Rep. Shirley Chisholm was the first woman and first African American to run for a major party's nomination for the presidency, announcing her candidacy in 1972. 48 Years after Chisholm announced her candidacy. Harris, who was twice elected as California’s attorney general. Is only the second black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, announced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, that she would be running for president.
“We are here because the American Dream and our American democracy are under attack and on the line like never before,” Harris said Sunday. “And we are here at this moment in time because we must answer a fundamental question: Who are we? Who are we as Americans? So, let’s answer that question to the world and each other right here and right now. America, we are better than this.”
Kamala Harris: A campaign that looks like America
Diversity is critical to ensuring all voices are represented and heard in our government.
“My entire career has been focused on keeping people safe it is probably one of the things that has motivated me more than anything else,” Harris said on the show. “When I look at this moment in time, I know that the American people need someone who is going to fight for them, who is going to see them, who will hear them, who is going to care about them, who will be concerned about their experience, who is going to put them in front of self-interest.”
Harris’ campaign staff at this point has 19 senior staffers. 13 of those are women, 11 of those are women of color. Harris understands how powerful black women’s voices are in politics, and that their voice’s helps get candidates elected to office. “The campaign said each woman will be involved in key decisions throughout the race and that the hires reflect the California senator’s commitment to diversity.”
As Harris vies to become the first woman of color to be president, she says she recognizes the value of the support of African American women across the US and how they made the difference in the upset victory won by Sen. Doug Jones in Alabama in December 2017. "It's a very powerful bloc," she tells CNN.
Sen. Kamala Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, introduced legislation with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.) for dreamers to have paid internships and employment opportunities with the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. This will allow DACA recipients to integrate themselves into various positions within the current political system is one step toward adequately considering the diverse voices of the U.S. population.
The Democratic base is indeed more diverse than ever before. A cumulative CNN analysis of exit polling data shows that from 2008 to 2016, the proportion of white voters taking part in Democratic primaries dropped 3 points, from 65% to 62%. In that same time frame, the African American vote grew by 5 points, from 19% to 24%, and women voters overall grew from 57% to 58% -- trends expected to continue into 2020.
"We don't have enough women who are making the decisions about what public policy will be," Harris tells CNN during her Iowa swing. "We need greater representation. All of America benefits from that and certainly my campaign does, which is why I made it a focus."
Juan Rodriguez Harris’ campaign manager believes that their staff needs to look like America. Rodriguez says: "Sen. Harris has a history of elevating and amplifying all voices to ensure that nothing is seen through only one narrow point of view, and she's ensuring that her campaign not only employs people from diverse backgrounds, but makes them key decision-makers."
Yesterday Kamala Harris spoke at the She The People Presidential Forum in Texas. Harris connected with the audience from the start and ended with a standing ovation. She went into the forum prepared for any question and her answers were strong and to the point. In my opinion she hit it out of the park.
She the People is a national network connecting women of color to transform our democracy. We are elevating and amplifying the voice and power of women of color as leaders, political strategists, organizers, and voters. She the People is building an inclusive, multiracial coalition driving a new progressive political and cultural era.
You can watch the full video here » She The People.
Engaging Voters
The Harris campaign furnished translation headsets at a recent stop in Las Vegas, so that the Spanish speaking members of the audience could listen to a translation of Harris’ speech. This is part of the campaign's efforts to engage Latino voters.
Harris on young voters: “Our young people are activated, and I join them in their leadership, because what I see—and it so excites me—is that, they’re not waiting for people to figure it out for them,” Harris told a South Carolina radio station. “They are present. They are demanding that they be seen.”
Become A Volunteer For The People
Donate Here
“Government works best when it reflects the people it represents.” — Kamala Harris