Woven in the tapestry of our nation's history is the story of Kamala Harris. She stands at the intersection of race and gender, bearing the weight of centuries of oppression, yet carrying a power that will shape the very fabric of our country's future.
About two weeks ago, when Biden bowed out of the presidential race, an overwhelming stream of hope came bursting through. You could feel the energy on social media. The possibility of a Black woman as Commander-in-Chief became real. At the same time, Black women quickly realized the level of pure hatred we would receive in the upcoming weeks, and that it would come from unlikely spaces. We reminded each other to guard our hearts and minds.
We also understood the assignment at hand. With that, 44,000 Black women raised $1.5 million on a Zoom call. The following evening, 50,000 Black men raised $1.3 million. And realizing they also needed to get in formation, 130,000 white women raised $2 million for Kamala's campaign in one hour.
And while we should be cautious not to assume fundraising success necessarily results in electoral success, it signals a palpable energy surrounding Kamala Harris at the moment.
With Harris’ ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket, Republicans are rebuilding their campaign strategy that for months focused on running against President Joe Biden. One emerging theme asserts that Harris laughs too much at inappropriate moments – part of a broader argument that she is “weird.”
“I call her 'laughing Kamala,’” Trump said at a rally in Michigan on July 24. “Have you ever watched her laugh? She is crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh. … She is nuts.”
Black women in this country have a history of struggle against violence and oppression. And too often when we experience joy, and show it, ridicule quickly follows. We are always said to be too loud, too emotional – well, too Black women.
It is an all too familiar dog whistle. Black women have been called out as sexually provocative Jezebels, emasculating Sapphires or submissive, nurturing Mammys in popular culture. Those labels clearly don’t fit Harris, so Trump has created a new epithet: “crazy laughing.”
Invisibility has long haunted Black girls and women. In response, their choices, from dress to spirituality to activist groups, often center on making ourselves visible. We do this to highlight injustice and to offer a vision of justice based on our experiences.
As then-first lady Michelle Obama said in a speech at the March 2015 Black Girls Rock awards, young Black girls often hear “voices that tell you that you’re not good enough, that you have to look a certain way, act a certain way; that if you speak up, you’re too loud; if you step up to lead, you’re being bossy.”
As I see it, Black women deserve for some of that visibility to be joyful. In this realm, Kamala Harris is paving the way. Throughout her career as a district attorney, state attorney general, senator, and vice president, Harris has faced numerous challenges. As she transitions to running for president, she must once again redefine herself. Despite having a sizable campaign team, she will need to undertake this task on her own.
As the great Toni Morrison said, the Black woman has “nothing to fall back on: not maleness, not whiteness, not ladyhood, not anything. And out of the profound desolation of her reality she may very well have invented herself.”
Black women draw on emotional fortitude to accomplish so many feats while breaking unfathomable barriers. It’s no exaggeration to call what we do magic.
Kamala Harris will require considerable backing for a triumphant campaign, particularly from Black women and various other supporters. There will be crucial topics for discussion, ranging from border security to foreign policy to the economy. Nevertheless, Harris has a genuine chance to juxtapose her humor and energy against the grim outlook presented by the GOP, all while refusing to allow them to determine when she can experience joy.
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