How Significant Is Kamala Harris As Biden’s VP Pick?

Sonali Kolhatkar speaks with Rosa Clemente about the significance of Kamala Harris as Joe Biden's Vice President pick.

It’s official—after an excruciatingly long wait the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has chosen his running mate and it’s California Senator Kamala Harris. Harris was one of dozens of women being carefully vetted by the Biden campaign and emerged early on as a strong candidate. She ran for president just months ago when she made one of the strongest challenges to Biden on the debate stage over his positions on racial justice.

The Oakland born Senator who was once Attorney General of California, had an Indian mother and Jamaican father who were strongly progressive. But Harris has been largely on the center left of most issues. Her appointment as Biden’s running mate has been met with either enthusiastic excitement or extreme derision from liberal and progressive circles.

If Biden beats Trump in November Harris will become the nation’s first female, first Black, and first South Asian/Indian origin Vice President.

Rosa Clemente, Journalist, Producer, Political Commentator, Scholar-Activist. Rosa identifies as a Black Puerto Rican woman born and raised in the Bronx, NY. For the last three years she has served as a historical consultant to the forthcoming Ryan Coogler, MACRO and Warner Brothers film,Judas and The Messiah a movie inspired by the life of Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party who was assassinated in 1969. Rosa is also the executive director of the Black Latin@ Organizing project and is currently completing her PH. D at the W.E.B. DuBois Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Rosa was the first ever Black Puerto Rican woman to run for Vice-President of the United States in 2008 on the Green Party ticket. She and her running mate, Cynthia McKinney, were to this date the only women of color ticket in American history. She is also a news correspondent for Rising Up with Sonali.

Rising Up with Sonali is a radio and television show that brings progressive news coverage rooted in gender and racial justice to a wide audience. Rising Up With Sonali was built on the foundation of Sonali Kolhatkar's earlier show, Uprising, which became the longest-running drive-time radio show on KPFK in Los Angeles hosted by a woman. RUS airs on Free Speech TV every weekday.

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