By Rosetta Miller Perry
Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden made not just the right pick but the best choice Wednesday when he selected California Senator Kamala Harris as his Vice-Presidential pick. Harris becomes the first Black woman and first woman of color on a national ticket, and fulfills a promise Biden had made earlier that he would have a woman VP. However no one should look at Harris as a mere token tabbed to appease or mollify a constituency,
Indeed, she is far more qualified to hold either spot on the ticket than the current resident of the White House. She’s a former prosecutor and state Attorney General, someone who truly respects and understands the rule of law, but also recognizes that the judicial system has long been flawed and often worked against rather than for African Americans, people of color, and the poor. She’s an HBCU graduate who can speak up for colleges and universities that seldom get either the attention or resources that they need. As an AKA soror, Harris is also very much a part of the Black Greek tradition of community service and civic activism.
The Trump administration is already making snide and cheap attacks on her, despite the fact that years ago Trump twice donated money to her campaigns. But he recognizes she’s extremely capable and unafraid to express herself about the corruption and incompetence that’s characterized the past four years. She’s showed in her sharp questioning of now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Attorney General Bill Barr that she’s very willing to speak truth to power, and will hold those in positions of authority accountable for their bad decisions and inept policies.
This administration has badly bungled its handling of the worst health crisis in over a century, one that is disproportionately affecting Black and Brown people. It has tried to use federal troops to suppress peaceful protest and tried to turn the clock back on every significant positive change the Obama administration was able to get passed regarding things as varied as environmental justice, police reform and gun control,
Now it is running an undisguised racist campaign, talking about keeping the suburbs safe, and branding a career moderate Senator a “radical leftist.” Trump is openly trying to destroy the Post Office in a not so subtle attempt to sabotage mail-in voting, knowing that many people are afraid due to the pandemic to venture out to the polls. Even though he’s previously voted by mail in Florida, he now wants to perpetuate the myth that mail-in voting leads to fraud.
It is time to turn out in big numbers and vote the Biden/Harris ticket into office. Among many other things, it will give Vice President Harris a chance to sweep out the hacks, frauds and incompetents in the Justice Department, and get it functioning the way it’s supposed to be operating. The judicial and police reforms the Obama administration was championing can get back on track, and a national strategy to fight the COVID-19 pandemic can finally begin, rather than this haphazard, disgusting non-policy that features ridiculous briefings, and has Trump ignoring the advice of qualified physicians and acting as though the virus will just disappear.
This is no time for complacency, apathy or non-participation. The Biden/Harris team is going to need everyone in our community to register and vote in November. The nation cannot afford another four years of the corruption and incompetence that’s become a daily routine under Donald Trump. There are now two highly qualified people ready to send Trump and Pence packing, and end the worse administration in American history.
We salute Joe Biden for doing the right thing. Now it’s up to us to make sure that it’s the BidenHarris team on top and in the White House next year.
