Kamala Harris: My newest hero

Kamala Harris: My newest hero

Commentary by Sarah Henn Hayward | FāVS News

I have something to confess. I have racist tendencies within me that pop out from time to time without my approval. It’s not by choice but by circumstance. Racism was inherent in the foundation of America and has been in the air I breathe for all of my life. 

But I’m learning, trying to weed it out, and am better at seeing it in myself. And I noticed a new example recently. I remembered how, during the 2020 Democratic Primaries, I bought the perspective of Kamala Harris being difficult.

People said she was demanding and hard to work with. In other words, the “angry Black woman” trope that has been used to maintain the poor status of Black women. The NIH defines this stereotype that “characterizes these women as aggressive, ill-tempered, illogical, overbearing, hostile, and ignorant without provocation.”

So, I had written her off in 2019 as a presidential candidate, and I remember being ambivalent about her being picked for VP. If anything, my racism piled on, thinking “well, they probably needed to pick a woman and person of color and she fit the bill.” I’m not proud of myself. 

In addition to learning about anti-racism and my racist tendencies, I’ve also been studying up on Kamala Harris now that she is the Democratic nominee for president. And boy oh boy, has she won me over.

Not difficult, but dogged

I’ve been reading Kamala’s book, “The Truths We Hold,” and listening to political podcasts that discuss her career and accomplishments. 

What I’ve seen is a person who is committed to the concept of making the world a better place than you found it. 

From being raised by a mother who was deeply committed to social activism, to choosing a career as a lawyer because she saw lawyers as change-makers and defenders of the weak, Harris has made a life out of standing up for the less fortunate. 

In her time working for the people of California, she fought for justice for victims of gun violence who weren’t in the public eye. She made sure their cases were not put on dusty shelves.

She pioneered a program called Back on Track aimed at reducing recidivism rates for first-time, non-violent offenders that’s been replicated nationwide. 

She’s identified the root causes of the patterns that land people in bad situations and has tackled school truancy rates to give kids the best chance for success. 

Having learned about the massive backlog of untested rape kits, she immediately started fixing that problem to find justice for women who had been violated. 

She went to bat for marriage equality and personally made sure to start performing weddings the very minute the government got out of people’s way by saying who could and couldn’t marry.

Harris has placed herself in roles in which she can learn about societal problems and then be able to do something about them. And she does just that. 

Not angry, but bold and brave

Some of my favorite stories I’ve learned have been times when Harris showed true courage. She is not afraid to cross her own team if necessary. We saw her come at President Biden during those 2020 debates and not back down.

Before that, as the District Attorney in California, Harris took heat from her party for not seeking the death penalty in a case in which a police officer was tragically killed. She has been staunchly anti-death penalty throughout her career without ever wavering. Even when, at the funeral of the man who was murdered, Senator Dianne Feinstein called her out in front of a large crowd of angry police officers and told her to seek the death penalty. Harris stood her ground when it wasn’t popular and stuck to her values. 

Another time, she came up against resistance from her fellow Democrats in her fight to improve child truancy rates. She wanted to stop the school-to-prison pipeline all too common in impoverished neighborhoods and saw school attendance as a crucial problem to tackle. She said, “I was willing to be the bad guy if it meant highlighting an issue that otherwise would have received too little attention.” 

Going toe-to-toe with big banks, Harris chewed out JPMorgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon in order to gain a much better settlement for the people during the housing market crash. Her tenacity got the banks to agree to pay out $20 billion to homeowners instead of the ineffective $2-4 billion they initially proposed. Her bravery is a consistent character trait.

I want Kamala to be proud of me

The more I have learned about Harris, the more impressed I’ve become. She has won my respect tenfold. From fighting injustice, speaking truth to power, to having the wisdom to identify the big picture and create a plan to make a difference, she has been fighting for the people for her entire career.

I could go on. I could gush about her laugh and her joy, her relationship with her husband and step-children, her vibrancy and style. She’s just cool. But I’ll let her wrap this up.

In her speech after winning her Senate seat in 2016, she said, “It is the very nature of this fight for civil rights and justice and equality that whatever gains we make, they will not be permanent. So we must be vigilant. Understanding that, do not despair. Do not be overwhelmed. Do not throw up our hands when it is time to roll up our sleeves and fight for who we are.”

Let’s roll up our sleeves together. 

The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.