U.S. Senator Kamala Harris made history Saturday, as the first Black woman projected to be elected as vice president of the United States, shattering barriers that have kept men — almost all of them white — entrenched at the highest levels of American politics for more than two centuries.
Harris who attended Howard University and pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation’s first sorority created by and for Black women, becomes the first HBCU grad and first woman elected to the highest level of American government. Her victory gives hope to women who were devastated by Hillary Clinton's defeat four years ago.
“Senator Kamala Harris has swung her Howard hammer and shattered the proverbial glass ceiling into pieces that will not be put back together. In an election that saw more Americans cast a ballot than ever before, a majority of Americans have selected Vice President Biden to be the 46th President and our distinguished alumna Senator Harris to serve as the 49th Vice President of the United States,” said Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA, President, Howard University.
Harris often framed her candidacy as part of the legacy — often undervalued — of pioneering Black women who came before her, including educator Mary McLeod Bethune, civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer and Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first Black candidate to seek a major party's presidential nomination, in 1972.
“We’re not often taught their stories,” Harris said in August as she accepted her party's vice presidential nomination. “But as Americans, we all stand on their shoulders.”
She campaigned regularly at HBCUs and tried to address the concerns of young Black men and women eager for strong efforts to dismantle systemic racism.
Her victory could usher more Black women and people of color into politics.
Harris who attended Howard University and pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation’s first sorority created by and for Black women, becomes the first HBCU grad and first woman elected to the highest level of American government. Her victory gives hope to women who were devastated by Hillary Clinton's defeat four years ago.
“Senator Kamala Harris has swung her Howard hammer and shattered the proverbial glass ceiling into pieces that will not be put back together. In an election that saw more Americans cast a ballot than ever before, a majority of Americans have selected Vice President Biden to be the 46th President and our distinguished alumna Senator Harris to serve as the 49th Vice President of the United States,” said Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA, President, Howard University.
Harris often framed her candidacy as part of the legacy — often undervalued — of pioneering Black women who came before her, including educator Mary McLeod Bethune, civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer and Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first Black candidate to seek a major party's presidential nomination, in 1972.
“We’re not often taught their stories,” Harris said in August as she accepted her party's vice presidential nomination. “But as Americans, we all stand on their shoulders.”
She campaigned regularly at HBCUs and tried to address the concerns of young Black men and women eager for strong efforts to dismantle systemic racism.
Her victory could usher more Black women and people of color into politics.
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