An avalanche of political commentary on Donald Trump’s notable presidential win erupted on the morning of Nov. 6. The media blogger sphere unleashed itself as politicians, pundits, journalists, radio hosts and other political influencers across the political spectrum avidly weighed in and eagerly provided their own perceived commentary. The uneven economy, high inflation, rising crime, extreme and excessive wokeness, out of control borders and so on. To be sure, most, if not all of the aforementioned reasons likely contributed to Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat. Yet, there is another reason that has been discussed, albeit sparingly fleetingly in many quarters. The intersection of race and gender.
Kamala Harris would have been the first woman of any race and the first South Asian person to have been elected president of the most powerful nation in the world. Rather, she lost the election, as well as the popular vote, to Trump, whose coalition transcended racial and gender lines in unprecedented ways as he made notable inroads with people of color and netted a larger share of women’s votes. The nation was provided an opportunity to allow a biracial Black woman to move us forward beyond several years of Trump’s racist, sexist, and toxic style of grievance politics with a broad agenda steeped in hope, concern and access. However, America, particularly the majority of White Americans, said: “No thank you.”
From the minute she was selected as Vice President, Harris immediately found herself in the political fire. Several Republican members of Congress referred to Harris as a “DEI hire,” which is a reference to diversity, equity, and inclusion, but in this instance, an assumption that Harris became the nominee only “because of her ethnic background,” as Republican Representative Glenn Grothman dishonestly declared. Far right wing conservative activist Tom Fitton reveled in fierce neo-birtherism, by inferring that Harris’s Jamaican and South Asian parents resulted in her being unable to run for president.
The former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne “alternative facts” Conway attacked Harris as lazy, commenting , “She does not speak well; she does not work hard; she doesn’t inspire anyone.”
Republican Representative Harriet Hagemen of Wyoming declared, “Intellectually, [she is] just really kind of the bottom of the barrel.” The fact is that the Vice President is more accomplished and likely more intelligent than any of her critics. A September survey from The Associated Press/NORC Research Center showed 38 percent of voters think being a woman hurt Harris’s chances of winning, and only 13 percent of voters said the same about the GOP nominee.
The claim that sexism and racism are present in the race was amplified last month as Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) said he thinks they “still exist” in U.S. politics, citing the presidential race as an example. I think it is an issue with a lot of different voters across this country, and it’s something that our country — you know, we’ve come a long way as in terms of women’s suffrage,” The Florida Democrat said in an interview. “We’ve come a long way in terms of making sure of equity in this country, but there’s still a lot of this bigotry in this country in terms of sexism, in terms of racism. And we still have to work at getting over that.” “Those things are still here,” he continued. “They still exist in a lot of communities, and we still have a lot of work to do here.”
Being candid, there are two, perhaps, the major reasons why Kamala Harris did not prevail, no matter how effective a campaign she ran: racism and sexism. For the second time this century, Americans rejected a woman to lead the nation. If they weren’t ready to trust a woman for the job, they were even more apprehensive to trust a woman of color. The truth is that no honest person can dismiss the fact that being a woman of color has been a political handicap for Harris. Many Americans have never been comfortable with Black women in leadership positions.
It is not accidental that we have had only two Black women elected to the US Senate: Kamala Harris and Carol Mosley Braun of Illinois. Laphonza Butler was appointed by California Senator Gavin Newsom. Just last week, two states, my home state of Delaware, elected Lisa Blunt Rochester and Maryland selected Angela Alsobrooks, two Black women, as senators bringing the total number of Black women who have served in the US senate to five.
And, of course, in every speech, Donald Trump fueled the flames of sexism and racism, calling Harris a “monster,” “low-IQ,” “mentally impaired,” and “only pretending to be Black.” The best-selling merch at Trump’s rallies was a sweatshirt with the slogan: “Say No to the Hoe.”
Additionally, as a woman of color and a biracial one at that, Harris has had to deal with the two-headed dragon of “Jim Crow and Jane Crow.” The term was espoused by pioneering legal scholar Pauli Murray. The intersection of race and gender has undoubtedly contributed to much of the derision toward Harris from certain segments of society.
This reality of Harris as the first female nominee of a major party for president of the United States is an image that upsets the stomachs and emotions of a large number of right-wing Republicans (many of whom recoil at the image of a white woman or woman of any race being president), and, if we are being honest, a segment of neoliberal and faux Democrats as well. A Black woman being elected president before a white woman would likely be a tough pill for many to swallow and seemingly almost impossible for many whites and some non-Whites, (especially non-White men) across the political landscape to comprehend.
Virtually at a moment’s notice, Harris had to revitalize a rapidly imploding campaign and rejuvenate a demoralized Democratic base that had fallen into despair due to Mr. Biden’s poor debate performance and sinking political standing. She remained devotedly loyal to her boss who had grown widely disliked, and who at times privately questioned her chances. She maintained the role of warrior for the administration despite the fact that a number of its members did much to marginalize her. She rallied a party whose major leadership in mid-summer discussed the possibly of bypassing her to put a white male at the top of the ticket.
Vice President Harris worked overtime presenting herself and selling her political ideas to a restless and fatigued nation — even as she worked to distinguish herself from President Biden. She created a multiracial, bipartisan coalition of allies. During her concession speech at Howard University, her alma mater, Harris repeated much of the rhetoric she maintained on the campaign trail and called on her supporters to keep fighting. “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.”
While she fell short of achieving her goal and becoming the first American woman to be elected president of the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris did, in fact, make history by
shattering the previous once, all male door of the office of the Vice Presidency and has undoubtedly inspired other women to consider pursuing the opportunity to run for the most powerful political position on the planet. Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Freeman, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Mary McCloud Bethune, Shirley Chisholm, Rosa Parks, Daisy Bates, Septima Clark, Coretta Scott King, Betty Shabazz, Barbara Jordan, Fannie Lou Hamer and other Black women of yesteryear would feel disappointed, yet proud of the fierce battle that a fellow Black woman waged. They would say in unison BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO!
BlackCommentator.com guest commentator, Dr. Elwood Watson, historian, public speaker and cultural critic is a professor at East Tennessee State University and author of the recent book, “Keepin’ It Real: Essays on Race in Contemporary America” (University of Chicago Press), which is available in paperback and on Kindle via Amazon and other major book retailers.
