.
10. Musicians – Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Hudson, Gladys Knight, Beyonce,
11. Actresses – Lena, Horne, Kerry Washington, Pam Grier, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Diahann Carroll, Whoopie Goldberg, Ruby Dee, Phylicia Rashard, Cicely Tyson, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer.
12. Michelle Obama – author and former First Lady.
13. Katenji Brown Jackson – first black justice on the US Supreme Court.
14. Former first lady Michelle Obama once said, “we (African American women) are standing on the shoulders of giants.” Kamala Harris is one such person, however, Kamala is a different package, a package that her critics are finding difficulty in making their insults stick on her.
Kamala Harris has in 20 years held five elected and notable very distinct positions as follows:
1. San Francisco district attorney (2004-2011).
2. California attorney general (2011-2017). During this time, she worked with a young Delaware attorney general by name of Beau Biden (son of then Vice President Joe Biden).
3. In 2017 she was elected as California senator – becoming the second African American woman to acquire such a seat. During her questioning of Bill Barr and Brett Cavanaugh, many eyes were on fellow senator Cory Booker, who seemed to be in awe of the Senator’s questioning manner.
4. Harris entered the Hall of Historic fame when chosen as Biden’s running mate, became the first woman (black, white, Asian) to be elected US Vice President. Any time President Biden is outside the country, VP Kamala Harris becomes Acting President. Harris is skillful, courageous, tenacious and full of wisdom. Her running mate-pick in middle aged white man from the Midwest is pulling in the benefits.
5. On Day three of the convention, Harris accepted the nomination, promising “when we fight, we win!”
The policies that VP Harris will follow as POTUS47, may be similar to Biden (POTUS46), but they will come in with the saucy punch of “This is Wo-Mahn, Madame President Kamala Harris speaking.” As I expressed a few weeks ago about my great expectations, there have been truckloads of African American men and women, white men and women from the DNC, and this week a truckload of members of the Republican Party, that has jumped ship and turned up at the conference hall, pledging to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in November 2024.
I’m riding with Kamala all the way!