Column: Kamala Harris – A Pioneering Run, Decades in the Making – Essence

When Kamala Harris takes the podium tonight at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, she is going to carry the legacy of generations of ladies of color who got here before her. Our party’s faith in her and her rise to fame indicate that a brand new political center of gravity is emerging in the Democratic Party—one where women of color are seen, heard, and truly lead a multiracial democracy.

I’ll be in my seat at the DNC knowing that the equation that led to Kamala Harris’ ascendancy as the party’s first woman of color nominee was forged by many years of trailblazing women. These godmothers of our movement challenged the nation to dream of politics like we’ve never seen before—fighting for inclusion, searching for to represent us at the highest levels, and now supporting a spread of policies that may change America for the higher.

In 1969, Shirley Chisholm She became the first black woman elected to Congress and, not so easily, the first woman and African-American to hunt a serious party’s nomination for president of the United States. Despite being excluded from televised debates and continually bogged down in a difficult and underfunded campaign, marginalized groups coalesced around the “Chisholm Trail.” Her revolutionary approach to politics, with a base and brand supported by women, led to Chisholm receiving 10 percent of all delegates.

We return to 1988, when Jesse Jackson’s second presidential campaign saw the emergence of a rainbow coalition that gave us a glimpse into multiracial politics and democracy on the national stage and set the stage for the election of Barack Obama.

And there are such a lot of other moral role models who’ve never allow us to forget that our goal is an inclusive, multiracial democracy tied to a vision of America where everyone lives with dignity. To that end, we lean on the shoulders of freedom fighter Harriet Tubman, truth-teller Ida B. Wells, civil rights activist Ella Baker, philosopher Grace Lee Boggs, peace activist Yuri Kochiyama, political activist Zitkala-Sa, labor leader Luisa Moreno, and community leader Chief Wilma Mankiller, to call a couple of.

In other words, we didn’t just fall out of the coconut tree! Kamala Harris got here about because history happened. And now, through her policies and platforms, she continues what women of color began many years ago. Kamala Harris continues what Hattie Canty, who fought for racial justice in the hospitality industry and unions in order that staff might be paid a living wage, began through her commitment to raising the minimum wage. As vice chairman, Harris also focused on closing the gender pay gap and increasing women’s economic security—carrying on the work of Seattle NAACP Secretary Alice Sampson Presto, whose progressive feminist platform advocated for equal pay.

When women of color engage with the political and legal systems, they pave the way for future advocates. Make no mistake that Kamala Harris and plenty of other women have improved on the foundation laid by these women.

And now we’re seeing more enthusiasm around the Harris-Walz ticket than ever before — because more Americans than ever before can see themselves reflected in the candidates at the top of the ticket. For too long, the votes of men and women of color have been expected by Democrats, not earned or — at the least — represented. For the first time, the Democratic Party is realizing that taking on a mantle long carried by blocs of black and brown women voters — racial justice, economic equality, reproductive freedoms — can generate enthusiasm that’s beginning to feel unparalleled in its power.

While Harris’ campaign has raised $200 million and 170,000 activated volunteers and it’s leading national polls and in key battleground states, Republicans are losing the zero-sum game of belittling Harris. They are finding that Harris’ appeal is just too broad and too rooted in the values ​​which have united generations of Americans.

In short, the desire for a candidate like Harris has been constructing for years. And with that momentum, she has the opportunity to satisfy the many years-long aspirations of multiracial coalitions that can assist win elections. She shouldn’t be only a champion for girls of color, but considered one of us—showing us the sweet truth of the promise that we could be each, and have multiple identities. That significance was not lost on people like me who grew up in a multiracial household in the Eighties.

Now, the largest and most diverse coalition in American history is seeking to her as the long-awaited dream of a unified, multiracial coalition. This group – which has been the backbone of our party and has been waiting in the wings – finally sees hope for our dream to come back true.

We can and can act for all Americans. And we finally feel we will see a way forward for who we’re as Americans defined by the identities that empower us. A vision recognized, seeded, experienced, and imagined for many years.