Madame Vice President: What Kamala Harris Means to Women

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s career has been built in spite of history.

The days when governance was only to be done by men? History. 

But “that little girl” who was bussed to school, being the first woman, of any race, to be elected Vice President? Historic.

In March, President-elect Joe Biden committed to picking a woman to be his vice president and was anticipated to choose a woman of color. 

Then-senator Harris was an early frontrunner in the “veepstakes,” despite having notably criticized Biden during a Democratic primary debate in June for his stance of opposing busing and his controversial comments in which he recalled working with segregationist senators as a marker of civility. 

However, that conflict appeared to be put to rest when it was announced that Biden had selected Harris to be his running mate. 

“I need someone working alongside me who is smart, tough, and ready to lead,” Biden wrote in his announcement. 

“Kamala is that person.”

Senior Amyrah Doty holds the same ethnic makeup as Harris: a half-Black, half-Indian woman. 

For her and her family, Biden’s choice to pick Harris was monumental. 

“I cried, admittingly,” she said. 

“I found out about it on Twitter and immediately burst into tears.”

With her parents frantically texting relatives as the announcement came  

on CNN, the entire family got on the phone in a moment of celebration.

“It’s the same feeling I got from watching Obama win the election for his second presidential term when I was in elementary school: this ardent belief I can do anything, that no barriers stand in my path,” Doty said.  

“While that’s idealistic sentiment, obviously, it’s important for children of color to feel empowered that way, to turn on the TV and see politicians who look like them inspiring the world,” continued Doty.

Harris was seen as a safe choice for Biden. 

Her skills as a sharp debater and prosecutor were in the spotlight during the debates and during her standout questioning of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate hearings. 

But, her story as a boundary-breaking woman in politics was seen as particularly inspiring to voters.

“I think as a girl, having Kamala Harris as VP is motivational,” junior Mia McCauley said. 

“It personally makes me feel like as a woman, I am powerful and I can hold a position of authority [and] power if I am determined.”

Harris’s multiracial identity is something she has never shied from talking about, though voters most frequently recognize her as a Black woman. 

Harris has frequently referenced her Indian mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, as one of the greatest influences on her life and career, citing her as the one who prepared her for the successful career she’d grow into. 

While her Indian heritage was celebrated in her household, with the family getting exposure to Indian customs, culture and food, Gopalan Harris knew that her daughters would be seen as Black women. 

Harris wrote in her autobiography, The Truths We Hold,  that “she was determined to make sure we

would grow into confident proud black women.”

It is her identity as a Black woman that young women like Doty and senior Hallie Umrarong feel so strongly connected to. 

“It makes me proud to be a Black woman myself, and seeing someone like me breaking barriers,” Umrarong said. 

Doty sees Harris’s ascension and success as a Black woman as not only refreshing but essential for representation in the U.S. Being Black in the United States, she said, is irreplicable, making politicians of color with similar experiences and stake in the issues that people of color face nothing short of vital.   

When the Black Lives Matter movement took center stage during the summer, it was mainly white conservatives and centrists who saw protests, riots and their demands of reform as too radical or too dangerous. 

“White supremacy and an irrational fear of minorities are woven into our institutions and into the minds of too many Americans,” Doty said. 

“Harris’s ascension is the promise that we’re no longer going to stroke these ideologies like the last administration, but rather be strong combatants against prejudice and hate, without compromise and without fail….you can’t reach across the aisle to a stone wall.”

To some women, despite being an inspiration, Harris is still not without her faults. 

Critics of Harris most often attack her record on criminal justice. 

As the district attorney of San Francisco, she was an ardent supporter of prosecuting parents of truant children, disproportionately affecting families who were poor, minorities, or had disabled family members. 

As attorney general of California, she defended the death penalty and opposed legislation requiring the use of body cameras on police officers and requiring her office to investigate police shootings. 

“If the worst Kamala has done is be harsh on criminal justice… then I see a leader who is dedicated to their job and is willing to make amends to past actions,” junior Anne-Sophie Corry said. 

However, she added, “I do not think Kamala’s past as Attorney General is something we should overlook.” 

Doty sees Harris’s record as “an absolute stain.”

While some may make the argument that as a woman of color, Harris faced political 

constraints, she believes it does not absolve her of responsibility in harmful policies that were championed by her office. 

As Senator and as a Democratic primary candidate, Harris’s positions were undeniably more progressive – a change that Doty sees as a silver lining.

“I’m confident that criminal justice reform under this next administration will be a step in the right direction,” she said. 

“You can say that her past actions may allude to her future actions, but they do not determine what they are. 

“I hope that she’ll acknowledge her record and strive to be better.”

As for the next four years, each young woman has their own hopes that the vice president-elect will take on her own signature causes, just as Biden did as former president Barack Obama’s vice president. 

Umrarong hopes to see her champion immigration reform and unjust incarceration.

Corry hopes she champions women’s reproductive rights. 

McCauley hopes to see her tackle the ever-impending threat of climate change before its effects become more devastating. 

Doty hopes she helps end police brutality, roots out manifestations of structural racism and rolls out a comprehensive COVID-19 relief plan.

But for all of them, they feel as if her election has been a victory already. 

“I knew what was coming, but it was hard for everyone in the family to process the fact that a woman of color would be our Vice President for the next four years,” Doty said. 

“We witnessed history in the making. It’s a moment where you have to step back and realize, ‘Wow, this is how far we’ve come. This is America.’”