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Kamala Harris: Proud Black American Woman. Away, Racists!

Right Wing critics launch racist attacks on VP Harris' ethnicity as she rises in the polls.

Published July 31, 2024 at 3:03pm by Bayliss Wagner

White Supremacists Attack VP Harris' Racial and Cultural Heritage

Kamala Harris, the Democratic presumptive nominee for president, is facing yet another wave of disgustingly racist attacks from white conservatives and their bootlicking cronies in the media. These attacks, which focus on Harris' racial and cultural heritage, are a reprehensible attempt to "other" her and are a common tactic used by white supremacists in American politics.

A list titled "Kamala Harris Facts," which has been shared widely on social media, contains blatant lies and misleading claims about her background, including the outrageous assertion that she is "Not African American — Indian & Jamaican." Birtherism is back, and it's just as racist as ever. Despite being born in Oakland, California, in 1964, some people are falsely claiming that Harris is not eligible for the presidency due to her immigrant family background. This is a dangerous and racist lie that needs to be called out.

Experts in Caribbean and Africana studies, political science professors, and anthropologists all agree that these attacks on Harris' gender, multicultural, and multiracial background are a reflection of the poor understanding of history and the fluid nature of racial identity in the United States. They also highlight the persistent and toxic influence of white supremacy in our politics.

Harris' background is a rich and diverse tapestry that should be celebrated. She was raised in a Black middle-class neighborhood in Berkeley, California, where her parents, Shyamala and Donald Harris, actively participated in civil rights protests. Her father, who is Jamaican, immigrated to the U.S. to attend the University of California, Berkeley. Her mother, who was born in Chennai, India, moved to California to pursue a doctorate in nutrition and endocrinology at Berkeley.

The experts consulted for this article unanimously agreed that the claim that Jamaicans are not African or connected to Africa is outright racist and false. Jamaica has a brutal and violent history as a key point in the slave trade, and many Jamaicans trace their origins directly to slavery and the mass importation of African captives. As New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie pointed out, there is a strong chance that Harris is a descendant of enslaved people, and her father's genealogical account supports this.

The attempts to discredit and "other" Harris are a threat to our democracy and a disturbing reminder of the persistent racism and sexism that women of color face in politics. As Keneshia Grant, a political science professor at Howard University, said, "People have to prepare themselves to check their own biases and fears and use logic and facts to guide their decision-making when these kinds of attacks occur."

Harris has chosen to identify simply as "an American," and her life story is a testament to the beauty and strength that diversity brings to our country. It's time we left these racist and divisive attacks where they belong: in the past.

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