猫咪社区

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, the , is Joe Biden鈥檚 . If Biden wins in November, Harris would break three centuries-old barriers to become the nation鈥檚 first female vice president, first Black vice president, and first Black female vice president.

Geraldine Ferraro was the first female vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket, in 1984. In 2008, Alaska鈥檚 then-governor Sarah Palin was Republican John McCain鈥檚 running mate.

Before Harris was picked as Biden鈥檚 running mate, she was his competitor for the Democratic presidential nomination. She is one of many Black American women who have  despite great odds.

Hands that once picked cotton

African Americans have endured many hurdles to political power in the United States, among them slavery, Jim Crow, and disenfranchisement.

Black women, in particular, have hit barrier upon barrier. , and even then, Black people鈥攚omen among them鈥攕till couldn鈥檛 vote in most of the South. In the 1960s, Black women helped  but were kept out of leadership positions.

As a , I address issues like these in my government and minority-politics classes. But I also teach my students that Black women have a history of political ambition and achievement. As the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. said in 1984 about the progress , 鈥淗ands that once picked cotton will now pick a president.鈥�

Today,  lead several of the United States鈥� biggest cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco. Black women are , , and, in growing numbers, .

Now, Black women, who once had no chance of even voting for president鈥攎uch less being president鈥攚ill see one of their own a step away from the Oval Office.

Biden allies have  that he would only serve one term if elected because of his age鈥擝iden would be 78 on Inauguration Day鈥攂ut his . Either way, his vice president would be in a powerful position for the 2024 campaign.

Harris is also of Indian descent, making her place on the ticket a meaningful first for two communities of color.

鈥楿nsuitable鈥� for the job?

Kamala Harris is a registered Democrat who served as California鈥檚 attorney general and later one of the state鈥檚 U.S. senators. But, historically, most Black female presidential candidates have run as independents.

In 1968, 38-year-old Charlene Mitchell of Ohio became the first Black woman to run for president, as a communist. Like many other African Americans born in the 1930s, Mitchell joined the Communist Party because of . Black female communists fought Jim Crow, lynchings, and unfair labor practices for .

Mitchell鈥檚 presidential campaign, which focused on , was probably doomed from the start. In 1968, many states didn鈥檛 . Media outlets from  also discussed Mitchell鈥檚 鈥渦nsuitability鈥� as a candidate . Mitchell received .

Other independent Black female presidential candidates have been community organizer Margaret Wright, who ; Isabell Masters, a teacher who created her own third party , and ran in 1984, 1992, and 2004; and teacher Monica Moorehead of the Workers World Party ticket, who ran in 1996, 2000, and 2016.

In 2008, the year Barack Obama was elected president, Cynthia McKinney, a former U.S. representative from Georgia, was a . And in 2012, Peta Lindsay ran to unseat President Obama from the left, on the .

Only one Black woman has ever pursued the Republican nomination: Angel Joy Charvis, a religious conservative from Florida, who wanted to use her 1999 candidacy to 鈥�.鈥�

Unbought and unbossed

These Black female presidential candidates were little known. But as the first Black female member of Congress, Shirley Chisholm had years of experience in public office and a national reputation when she became the first Black American and the first woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972. Chisholm鈥檚 campaign slogan: 鈥�.鈥�

Chisholm, who mostly paid for her campaign on her , focused on .

She became the target of vehement sexism. One  described her appearance as, 鈥淸Not] beautiful. Her face is bony and angular, her nose wide and flat, her eyes small almost to beadiness, her neck and limbs scrawny. Her protruding teeth probably account in part for her noticeable lisp.鈥�

Chisholm received little support from either Black or female voters and won .

The Black women who followed in Chisholm鈥檚 footsteps from Congress to the Democratic presidential primary, including  and Harris herself, have seen little more success. Harris was among the .

Challenges for Black women

Why did these women鈥檚 candidacies fail?

In most cases, my research finds, America鈥檚 Black female presidential candidates haven鈥檛 made the ballot. Those who did had trouble raising funds.

And because their candidacies  by the media, they had trouble getting their messages heard. Historically, Black female presidential candidates have received , including African Americans and women. Generally, people鈥攅ven those who might have been heartened by the idea that someone who looked like them could aspire to the White House鈥�.

As a vice president for two terms who had a major role in governing under Barack Obama, Joe Biden knows what the office entails. He has now selected a woman who he believes can not only help him win the election but also to govern if he is elected. It is a watershed moment for African Americans, Asian Americans, and women who鈥檝e so long been excluded from so many aspects of politics.

This story first appeared in . It has been edited for 猫咪社区! Magazine.