In January 2021 when Kamala Harris was sworn in as first woman vice president of the U.S., Black women, who once upon a time had no chance to vote, not to speak of becoming president, saw one of their own a step away from the nation’s highest office. The daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, Harris is currently not only the first woman vice president but also the first Black American and first South Asian American to hold the office.
For two decades in public life, Harris has achieved a lot of firsts: the first Black woman to serve as San Francisco’s district attorney, the first woman to be California’s attorney general, first Indian American senator, and now she is working by Joe Biden’s side after the latter picked her as his vice-presidential running mate.
But before becoming Biden’s running mate, Harris was his opponent in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, after she had disclosed her decision to run for president on January 21, 2019. Things were going smoothly until her campaign began to struggle due to internal staff rows. In December, she dropped out of the race. Today, Harris is among the many Black American women who have entered the running for the highest office in the nation in spite of the difficulties.
Until 1920 when Congress ratified the 19th Amendment, women didn’t have the right to vote in the U.S. Even after 1920, Black women were still barred from the polls in many states. Some Black female suffragists then joined the suffrage movement, and in the century that followed, they fought for the rights of their fellow women to vote in the midst of discrimination and racism. Then came the gallant Black female presidential candidates. Aside from Harris, the following are the Black women who have aimed for the highest office in the land:
The beloved host of This Morning, Alison Hammond, is making headlines by selling off her…
Two high school students in Grand Rapids, Michigan, have earned a place in history. The…
Derek Floyd, a 36-year-old Fire Department of New York probationary fireman, died of a heart…
A 4-year-old boy fighting end-stage kidney disease lived out his dream as a cop for…
Director Abshir Rageh oversees film production at Astaan, a privately held cable television network in…
Nigerians are eagerly awaiting to welcome their "daughter" Meghan Markle's royal visit next month alongside…
Othello Larenzo Holmes has been charged with attempted indecent assault and faces five counts of…
Dylan Beard is a Howard University graduate who is currently working at a Walmart deli.…
Boxing legend Mike Tyson is not taking any chances as he prepares for his July…
LeBron James has cast uncertainty over his future with the Lakers by declining to confirm…
Four Florida teenagers were killed after they crashed a suspected stolen car during a police…
When their school bus driver experienced a medical emergency, Acie Holland III came to the…
Former UFC heavyweight champion cum professional boxer Francis Ngannou took to social media on Monday…
A 17-year-old migrant from Sudan, Abdul Usman, has attempted to cross the Channel from France…
Tatiyana, Danyelle LaShay, and Jyniah Smith -- the Smith sisters -- are some of the…